Sen. Ryan Pearson

Mandates public schools (K-12) have one full-time certified social worker for every 250 students and allocates $2 million in the Fiscal Year 2025 budget for school districts and municipalities to hire additional social workers.

Maddy summarySB 2247 amends retirement rules to allow retired state employees to work in specific part-time roles without losing retirement benefits. It permits retired teachers to teach at state colleges (capped at $25,000 annually), retired nurses to provide per diem care at state facilities (capped at 75 working days yearly), and retired driver education instructors to teach (capped at $15,000 annually), with no additional retirement contributions or service credits. Employers must report such employment monthly to the retirement board. The bill also includes other exemptions, like for mayors or school committee members, but these do not grant additional retirement benefits.

Provides that no new charter school application shall be granted, if the proposed school is a network charter school or the expansion of an existing charter school creates a network charter school.

Maddy summaryThis Senate resolution urges Rhode Island state agencies to expand access to retirement advice and guidance for state employees to help them achieve secure retirements. The bill recommends agencies develop programs offering regular workshops, one-on-one counseling from certified financial advisors, decision-support tools, and multiple communication channels for employees. It specifically encourages prioritizing support for employees facing greater retirement challenges and recommends partnering with qualified financial providers to ensure workers understand their hybrid retirement plans. The resolution also calls for measuring program effectiveness through employee engagement data and encourages employees to assess whether they are on track to receive 80 percent of their pre-retirement income.

Maddy summarySB 2167 increases the maximum number of days retired municipal employees in towns and cities can work in a calendar year without losing pension benefits, raising the limit to 90 days. This directly affects current retirees employed by local governments who wish to return to part-time work. The key provision replaces the previous work limit with a new 90-day annual cap for maintaining full pension payments. The bill applies specifically to municipal retirement systems covering employees of incorporated towns and cities.

Maddy summarySB 2319 requires all public meetings involving collective bargaining agreements for school teachers to be open to the public. This overrides the standard exception allowing closed meetings for collective bargaining discussions, as specified in Section 1(e) of the bill. The law directly affects public school districts, school committees, and teachers' unions during contract negotiations. It takes effect immediately upon passage, ensuring transparency in school employment negotiations.

Requires one elector of the parole board to be a person directly impacted by the criminal justice system who has completed the probation/parole process three (3) or more years prior to selection with a professional background in certain enumerated areas.

Maddy summarySB 2303 amends Rhode Island's 2015 Comprehensive Community-Police Relationship Act to require all state and municipal police departments to collect detailed data on every routine traffic stop and vehicle search, including the officer's perception of the driver's race/ethnicity, reason for the stop, and outcome (e.g., citation, arrest, or search). This data must be submitted monthly to the Department of Transportation's Office of Highway Safety for a 48-month period starting in 2027. An independent outside agency chosen by the Department will then conduct an annual statistical study analyzing the data for racial disparities in policing, with findings and quarterly summary reports made public. The bill also mandates police agencies to review data monthly for compliance and annually to address any identified disparities.

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.

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.