Bill Sponsors
Boylan, Handy, Knight, McGaw, Bennett, Potter, Fogarty, Spears, and Speakman
Committee
House Environment and Natural Resources
Summary
Select
This legislation, known as the "Rhode Island Climate Superfund Act of 2026," establishes a cost recovery program to fund climate change adaptation projects. The state Department of Environmental Management will identify major fossil fuel companies responsible for over one billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions between 2000 and 2025. These companies will be assessed a fee based on their proportional share of emissions. The revenue collected will be deposited into a dedicated account to pay for infrastructure improvements, such as flood protection, storm upgrades, and heat mitigation, relieving taxpayers of these costs.
Sponsor
Analysis
Pros for Progressives
- Enforces the "polluter pays" principle by shifting the financial burden of climate adaptation from struggling taxpayers and vulnerable communities to the wealthy fossil fuel corporations responsible for the damage.
- Creates a dedicated funding stream for vital public infrastructure projects, such as flood protection and heat mitigation, which disproportionately benefit low-income and minority communities often hit hardest by climate change.
- Empowers the state to hold powerful corporate entities accountable for historical environmental damages, signaling a commitment to systemic reform and environmental justice.
Cons for Progressives
- Corporations may pass the costs of these fees down to consumers, potentially raising energy and heating prices which would regressively hurt the poor and working class the most.
- The legislation focuses on remedial payments for past emissions rather than mandating an immediate cessation of current fossil fuel extraction or establishing stricter future emission caps.
- Legal challenges from well-funded corporations could delay the implementation for years, preventing immediate relief and funding for urgent climate resilience projects.
Pros for Conservatives
- Theoretically reduces the burden on Rhode Island taxpayers by finding an alternative private-sector revenue source to fund necessary infrastructure repairs and storm hardening.
- Asserts state sovereignty and local control by attempting to manage and mitigate damages to the state's own coastline and economy without relying solely on federal bailouts.
- Funds projects that protect private property, real estate values, and local businesses from the physical threats of flooding and storm surges.
Cons for Conservatives
- Imposes retroactive liability on businesses for activities that were legal at the time, violating fundamental principles of fairness and the rule of law regarding business certainty.
- Likely viewed as government overreach that weaponizes the legal system against specific industries, potentially creating a hostile business environment that drives investment away from the state.
- Will likely result in higher prices for gasoline, electricity, and heating oil for Rhode Island residents and businesses as companies offset the cost of the fees.
Constitutional Concerns
High Risk. The bill subjects out-of-state corporations to retroactive liability for global activities. This raises significant Due Process concerns regarding personal jurisdiction (nexus), as the activity (extraction/refining) likely occurred outside Rhode Island. Furthermore, it risks violating the Dormant Commerce Clause by effectively regulating or penalizing extraterritorial commerce. Although the bill includes a clause regarding "nexus requirements," the attempt to attribute specific local damages to global emissions will face intense scrutiny in federal court.
Impact Overview
Groups Affected
- Fossil Fuel Companies
- Taxpayers
- Coastal Property Owners
- Construction Contractors
- Environmental Organizations
Towns Affected
All
Cost to Taxpayers
None
Revenue Generated
Amount unknown
BillBuddy Impact Ratings
Importance
Measures population affected and overall level of impact.
Freedom Impact
Level of individual freedom impacted by the bill.
Public Services
How much the bill is likely to impact one or more public services.
Regulatory
Estimated regulatory burden imposed on the subject(s) of the bill.
Clarity of Bill Language
How clear the language of the bill is. Higher ambiguity equals a lower score.
Enforcement Provisions
Measures enforcement provisions and penalties for non-compliance (if applicable).
Environmental Impact
Impact the bill will have on the environment, positive or negative.
Privacy Impact
Impact the bill is likely to have on the privacy of individuals.
Bill Status
Current Status
Held
Comm Passed
Floor Passed
Law
History
• 01/07/2026 Introduced, referred to House Environment and Natural Resources
Bill Text
SECTION 1. Legislative findings and purpose.
