Sen. Tiara Mack

Maddy summaryThis bill amends existing law on inclusionary zoning, requiring towns and cities to ensure some developments include affordable housing. It mandates that developments exceeding ten dwelling units must allocate at least fifteen percent (15%) of their units as affordable housing, which must be comparable to market-rate units and remain affordable for at least thirty years. Municipalities can allow developers to meet this requirement through on-site construction, off-site building, land donation, or by paying a fee-in-lieu. The bill also provides a density bonus for on-site affordable housing and specifies how fee-in-lieu payments are calculated, used, and overseen by local authorities or transferred to the Rhode Island Housing and Mortgage Finance Corporation (RIHMFC).

Municipalities required to amend zoning ordinances, to include special listed provisions, to authorize development incentives to increase development density or dimensional flexibility, identify provisions to promote and regulate commercial developments.

Requires cities and towns to permit attached single-family dwellings in any residential zoning districts and each such dwelling would be entitled to its own parcel thorough subdivision regardless lot size or base zone standards.

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.

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 summarySB 21 modifies teacher certification processes in Rhode Island. It automatically extends existing teacher certifications for three or five years, without fees, for those certified by July 1, 2025. To promote recruitment, the bill waives initial teacher certification application and Praxis examination fees for a three-year period starting July 1, 2025. It also allows teachers with at least three years of experience to acquire additional certifications and directs the Department of Education to create more flexible pathways for obtaining teacher and administrator certifications, including recognizing non-traditional experience.