Sen. Meghan Kallman

Maddy summarySB 2273 sets a statewide maximum limit of 12 children for licensed family child care homes, overriding local zoning ordinances that previously imposed stricter lower limits. It directly affects family child care providers and municipalities by prohibiting cities/towns from restricting the number of children in these homes below 12. The bill explicitly states this does not change existing state licensing rules under Chapter 12.5 of Title 42, only addressing zoning restrictions. (Section 1(d) of SB 2273)

Maddy summaryThis bill requires licensed alcohol retailers to provide drink lids to customers upon request to help prevent drink spiking. The law mandates that businesses post a specific notice informing patrons about the availability of lids and instructs them to ask staff for details. Retailers may charge a reasonable fee for the lids based on wholesale costs, though they are also allowed to offer them for free. For the first violation of this requirement, including failure to post the notice, the penalty is limited to a warning from the regulatory department.

Amends certain provisions relative to school waste recycling and refuse disposal and requires reports of waste audits by educational entities and reports of program participation by vendors.

Amends the current law on low-income housing to include moderate-income housing and eliminates the income percentages used to determine qualifications for low or moderate income housing.

Requires owners or landlords who rent shoreline property to provide their tenants, before the start of the tenancy, with a detailed, written disclosure regarding public shoreline access rights.

Provides that cities or towns may, by ordinance, designate "special ways" throughout the city or town which would be subject to alternative regulations to preserve its cultural, historic or scenic character.

Requires that the tax imposed upon the conveyance of any real property that is located in more than one municipality to be allocated between or among the municipalities in proportions to the assessed value of the property located in each municipality.

Maddy summaryThis Senate resolution creates a fifteen-member special legislative commission to study how Rhode Island can better educate and retain primary care providers like doctors, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants. The commission will include representatives from medical schools, professional associations, community health centers, and local nonprofits, and it will produce annual reports on access to care and the state's medical education resources. Members serve without pay and will submit their findings and recommendations directly to the President of the Senate. The bill addresses the current shortage of primary care providers in the state by establishing a formal group to investigate workforce challenges and propose solutions.

Clarifies the means by which attached single-family dwelling units may be created, recorded, and regulated as subdivisions of an existing lot under current zoning ordinance law.

Codifies the DCYF operating procedure for the submission and fulfillment of requests for persons involved with the department who request birth, death or marriage certificates.