Sen. Meghan Kallman

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.

Provides that prisoners who committed offenses prior to age 18 and were sentenced as adults be eligible for parole after completing 15 yrs of their sentence. Would not lengthen parole eligibility should prisoner be eligible for parole earlier than 15 yrs.

Provides for warming center and cooling center alerts to trigger certain procedures municipalities shall follow during extreme heat or cold to help at-risk individuals with resources including, but not limited to, warming and cooling centers.

Clarifies the role of a corporation electing to be governed as a workers' cooperative to allow it to operate as a hiring hall under certain circumstances.

Maddy summarySB 2208 establishes a board of trustees to govern the urban collaborative, which includes Providence and other participating Rhode Island school districts. The board will be appointed by member districts (one member plus one additional for every 30 students attending the collaborative), and it will manage collaborative programs for students needing alternative education services. The bill ensures the collaborative receives state education funding directly and prevents Providence from being removed from the collaborative without its school board's approval during state oversight of Providence schools. It also clarifies that the collaborative qualifies for all state and federal education funding as a school district.

Maddy summaryThis Senate resolution designates May 19, 2026, as Greek and Pontic Genocide Remembrance Day in Rhode Island to honor the victims of the 1913-1923 atrocities committed against Greek populations in the Ottoman Empire. The measure directs the Secretary of State to send a certified copy of the resolution to the President of the Pan-Pontian Federation of the USA and Canada, formally acknowledging the historical event and its survivors. By establishing this specific date for commemoration, the bill aims to ensure the state recognizes the significance of this period in history and pays tribute to the contributions of Greek and Pontic descendants to the community.

Allows for a tenant to withhold payment of rent and deposit the rent accruing into an escrow bearing account, upon the issuance of a second notice of violation by an enforcing officer for any state or local minimum housing code enforcement agency.

Requires a healthcare entity to submit written notice to the attorney general and the department of health of any material change transaction at least 180 days prior to that transaction.

Provides for the operation of and duties imposed on a disposition facility relating to the natural organic reduction for the contained, accelerated conversion of human remains to soil.

Increases the amount of state aid distributed to the towns and cities through appropriation in lieu of property tax provisions applicable to certain private and state properties that are exempt from property tax.