The general assembly hereby finds and declares the following:
(1) Climate change caused by the combustion of fossil fuels is an immediate and grave threat to the people, environment, natural resources, and economy of the state.
(2) Rising sea levels and temperatures, extreme weather events, flooding, heat waves, droughts, and other climate change effects have harmed or killed countless humans and other living organisms.
(3) Beginning decades ago, major fossil fuel producers engaged in conduct they knew or reasonably should have known would cause or contribute to climate-change-related damages, including sea level rise, storm intensification, and heat impacts.
(4) As a state with over four hundred (400) miles of coastline and an economy dependent on tourism and marine trades, Rhode Island is especially vulnerable to economic and social harms caused by climate change.
(5) All Rhode Islanders are adversely affected by climate change, but harms fall disproportionately on seniors, children, low-income, and minority communities.
(6) The state and municipalities have developed and implemented plans to counteract, mitigate, and prevent the adverse effects of climate change and must continue to do so to protect the health and safety of Rhode Islanders.
(7) The costs of such plans and implementation have fallen and will continue to fall almost exclusively on taxpayers.
(8) The fossil fuel companies whose products caused or contributed to climate-change- related damages should bear a fair and proportionate share of the costs necessary to respond to those harms, consistent with the well-established “polluter pays” and Superfund principles.
(9) This Act is a remedial cost-recovery measure that compensates public entities for expenditures made necessary by the conduct of responsible fossil fuel companies.
(10) Fair shares from these corporations can be accurately determined by analyzing the amounts of “greenhouse gas emissions,” including, but not limited to, carbon dioxide and methane, attributable to their extraction or refining of fossil fuels.
(11) Chapter 6.3 of title 42 shall assist the state and municipalities in making polluters pay and support other private and public efforts to hold them responsible.
(12) More than seventy percent (70%) of the increase in atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations since the Industrial Revolution has occurred since 1950, with a significant acceleration in emissions after the year 2000. By that time, the scientific consensus regarding the causes and impacts of climate change was well established, and the data necessary to attribute proportional responsibility for greenhouse gas emissions during the covered period is scientifically robust.
SECTION 2. Title 42 of the General Laws entitled "STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following chapter: CHAPTER 6.3 RHODE ISLAND CLIMATE SUPERFUND ACT OF 2026
42-6.3.-1. Short title.
This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Rhode Island Climate Superfund Act of 2026”.
42-6.3-2. Definitions.
For purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly requires otherwise:
(1) "Account" means the climate superfund account established pursuant to § 42-6.3-3(e).
(2) “Accepted attribution methodology” means a transparent, scientific approach used to quantify a responsible party’s share of greenhouse gas emissions, that is consistent with methodologies recognized by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ("IPCC") of the United Nations including using the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Emissions Factors for Greenhouse Gas Inventories as applied to the fossil fuel volume data for the purpose of determining LC003571 - Page 2 of 8 the amount of covered greenhouse gas emissions attributable to any entity from the fossil fuel production of that entity.
(3) "Climate change response work" means the planning, design, construction, operation, maintenance, repair, or improvement of projects necessary to protect people, property, natural resources, public health, and the state’s economy from the impacts of climate change, including sea level rise, flooding, storm surge, extreme heat, drought, erosion, and other climate-driven hazards. Climate change response work includes, but is not limited to:
(i) Coastal and flood protection and resilience projects;
(ii) Stormwater management, drainage, and water infrastructure upgrades;
(iii) Heat mitigation, air quality improvement, emergency preparedness, and other hazard- protection measures that safeguard public health;
(iv) Resilient transportation, housing, and community infrastructure;
(v) Energy system resilience, including grid modernization and distributed energy resources;
(vi) Ecosystem, agricultural, forest, watershed, and fisheries restoration or protection projects; and
(vii) Hazard mitigation planning, modeling, monitoring, and early warning systems.
(4) "Cost recovery demand” means a charge asserted against a responsible party for cost recovery payments under the program for payment to the fund.
(5) "Covered greenhouse gas emissions" means the total quantity of greenhouse gasses attributable to a responsible party’s extraction or refining of fossil fuels during the covered period, expressed in metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent.
