Latest Bills
Bill # Title Summary January 14th, 2026 H7064 Business and Professions -- Mental Health Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists Reduces required clinical hours for marriage and family therapist licenses and simplifies reciprocity for out-of-state therapists. H7065 Health and Safety -- Truth in Food Disclosure Law Starting in 2030, all beverages sold in Rhode Island must contain 50% less added sugar than they did in 2026. H7066 Insurance -- Casualty Insurance Generally -- Limitations on Policy Cancellations and Renewals Requires insurers to give two months' notice for non-renewals or rate hikes over 20% starting September 2026. H7067 Businesses and Professions -- Real Estate Sales Disclosures This bill adds home energy audit results and public shoreline access rights to the mandatory real estate sales disclosure form. H7068 State Affairs and Government -- Energy Facility Siting Act This legislation updates energy facility siting rules to require consideration of climate change goals and modern grid-enhancing technologies. H7069 State Affairs and Government -- Energy Facility Siting Act This bill removes natural gas and clean coal from the state's priority list for new energy facilities, prioritizing only renewable energy. H7070 Businesses and Professions -- Funeral Director/embalmer and Funeral Service Establishments This bill legalizes water cremation and human composting as regulated options for handling human remains in Rhode Island. H7071 Agriculture and Forestry -- Protection of Trees and Plants Generally -- Rhode Island Invasive Plant Management Act This bill prohibits buying, selling, or transporting invasive non-native plants on land or in fresh water in Rhode Island. H7072 Agriculture and Forestry -- Agricultural Functions of Department of Environmental Management This bill redefines "farmer" and "agricultural land," removing income requirements for wetland exemptions and requiring USDA identification. H7073 Health and Safety -- Prohibited Release of Balloons This bill establishes fines for releasing balloons and empowers the Department of Environmental Management to enforce the ban and educate the public. H7074 Highways -- Construction and Maintenance of State Roads This legislation requires the Department of Transportation to plant native, pollinator-friendly vegetation along state roads and highways. H7075 Insurance -- Accident and Sickness Insurance Policies -- The Matthew Federico Diabetic Safety Act This bill requires health insurers to cover two doses of emergency diabetes medication annually without copays or deductibles starting in 2027. H7076 Businesses and Professions -- Certified Surgical First Assistants Act This bill creates a new professional license and government oversight board for surgical assistants who help doctors during operations. H7078 Military Affairs and Defense -- National Guard This bill increases the state reimbursement limit for National Guard life insurance premiums from $400,000 to $500,000 coverage. H7079 Criminal Procedure -- Expungement of Criminal Records This bill allows individuals with two to four non-violent felony convictions to expunge their records after fifteen years. H7080 Commercial Law -- General Regulatory Provisions -- Third-Party Litigation Financing Consumer Protection Act This legislation regulates lawsuit funding companies, requiring registration, contract transparency, and mandatory disclosure of funding agreements to opposing parties. H7081 Health and Safety -- Next Generation Public Buildings Act Starting in 2028, new government buildings and schools cannot use fossil fuels for heating and must meet strict energy codes. H7082 Labor and Labor Relations -- Municipal Employees' Arbitration This bill makes arbitration decisions binding on municipal wages and ensures expired contract terms continue until a new agreement is reached. H7083 Towns and Cities -- General Powers This bill allows Cranston to create a specialized court division to enforce housing, zoning, and building code regulations. H7084 Taxation -- Property Subject to Taxation Authorizes all municipalities to grant property tax exemptions to any honorably discharged veteran, regardless of service dates or conflict participation. H7085 Motor and Other Vehicles -- Registration of Vehicles This bill prohibits the issuance of new Mr. Potato Head license plates and prevents existing plates from being transferred. H7086 State Affairs and Government -- State Emblems This bill designates rhythm and blues as the official state music of Rhode Island. H7087 Motor and Other Vehicles -- Registration of Vehicles This bill creates a new specialty license plate honoring Governor Roger Williams available to vehicle owners for an extra fee. H7088 Motor and Other Vehicles -- Registration of Vehicles Establishes a special vehicle license plate to fund the Rhode Island Fire Chiefs Honor Flight Hub for veterans. H7089 Elections -- Nomination of Party and Independent Candidates This bill moves the state primary election to an earlier date and adjusts candidate filing deadlines starting in 2028. H7090 Elections -- Primaries for Election of Delegates to National Conventions and for Presidential Preference Sets the 2024 presidential primary for April 2 and moves future primaries to early March starting in 2028. H7091 Elections -- General Provisions Municipalities may allow sixteen and seventeen-year-olds to vote specifically in local school committee elections. H7092 Elections -- Primaries for Election of Delegates to National Conventions and for Presidential Preference This bill lowers signature requirements for convention delegates and adjusts deadliness for submitting election nomination paperwork. H7093 State Affairs and Government -- The Civil Rights Act of 1990 This bill adopts the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of anti-Semitism for use in state discrimination investigations. H7094 Military Affairs and Defense -- Decorations This bill creates a state medal to honor Rhode Island veterans who developed illnesses due to toxic exposure during military service. H7095 Military Affairs and Defense -- Burial of Veterans Allows Secret War fighters who supported the U.S. in Laos to be buried in the state veterans cemetery. H7096 Motor and Other Vehicles -- Registration Fees This bill allows veterans deemed "individually unemployable" due to service-related disabilities to register their cars for free. H7097 Motor and Other Vehicles -- Registration of Vehicles This bill eliminates registration fees and service charges for license plates issued to Distinguished Service Cross recipients. H7098 Motor and Other Vehicles -- Registration of Vehicles This bill eliminates all registration fees and service charges for special license plates for Rhode Island National Guard members. H7099 Parks and Recreational Areas -- General Provisions -- Preference for Residents Rhode Island residents get priority booking for state parks, and fully disabled veterans receive half-price camping and facility fees. H7100 Public Officers and Employees -- Retirement System-- Contributions and Benefits This bill raises the annual earnings limit for retired teachers working as driver education instructors from $15,000 to $25,000. January 9th, 2026 H7020 Businesses and Professions -- Veterinary Practice This bill authorizes veterinarians to treat animals and issue limited prescriptions using video-based telemedicine technology. H7021 Health and Safety -- Retail Establishments-Vehicle Safety Barriers Stores must install strong barriers like posts or planters to protect people on sidewalks and near entrances from moving cars. H7022 Commercial Law -- General Regulatory Provisions -- Unfair Sales Practices Businesses charging credit card fees must post clear notices of the cost at registers and on menus by 2027. H7023 Education -- Cooperative Service Among School Districts This bill updates the leadership structure of the Urban Collaborative and allows it to receive funding like a school district. H7024 Education -- Cooperative Service Among School Districts Revises the governance structure and funding eligibility for the urban collaborative alternative education program. H7025 Education -- School Committees and Superintendents This bill mandates that school committees provide transportation for students living two or more miles from school. H7026 Education -- The Nathan Bruno and Jason Flatt Act Middle and high schools must place suicide and substance abuse hotline numbers on student and staff identification cards. H7027 Education -- Health and Safety of Pupils This bill mandates middle and high schools implement cardiac emergency plans and provide accessible defibrillators by 2027. H7029 Businesses and Professions -- Nurses This bill creates standards, training requirements, and licensing exemptions for nurses providing professional foot care in patients' homes. H7030 Health and Safety -- Healthcare Worker Platform Act Establishes licensing and definitions for digital apps connecting healthcare workers to shifts, separating them from staffing agency regulations. H7032 Education -- Student Computer Device Privacy Schools are banned from spying on students via cameras, microphones, or GPS on school devices, with limited safety exceptions. H7033 Courts and Civil Procedure -- Procedure Generally -- Judgments, Orders, and Decrees Changes lawsuit interest rates from a fixed 12% to a variable federal rate and starts interest upon filing. H7034 Property -- Rhode Island Fair Housing Practices Act This bill prohibits landlords and lenders from discriminating against housing applicants based on their prior incarceration or criminal history. H7035 Criminal Offenses -- Weapons This bill limits individuals to purchasing or possessing only one firearm every thirty days, with exceptions for police and collectors.
