Sen. Bob Britto

Maddy summarySenate Bill 184 amends the rules for individuals receiving state retirement benefits who wish to work after retirement. It expands the part-time employment options available to retired state employees and teachers at state colleges and universities. The bill allows these retirees to take on roles such as classroom instruction, academic advising, or coaching, and permits retired nurses to serve as nursing faculty. They can do so without losing their retirement benefits, provided their gross pay for such work does not exceed specified annual limits, such as $18,000 for general instruction. No additional service credits are granted for this post-retirement employment.

Maddy summarySB 298 increases penalties for various motor vehicle offenses. It raises the maximum imprisonment for "driving so as to endanger, resulting in death" from 10 to 20 years, and for "driving so as to endanger, resulting in serious bodily injury" from 5 to 10 years. For first-time convictions of "driving under the influence, resulting in death," the bill increases maximum imprisonment to 30 years and maximum fines to $20,000. Additionally, for first-time "driving under the influence, resulting in serious bodily injury," maximum imprisonment rises to 20 years, maximum fines to $10,000, and license revocation periods increase from up to 2 years to 3-5 years.

Requires the state building commissioner to implement electronic permitting for any category of state or local permit authorized under state law to significantly impact the expediency of construction and development.

Changes the teacher and state employees' retirement benefit calculations' cutoff date from July 1, 2024, to July 1, 2012, for all retirement members eligible to and who retire on or after the new July 1, 2012, cutoff date.

Maddy summarySenate Bill 659 proposes to revise how retirement allowances are calculated for teachers, state employees, and municipal employees. The bill introduces new formulas and percentage allowances based on an employee's years of service and the date their membership in the retirement system began. It also modifies the period of compensation used to determine a retirement allowance, shifting between three and five highest consecutive years depending on the employee's retirement eligibility and date. These changes would apply to different groups of employees based on their service dates and retirement timelines, with some provisions taking effect as late as July 1, 2025.

Extends provisions of an existing collective bargaining agreement for municipal police arbitration purposes until a successor agreement is reached or an interest arbitration award is rendered.

Includes any costs paid by an enrollee or on behalf of the enrollee by a third party when calculating an enrollee’s overall contribution to any out-of-pocket maximum or cost sharing requirement under a health plan as of January 1, 2026.

Maddy summarySenate Resolution 1034 supports the recognition of the Pokanoket Tribe as the ancient and ongoing stewards of their ancestral homeland and acknowledges their central role in shaping the region. It honors the tribe's ancestors and descendants, committing to promote and protect their cultural heritage, sacred lands, and rightful place in Rhode Island history.

Maddy summarySenate Resolution 1033 proclaims May 10, 2025, as "Lupus Day" in the State of Rhode Island to raise awareness about the autoimmune disease. The resolution also encourages charitable donations to organizations like the Lupus Foundation of America that are involved in lupus research and patient services.

Increases the Rhode Island earned-income credit to twenty percent (20%) on January 1, 2026. Such credit would not exceed the amount of state income tax.