Protect the personal information of judicial officers and their immediate family members who serve or have served the RI unified judicial system, as well as judicial officers who reside in RI and who serve or have served in the federal courts.
Authorizes the establishment of a RI housing champion designation program. This program would make qualified municipalities eligible to receive preferential access to state resources, including discretionary state infrastructure funds, as available.
Adds "providing for residential development in all or some of the areas encompassing commercial districts" as a purpose a zoning ordinance must address.
Adds the process of permitting the construction of attached single-family dwellings in identified zoning districts as a factor that zoning ordinances must address.
Maddy summarySB 559 increases penalties for animal fighting offenses under § 4-1-9. For a second or subsequent conviction, imprisonment increases from up to two years to up to five years, and fines rise to a maximum of $5,000. The bill also mandates mandatory community service: 20 hours for a first offense and 50 hours for repeat offenses, with no option to suspend or defer this requirement. This law directly affects individuals convicted of organizing, hosting, or betting on animal fights, applying to all such cases under the existing cruelty to animals statute.
Repeals the required HIV testing for an individual convicted under chapter 34.1 of title 11 and allows the option for HIV testing for any person convicted under this chapter.
Requires the employers of unionized public school teachers, municipal employees and state employees, to provide the union, at least once every 120 days, a list of all their employees in their union, as well as their personal and demographic information.
Requires payments by the corporation increase from a $3.00 tipping fee per vehicle to a $6.00 tipping fee per vehicle, unless exempt. This act would also require fees be paid to Johnston on an annual rather than a biannual basis.
Maddy summarySB 172 caps interest rates on medical debt at a maximum of 4% annually (and minimum of 1.5%), based on the weekly average Treasury yield published by the Federal Reserve. It directly affects consumers who owe healthcare providers for services, limiting interest charges on new medical debt incurred after the law takes effect. The bill sets the interest rate using the Federal Reserve's weekly Treasury yield data from the week before the consumer received their bill. This policy change applies only to new medical debt, not existing balances.
Maddy summarySB 123 allows municipalities to hold tax amnesty events once every three years, where taxpayers can request waivers for interest and penalties on overdue property and vehicle taxes. Municipalities must create ordinances authorizing two separate 60-day periods (within 2024-2025) for these waivers, requiring written taxpayer requests dated during those periods. The bill prohibits waiving penalties for taxes owed in the same year as the amnesty period and requires written decisions from tax officials with appeal options to local councils. This directly affects local governments and taxpayers with delinquent property or vehicle tax payments.