| Bill # | Title | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| January 14th, 2026 | ||
| H7064 | Business and Professions -- Mental Health Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists | Reduces required clinical hours for marriage and family therapist licenses and simplifies reciprocity for out-of-state therapists. |
| H7065 | Health and Safety -- Truth in Food Disclosure Law | Starting in 2030, all beverages sold in Rhode Island must contain 50% less added sugar than they did in 2026. |
| H7066 | Insurance -- Casualty Insurance Generally -- Limitations on Policy Cancellations and Renewals | Requires insurers to give two months' notice for non-renewals or rate hikes over 20% starting September 2026. |
| H7067 | Businesses and Professions -- Real Estate Sales Disclosures | This bill adds home energy audit results and public shoreline access rights to the mandatory real estate sales disclosure form. |
| H7068 | State Affairs and Government -- Energy Facility Siting Act | This legislation updates energy facility siting rules to require consideration of climate change goals and modern grid-enhancing technologies. |
| H7069 | State Affairs and Government -- Energy Facility Siting Act | This bill removes natural gas and clean coal from the state's priority list for new energy facilities, prioritizing only renewable energy. |
| H7070 | Businesses and Professions -- Funeral Director/embalmer and Funeral Service Establishments | This bill legalizes water cremation and human composting as regulated options for handling human remains in Rhode Island. |
| H7071 | Agriculture and Forestry -- Protection of Trees and Plants Generally -- Rhode Island Invasive Plant Management Act | This bill prohibits buying, selling, or transporting invasive non-native plants on land or in fresh water in Rhode Island. |
| H7072 | Agriculture and Forestry -- Agricultural Functions of Department of Environmental Management | This bill redefines "farmer" and "agricultural land," removing income requirements for wetland exemptions and requiring USDA identification. |
| H7073 | Health and Safety -- Prohibited Release of Balloons | This bill establishes fines for releasing balloons and empowers the Department of Environmental Management to enforce the ban and educate the public. |
| H7074 | Highways -- Construction and Maintenance of State Roads | This legislation requires the Department of Transportation to plant native, pollinator-friendly vegetation along state roads and highways. |
| H7075 | Insurance -- Accident and Sickness Insurance Policies -- The Matthew Federico Diabetic Safety Act | This bill requires health insurers to cover two doses of emergency diabetes medication annually without copays or deductibles starting in 2027. |
| H7076 | Businesses and Professions -- Certified Surgical First Assistants Act | This bill creates a new professional license and government oversight board for surgical assistants who help doctors during operations. |
| H7078 | Military Affairs and Defense -- National Guard | This bill increases the state reimbursement limit for National Guard life insurance premiums from $400,000 to $500,000 coverage. |
| H7079 | Criminal Procedure -- Expungement of Criminal Records | This bill allows individuals with two to four non-violent felony convictions to expunge their records after fifteen years. |
| H7080 | Commercial Law -- General Regulatory Provisions -- Third-Party Litigation Financing Consumer Protection Act | This legislation regulates lawsuit funding companies, requiring registration, contract transparency, and mandatory disclosure of funding agreements to opposing parties. |
| H7081 | Health and Safety -- Next Generation Public Buildings Act | Starting in 2028, new government buildings and schools cannot use fossil fuels for heating and must meet strict energy codes. |
| H7082 | Labor and Labor Relations -- Municipal Employees' Arbitration | This bill makes arbitration decisions binding on municipal wages and ensures expired contract terms continue until a new agreement is reached. |
| H7083 | Towns and Cities -- General Powers | This bill allows Cranston to create a specialized court division to enforce housing, zoning, and building code regulations. |
| H7084 | Taxation -- Property Subject to Taxation | Authorizes all municipalities to grant property tax exemptions to any honorably discharged veteran, regardless of service dates or conflict participation. |
| H7085 | Motor and Other Vehicles -- Registration of Vehicles | This bill prohibits the issuance of new Mr. Potato Head license plates and prevents existing plates from being transferred. |
| H7086 | State Affairs and Government -- State Emblems | This bill designates rhythm and blues as the official state music of Rhode Island. |
| H7087 | Motor and Other Vehicles -- Registration of Vehicles | This bill creates a new specialty license plate honoring Governor Roger Williams available to vehicle owners for an extra fee. |
| H7088 | Motor and Other Vehicles -- Registration of Vehicles | Establishes a special vehicle license plate to fund the Rhode Island Fire Chiefs Honor Flight Hub for veterans. |