(6) "Covered period" means the period that began January 1, 2000, to December 31, 2025.
(7) "Department" or “DEM” means the department of environmental management.
(8) "Director" means director of the department of environmental management (DEM).
(9) "Fossil fuel” means coal, petroleum products, bitumen, oil sands, heavy oil, conventional and unconventional oil, shale oil, natural gas liquids, condensates, and related fossil fuels and fuel gasses, including methane, natural gas, liquefied natural gas, and manufactured fuel gasses.
(10) "Greenhouse gas" means any substance that causes or contributes to climate change including, but not limited to, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons and sulfur hexafluoride.
(11) "Program" means the climate superfund cost recovery program established by this chapter. LC003571 - Page 3 of 8
(12) "Qualifying expenditure" means funds authorized by the DEM to be used to pay for climate change response work.
(13) "Responsible party" means any entity (or successor in interest to such entity described in this subsection), which, during any part of the covered period, engaged in the trade or business of extracting or refining fossil fuel or refining crude oil and is determined by the department to be responsible for more than one billion (1,000,000,000) tons of covered greenhouse gas emissions. The term responsible party shall not include any person who lacks sufficient connection with the state to satisfy the nexus requirements of the United States Constitution.
42-6.3-3. Implementation.
(a) Administrative authority.
To implement, enforce, and administer the provisions of this chapter, the department may:
(1) Appoint or engage necessary staff, including full-time equivalent positions and contracted services, consistent with applicable state personnel and procurement laws; and
(2) Adopt rules and regulations pursuant to chapter 35 of title 42 (“administrative procedures”) to implement, enforce, and administer the provisions of this chapter.
(b) Expenditure inventory and report.
Within twelve (12) months of the effective date of this chapter, the department shall identify climate change response work eligible for cost recovery under this chapter undertaken by the state and municipalities or needed in the future and their corresponding expenditures, and provide its report to the public on the department's website.
(c) Proportional liability calculations and demands.
(1) Within eighteen (18) months of the effective date of this chapter, the department shall determine proportional amounts owed by responsible parties for climate change response work during the covered period using accepted attribution methodology and issue cost recovery demands to responsible parties.
(2) The department may adjust the cost recovery demand amount of a responsible party who refined petroleum products or who is a successor in interest to an entity that refines petroleum products if the responsible party establishes to the satisfaction of the department that:
(i) A portion of the cost recovery demand amount was attributable to the refining of crude oil extracted by another responsible party; and
(ii) The crude oil extracted by the other entity was accounted for when the department determined the cost recovery demand amount for the other entity or a successor in interest of the other entity
(d) Information requests. LC003571 - Page 4 of 8
(1) The department may require from any responsible party any information or records needed to administer or enforce this chapter, and responsible parties shall produce all requested materials in a timely manner.
(2) Information may be withheld only if protected by law. The responsible party bears the full burden of proving such protection and shall, at the time of response, identify each withheld portion, cite the legal basis, and briefly explain the claim. Unsubstantiated claims shall require full production.
(e) Climate superfund account.
A climate superfund account shall be established within the office of the general treasurer. The department shall accept and collect payments from responsible parties and deposit them into the established account and shall ensure that funds only be used for qualified expenditures under this program.
(f) Reimbursements
The DEM shall distribute funds to municipalities, tribal governments, and community organizations to reimburse eligible climate change response costs under a transparent and equitable allocation system.
(g) Coordination.
The DEM shall coordinate with the attorney general, department of health, and the office of energy resources to ensure equitable implementation and enforcement.
(h) Other remedies preserved.
Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to supersede or diminish any other remedies available to any person or government entity under common law or statute.
(i) Emergency regulations.
The department may prescribe, adopt, and enforce emergency regulations as necessary to implement, administer, and enforce its duties under this chapter.
42-6.3-4. Liability of responsible parties.
(a) Aggregated entities.
When two (2) or more entities may be treated as a single entity under 26 U.S.C. §§ 52(a), 52(b), 414(m), 414(o), or 1563 (without regard to 26 U.S.C. § 52(c)), they shall share joint and several liability and be treated as a single entity for the purposes of identifying responsible parties.
