Requires single-family residential zoning in municipalities with populations of over forty-thousand (40,000) to allow middle housing and mandates that those municipalities adopt zoning regulations for middle housing.
Establishes and funds the SafeRIde program, which provides transportation, free of charge, to persons suspected of having a blood alcohol concentration that prohibits legal operation of a vehicle.
Maddy summarySB 684, titled "AN ACT RELATING TO INSURANCE -- INDIVIDUAL HEALTH INSURANCE COVERAGE--PRIOR AUTHORIZATIONS," proposes to prohibit individual health insurance policies from requiring prior authorization for prescriptions of generic medication. This means that individuals covered by these plans would no longer need their insurer's approval before filling a generic drug prescription. The bill directly affects individuals with individual health insurance coverage and the health insurance carriers that offer these plans by amending existing general laws on individual health insurance.
Requires health insurance policies to cover licensed certified lactation counselor services for childbearing families. It also prohibits requiring supervision or duplicate payments for services and mandates annual reporting.
Maddy summarySB 480 mandates that health insurance plans delivered or renewed in the state must provide coverage for FDA-approved contraceptive drugs, devices, and related services. This includes emergency contraception, voluntary female sterilization procedures, and patient education and counseling. Health insurers must cover at least one therapeutic equivalent of a contraceptive without cost-sharing. If an individual's provider recommends a specific FDA-approved contraceptive for medical reasons, it must be covered without cost-sharing. These benefits extend to covered individuals, their spouses, and dependents, and generally cannot be subject to deductibles, copayments, or coinsurance.
Limits municipal minimum lot sizes for residential use to 2,500 sq ft near transit, 5,000 sq. ft with water/sewer, and 1 acre otherwise, while protecting farmlands, forests, and wetlands, and requiring zoning updates to comply.
Amends several sections of chapter 24 of title 45, entitled "zoning ordinances," also known as the "Rhode Island zoning enabling act of 1991," with the intent of preserving neighborhood character and promoting smart growth.
Requires individual and group health insurance policies that provide pregnancy-related benefits to cover medically necessary expenses for diagnosis and treatment of infertility and standard fertility-preservation services.
Maddy summarySenate Resolution 1032 proclaims the week of May 5th through May 12th of each year as "Composting Awareness Week in the State of Rhode Island." The resolution recognizes the importance of composting for nourishing plants, mitigating climate change, conserving water, preventing pollution, and recycling waste, and encourages its practice by businesses and individuals statewide.
Maddy summarySB 129 amends the Rhode Island Fair Housing Practices Act to expand protections against discrimination in housing. The bill adds "housing status," "lawful source of income," and "military status" (for veterans and servicemembers) as protected characteristics. It also clarifies the definition of "domestic abuse" within the act and defines "assistance animal" and "service animal." This means housing owners and agents are prohibited from inquiring about or discriminating against individuals based on these expanded categories when selling, renting, or leasing housing accommodations.