| H7089 | Elections -- Nomination of Party and Independent Candidates | This bill moves the state primary election to an earlier date and adjusts candidate filing deadlines starting in 2028. |
| H7090 | Elections -- Primaries for Election of Delegates to National Conventions and for Presidential Preference | Sets the 2024 presidential primary for April 2 and moves future primaries to early March starting in 2028. |
| H7091 | Elections -- General Provisions | Municipalities may allow sixteen and seventeen-year-olds to vote specifically in local school committee elections. |
| H7092 | Elections -- Primaries for Election of Delegates to National Conventions and for Presidential Preference | This bill lowers signature requirements for convention delegates and adjusts deadliness for submitting election nomination paperwork. |
| H7093 | State Affairs and Government -- The Civil Rights Act of 1990 | This bill adopts the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of anti-Semitism for use in state discrimination investigations. |
| H7094 | Military Affairs and Defense -- Decorations | This bill creates a state medal to honor Rhode Island veterans who developed illnesses due to toxic exposure during military service. |
| H7095 | Military Affairs and Defense -- Burial of Veterans | Allows Secret War fighters who supported the U.S. in Laos to be buried in the state veterans cemetery. |
| H7096 | Motor and Other Vehicles -- Registration Fees | This bill allows veterans deemed "individually unemployable" due to service-related disabilities to register their cars for free. |
| H7097 | Motor and Other Vehicles -- Registration of Vehicles | This bill eliminates registration fees and service charges for license plates issued to Distinguished Service Cross recipients. |
| H7098 | Motor and Other Vehicles -- Registration of Vehicles | This bill eliminates all registration fees and service charges for special license plates for Rhode Island National Guard members. |
| H7099 | Parks and Recreational Areas -- General Provisions -- Preference for Residents | Rhode Island residents get priority booking for state parks, and fully disabled veterans receive half-price camping and facility fees. |
| H7100 | Public Officers and Employees -- Retirement System-- Contributions and Benefits | This bill raises the annual earnings limit for retired teachers working as driver education instructors from $15,000 to $25,000. |
| January 9th, 2026 | ||
| H7020 | Businesses and Professions -- Veterinary Practice | This bill authorizes veterinarians to treat animals and issue limited prescriptions using video-based telemedicine technology. |
| H7021 | Health and Safety -- Retail Establishments-Vehicle Safety Barriers | Stores must install strong barriers like posts or planters to protect people on sidewalks and near entrances from moving cars. |
| H7022 | Commercial Law -- General Regulatory Provisions -- Unfair Sales Practices | Businesses charging credit card fees must post clear notices of the cost at registers and on menus by 2027. |
| H7023 | Education -- Cooperative Service Among School Districts | This bill updates the leadership structure of the Urban Collaborative and allows it to receive funding like a school district. |
| H7024 | Education -- Cooperative Service Among School Districts | Revises the governance structure and funding eligibility for the urban collaborative alternative education program. |
| H7025 | Education -- School Committees and Superintendents | This bill mandates that school committees provide transportation for students living two or more miles from school. |
| H7026 | Education -- The Nathan Bruno and Jason Flatt Act | Middle and high schools must place suicide and substance abuse hotline numbers on student and staff identification cards. |
| H7027 | Education -- Health and Safety of Pupils | This bill mandates middle and high schools implement cardiac emergency plans and provide accessible defibrillators by 2027. |
| H7029 | Businesses and Professions -- Nurses | This bill creates standards, training requirements, and licensing exemptions for nurses providing professional foot care in patients' homes. |
| H7030 | Health and Safety -- Healthcare Worker Platform Act | Establishes licensing and definitions for digital apps connecting healthcare workers to shifts, separating them from staffing agency regulations. |
| H7032 | Education -- Student Computer Device Privacy | Schools are banned from spying on students via cameras, microphones, or GPS on school devices, with limited safety exceptions. |
| H7033 | Courts and Civil Procedure -- Procedure Generally -- Judgments, Orders, and Decrees | Changes lawsuit interest rates from a fixed 12% to a variable federal rate and starts interest upon filing. |
| H7034 | Property -- Rhode Island Fair Housing Practices Act | This bill prohibits landlords and lenders from discriminating against housing applicants based on their prior incarceration or criminal history. |
| H7035 | Criminal Offenses -- Weapons | This bill limits individuals to purchasing or possessing only one firearm every thirty days, with exceptions for police and collectors. |