Provides that original power wheelchair equipment manufacturers would be required to provide to independent service providers repair information and tools to maintain and repair original power wheelchair equipment.
Maddy summarySB 266 temporarily removes the requirement for clinical social workers to pass a standardized exam to obtain a license, effective immediately until August 15, 2025. This directly affects new applicants seeking clinical social worker licensure in Rhode Island. The bill also directs the licensing board to develop language accommodations and alternative qualification pathways to improve access for diverse communities. After August 15, 2025, the previous exam requirement will resume unless further action is taken.
Permits the division of unclaimed property within the office of the general treasurer to accept miscellaneous intangible property belonging to Rhode Island residents.
Standardizes successor appointment language for various boards and adds language providing that a quorum be a majority of appointed members and the language applies across several healthcare professional boards that currently lack this language.
Maddy summarySB 499 changes how property taxes are calculated for owner-occupied low- and moderate-income housing in Rhode Island. It requires tax assessors to use the property's most recent sales price as its assessed value, rather than the standard full cash value assessment. This directly affects homeowners in qualifying low- and moderate-income housing units who own their homes. The policy aims to provide tax relief by aligning assessments with actual market transactions for these properties.
Updates and expands the current law to include menopause and menopause related conditions in the law on fair employment practices pertaining to pregnancy and pregnancy related conditions.
Increases from 7 days to 9 days the period of time in which a request for a recount of the votes cast can be made to the board of elections and no certificates of election may be issued until the recount, if any, is completed.
Recognizes the program run by the Rhode Island Medical Society or comparable program for physicians, physician assistants, dentists, and podiatrists, to address burnout, substance abuse, and mental and physical health issues.
Maddy summarySB 520 simplifies the process for voters who are indefinitely confined due to illness or disability, or long-term nursing home residents, to automatically receive mail ballots for every election. It allows these voters to apply by signing an affidavit (submitted online via a secretary of state portal or by mail), with the secretary of state maintaining a central list of eligible voters in the voter registration system. Voters must notify local officials if they no longer qualify, leading to removal from the list within five days. The bill also includes a temporary provision (expiring December 2025) enabling eligible disabled voters to return mail ballots electronically, meeting federal accessibility standards.
Maddy summarySB 318 establishes new procedures for Rhode Island to procure energy infrastructure, including transmission for nuclear power, large-scale hydroelectric power, and renewable resources like offshore wind. It authorizes state agencies and utilities to jointly issue competitive solicitations for regional transmission projects and natural gas pipeline capacity to improve energy reliability and security for ratepayers. The bill requires cost-benefit analyses for ratepayer impacts and mandates public utility commission review before binding commitments are made. This affects electric and gas utilities, ratepayers, and regional energy planning entities by creating a structured process for evaluating infrastructure projects.