(b) Payment deadline.
Except as provided in subsection (c)(1), a responsible party shall pay the amount demanded in full within six (6) months after issuance of the cost recovery demand.
(c) Installment payments. LC003571 - Page 5 of 8
(1) The director may implement an installment plan, but no adjustments shall be allowed if the amount demanded is less than one-tenth of one percent (0.1%) of the average total profits of a responsible party over the past five (5) years.
(2) Reasonable interest shall be charged on delayed payments.
(3) The unpaid balance of all installments becomes immediately due if:
(i) A responsible party fails to pay an installment on time;
(ii) A responsible party ceases to do business; or
(iii) Substantially all assets are sold, in which case the buyer assumes liability.
(d) Administrative hearings and appeals.
A responsible party may request reconsideration within thirty (30) days and may appeal a final decision to the superior court within twenty (20) days.
42-6.3-5. Enforcement.
(a) Authority.
The department and the office of the attorney general shall have concurrent authority to enforce this chapter, pursue violations, and recover all costs, penalties, and other relief as provided by law.
(b) Penalties for late payment.
The department may collect penalties for late payment. The late penalty shall accrue daily at ten percent (10%) per annum on the unpaid amount.
(c) Preservation of rights.
This chapter does not preempt any rights or remedies of the state, units of local government, tribal governments, or individuals or groups under common law or any federal or state law.
(d) No preemption of other climate laws.
This chapter does not preempt or supersede any state law or local ordinance regarding greenhouse gasses that:
(1) Limits or enforces emissions standards;
(2) Monitors, reports, or keeps records of emissions;
(3) Collects revenue through fees or levies; or
(4) Conducts or supports investigations.
42-6.3-6. Severability.
If any part of this chapter is adjudged invalid, such judgment shall not affect the remainder of the provisions of this chapter, which shall continue in full force and effect. LC003571 - Page 6 of 8
SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage.
The general assembly hereby finds and declares the following:
(1) Climate change caused by the combustion of fossil fuels is an immediate and grave threat to the people, environment, natural resources, and economy of the state.
(2) Rising sea levels and temperatures, extreme weather events, flooding, heat waves, droughts, and other climate change effects have harmed or killed countless humans and other living organisms.
(3) Beginning decades ago, major fossil fuel producers engaged in conduct they knew or reasonably should have known would cause or contribute to climate-change-related damages, including sea level rise, storm intensification, and heat impacts.
(4) As a state with over four hundred (400) miles of coastline and an economy dependent on tourism and marine trades, Rhode Island is especially vulnerable to economic and social harms caused by climate change.
(5) All Rhode Islanders are adversely affected by climate change, but harms fall disproportionately on seniors, children, low-income, and minority communities.
(6) The state and municipalities have developed and implemented plans to counteract, mitigate, and prevent the adverse effects of climate change and must continue to do so to protect the health and safety of Rhode Islanders.
(7) The costs of such plans and implementation have fallen and will continue to fall almost exclusively on taxpayers.
(8) The fossil fuel companies whose products caused or contributed to climate-change- related damages should bear a fair and proportionate share of the costs necessary to respond to those harms, consistent with the well-established “polluter pays” and Superfund principles.
(9) This Act is a remedial cost-recovery measure that compensates public entities for expenditures made necessary by the conduct of responsible fossil fuel companies.
(10) Fair shares from these corporations can be accurately determined by analyzing the amounts of “greenhouse gas emissions,” including, but not limited to, carbon dioxide and methane, attributable to their extraction or refining of fossil fuels.
(11) Chapter 6.3 of title 42 shall assist the state and municipalities in making polluters pay and support other private and public efforts to hold them responsible.
(12) More than seventy percent (70%) of the increase in atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations since the Industrial Revolution has occurred since 1950, with a significant acceleration in emissions after the year 2000. By that time, the scientific consensus regarding the causes and impacts of climate change was well established, and the data necessary to attribute proportional responsibility for greenhouse gas emissions during the covered period is scientifically robust.
