Requires verification of an applicant's date of birth and either a Rhode Island driver's license number or state identification number on all applications seeking mail ballots and emergency mail ballots.
Permits students at failing schools to enroll in any public school and also established the Rhode Island education revitalization fund to provide funding to the school choice program.
Establishes the E-Verify compliance program which would require all non-governmental employers within the state with 3 or more employees to apply to participate in the federal E-Verify program and to agree to participate in the program, if accepted.
Maddy summarySB 2353 prohibits force-feeding poultry (such as ducks or geese) to produce products like foie gras and bans the sale of such force-fed poultry products or food containing them within Rhode Island. It directly affects producers of force-fed poultry products and businesses selling them, including restaurants listing "foie gras" on menus. The bill establishes a rebuttable presumption that any item labeled or listed as "foie gras" is a force-fed product, requiring sellers to prove otherwise with documentation. Violations carry a $500 civil penalty per offense, with enforcement handled by local authorities or the state health department, effective January 1, 2027.
Maddy summaryThis bill proposes a constitutional amendment granting the governor a line item veto specifically on budget and money-related bills. It would allow the governor to reduce or disapprove individual spending items within appropriations while approving the rest of the bill, rather than vetoing entire bills. The legislature would then need to separately reconsider each rejected item to override the veto, with specific rules preventing the governor from altering wording or creating new sentences through partial vetoes. If approved by voters, this change would replace the current constitutional language governing gubernatorial vetoes.
Exempts from the sales tax eligible school supplies, costing less than $30.00, purchased within one week prior to the commencement of the academic year.
Requires the department of transportation, in consultation with the department of environmental management also to conduct an environmental impact study of motor vehicle non-exhaust particle emissions.
Requires healthcare facilities that perform abortions meet the license requirements of similar healthcare facilities and allows the department of health to conduct unannounced inspections.
Requires as part of the solar permit application an assessment on carbon-neutral, a solar permit would only be approved if it was carbon neutral based on the assessment.
Maddy summaryThis bill appropriates $100,000 from the state treasury for the Rhode Island Commission on Prejudice and Bias for fiscal year 2026-2027. The funds will support the Commission’s existing work studying prejudice and bias, providing hate crime training to law enforcement and community groups, receiving hate crime reports, and advising state officials. The Commission, established in 1981, serves all Rhode Islanders and has been impacted by reduced federal and state funding. This resolution directly provides financial support to maintain the Commission’s ongoing operations.
