Requires DCYF to implement recommendations made by the child advocate and child fatality review panel within 6 months and provide a report of the measures taken to address the recommendations.
Directs the RITBA design a safety barrier or netting system on the several bridges within its authority. Any newly constructed bridges with a deck height of over one hundred feet (100 ft) would be required to have safety barriers of safety netting.
Provides that the early intervention program for developmentally disabled infants be under the jurisdiction of the executive office of health and human services (EOHHS).
Establishes a task force managed by the children’s cabinet to develop recommendations to improve access to early intervention and early childhood special education services.
Maddy summarySB 193 requires health insurance plans (including group plans and individual policies) to cover mental health and substance use disorder treatment on the same terms as physical health care. Key provisions include banning annual or lifetime dollar limits, ensuring cost-sharing (like copays) matches primary care, and prohibiting stricter restrictions (such as prior authorizations) for mental health services. The bill mandates insurers to use established clinical standards - like those from the American Society of Addiction Medicine - to determine coverage levels. This directly affects all insured individuals seeking mental health or addiction treatment, ensuring parity in coverage with medical conditions.
Includes "hosting platform" under the definition of "room-seller" and imposes a tax of 5% on the rental of a house or condominium with the tax used exclusively for infrastructure improvements, riverine and coastal resiliency and housing.
Allows a municipality to set its own conveyance tax rate for residential properties sold in excess of $900,000.00 at $10 per $500. Provides collected taxes to be in a restricted account and distributed within 2 years for affordable housing.
Increases the membership of the energy facility siting board from 3 to 5 members and would revise the process of energy facility siting to mandate inclusion/participation of the host community of the facility as well as of the public and cities and towns.
Maddy summarySB 248 requires the state to pay 50% of relocation costs for private utility companies (like power or gas providers) and 100% for public entities (such as cities, counties, or state agencies) when utilities must be moved to accommodate highway projects eligible for federal funding. The bill covers only actual relocation expenses - not improvements to the utilities - and mandates that work meet state-set deadlines and design standards to qualify for payment. This policy directly affects private utility businesses and public governments managing infrastructure along highway corridors. The state will fund these costs as part of federally supported highway projects, with full reimbursement for public entities and partial reimbursement for private companies.
Gradually phases in modifications to federal adjusted gross income over a four (4) year period for social security income, from twenty-five percent (25%) up to one hundred percent (100%), beginning on or after January 1, 2026.