SECTION 2. Title 42 of the General Laws entitled "STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following chapter: CHAPTER 6.3 RHODE ISLAND CLIMATE SUPERFUND ACT OF 2026
42-6.3.-1. Short title.
This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Rhode Island Climate Superfund Act of 2026”.
42-6.3-2. Definitions.
For purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly requires otherwise:
(1) "Account" means the climate superfund account established pursuant to § 42-6.3-3(e).
(2) “Accepted attribution methodology” means a transparent, scientific approach used to quantify a responsible party’s share of greenhouse gas emissions, that is consistent with methodologies recognized by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ("IPCC") of the United Nations including using the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Emissions Factors for Greenhouse Gas Inventories as applied to the fossil fuel volume data for the purpose of determining LC003571 - Page 2 of 8 the amount of covered greenhouse gas emissions attributable to any entity from the fossil fuel production of that entity.
(3) "Climate change response work" means the planning, design, construction, operation, maintenance, repair, or improvement of projects necessary to protect people, property, natural resources, public health, and the state’s economy from the impacts of climate change, including sea level rise, flooding, storm surge, extreme heat, drought, erosion, and other climate-driven hazards. Climate change response work includes, but is not limited to:
(i) Coastal and flood protection and resilience projects;
(ii) Stormwater management, drainage, and water infrastructure upgrades;
(iii) Heat mitigation, air quality improvement, emergency preparedness, and other hazard- protection measures that safeguard public health;
(iv) Resilient transportation, housing, and community infrastructure;
(v) Energy system resilience, including grid modernization and distributed energy resources;
(vi) Ecosystem, agricultural, forest, watershed, and fisheries restoration or protection projects; and
(vii) Hazard mitigation planning, modeling, monitoring, and early warning systems.
(4) "Cost recovery demand” means a charge asserted against a responsible party for cost recovery payments under the program for payment to the fund.
(5) "Covered greenhouse gas emissions" means the total quantity of greenhouse gasses attributable to a responsible party’s extraction or refining of fossil fuels during the covered period, expressed in metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent.
(6) "Covered period" means the period that began January 1, 2000, to December 31, 2025.
(7) "Department" or “DEM” means the department of environmental management.
(8) "Director" means director of the department of environmental management (DEM).
(9) "Fossil fuel” means coal, petroleum products, bitumen, oil sands, heavy oil, conventional and unconventional oil, shale oil, natural gas liquids, condensates, and related fossil fuels and fuel gasses, including methane, natural gas, liquefied natural gas, and manufactured fuel gasses.
(10) "Greenhouse gas" means any substance that causes or contributes to climate change including, but not limited to, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons and sulfur hexafluoride.
(11) "Program" means the climate superfund cost recovery program established by this chapter. LC003571 - Page 3 of 8
(12) "Qualifying expenditure" means funds authorized by the DEM to be used to pay for climate change response work.
(13) "Responsible party" means any entity (or successor in interest to such entity described in this subsection), which, during any part of the covered period, engaged in the trade or business of extracting or refining fossil fuel or refining crude oil and is determined by the department to be responsible for more than one billion (1,000,000,000) tons of covered greenhouse gas emissions. The term responsible party shall not include any person who lacks sufficient connection with the state to satisfy the nexus requirements of the United States Constitution.
42-6.3-3. Implementation.
(a) Administrative authority.
To implement, enforce, and administer the provisions of this chapter, the department may:
(1) Appoint or engage necessary staff, including full-time equivalent positions and contracted services, consistent with applicable state personnel and procurement laws; and
(2) Adopt rules and regulations pursuant to chapter 35 of title 42 (“administrative procedures”) to implement, enforce, and administer the provisions of this chapter.
(b) Expenditure inventory and report.
Within twelve (12) months of the effective date of this chapter, the department shall identify climate change response work eligible for cost recovery under this chapter undertaken by the state and municipalities or needed in the future and their corresponding expenditures, and provide its report to the public on the department's website.
(c) Proportional liability calculations and demands.
(1) Within eighteen (18) months of the effective date of this chapter, the department shall determine proportional amounts owed by responsible parties for climate change response work during the covered period using accepted attribution methodology and issue cost recovery demands to responsible parties.
(2) The department may adjust the cost recovery demand amount of a responsible party who refined petroleum products or who is a successor in interest to an entity that refines petroleum products if the responsible party establishes to the satisfaction of the department that:
(i) A portion of the cost recovery demand amount was attributable to the refining of crude oil extracted by another responsible party; and
(ii) The crude oil extracted by the other entity was accounted for when the department determined the cost recovery demand amount for the other entity or a successor in interest of the other entity
(d) Information requests. LC003571 - Page 4 of 8
(1) The department may require from any responsible party any information or records needed to administer or enforce this chapter, and responsible parties shall produce all requested materials in a timely manner.
(2) Information may be withheld only if protected by law. The responsible party bears the full burden of proving such protection and shall, at the time of response, identify each withheld portion, cite the legal basis, and briefly explain the claim. Unsubstantiated claims shall require full production.
(e) Climate superfund account.
A climate superfund account shall be established within the office of the general treasurer. The department shall accept and collect payments from responsible parties and deposit them into the established account and shall ensure that funds only be used for qualified expenditures under this program.
(f) Reimbursements
The DEM shall distribute funds to municipalities, tribal governments, and community organizations to reimburse eligible climate change response costs under a transparent and equitable allocation system.
(g) Coordination.
The DEM shall coordinate with the attorney general, department of health, and the office of energy resources to ensure equitable implementation and enforcement.
(h) Other remedies preserved.
Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to supersede or diminish any other remedies available to any person or government entity under common law or statute.
(i) Emergency regulations.
The department may prescribe, adopt, and enforce emergency regulations as necessary to implement, administer, and enforce its duties under this chapter.
42-6.3-4. Liability of responsible parties.
(a) Aggregated entities.
When two (2) or more entities may be treated as a single entity under 26 U.S.C. §§ 52(a), 52(b), 414(m), 414(o), or 1563 (without regard to 26 U.S.C. § 52(c)), they shall share joint and several liability and be treated as a single entity for the purposes of identifying responsible parties.
(b) Payment deadline.
Except as provided in subsection (c)(1), a responsible party shall pay the amount demanded in full within six (6) months after issuance of the cost recovery demand.
(c) Installment payments. LC003571 - Page 5 of 8
(1) The director may implement an installment plan, but no adjustments shall be allowed if the amount demanded is less than one-tenth of one percent (0.1%) of the average total profits of a responsible party over the past five (5) years.
(2) Reasonable interest shall be charged on delayed payments.
(3) The unpaid balance of all installments becomes immediately due if:
(i) A responsible party fails to pay an installment on time;
(ii) A responsible party ceases to do business; or
(iii) Substantially all assets are sold, in which case the buyer assumes liability.
(d) Administrative hearings and appeals.
A responsible party may request reconsideration within thirty (30) days and may appeal a final decision to the superior court within twenty (20) days.
42-6.3-5. Enforcement.
(a) Authority.
The department and the office of the attorney general shall have concurrent authority to enforce this chapter, pursue violations, and recover all costs, penalties, and other relief as provided by law.
(b) Penalties for late payment.
The department may collect penalties for late payment. The late penalty shall accrue daily at ten percent (10%) per annum on the unpaid amount.
(c) Preservation of rights.
This chapter does not preempt any rights or remedies of the state, units of local government, tribal governments, or individuals or groups under common law or any federal or state law.
(d) No preemption of other climate laws.
This chapter does not preempt or supersede any state law or local ordinance regarding greenhouse gasses that:
(1) Limits or enforces emissions standards;
(2) Monitors, reports, or keeps records of emissions;
(3) Collects revenue through fees or levies; or
(4) Conducts or supports investigations.
42-6.3-6. Severability.
If any part of this chapter is adjudged invalid, such judgment shall not affect the remainder of the provisions of this chapter, which shall continue in full force and effect. LC003571 - Page 6 of 8
SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage.