1. H7817: Eliminates the Rhode Island Health Benefits Exchange and transfers its responsibilities to the Federal Government. (H Finance; Wed, May 28)

2. S2988: Reduces the corporate tax rate in Rhode Island from 9% to 7%, while implementing “combined reporting”. Combined reporting is described in the bill as a formula for apportioning Rhode Island’s share of taxable income from C-corporations that “deriv[e] income from sources both within and outside of this state, or engag[e] in any activities or transactions both within and outside of this state for the purpose of profit or gain”. (S Finance; Tue, May 27) Note that this bill has a pretty influential set of primary sponsors.

3. S2143: Increases the estate tax threshold from $850K to $1.5M, but continues the practice of taxing the entire amount of an estate with a value greater than the threshold, and not just the amount above the threshold. (S Finance; Tue, May 27)

4. H7433: “The percentage of a charter public school’s housing costs reimbursed with state aid shall be equal to the percentage of school housing costs reimbursed with state aid for the municipality where a charter public school is located”. (H Finance; Tue, May 27) This bill seems designed to perpetuate the kinds of legacy distortions in RI education policies that charter schools are supposed to help break free from.

5. S2976: The Comprehensive Community-Police Relationship Act of 2014 which, among other things, outlaws stop-and-frisk procedures, requires specific, detailed information to be logged about motor vehicle or pedestrian stops, requires many motor vehicle stops to be directly recorded, and extends warrant requirements to searches involving juveniles (S Judiciary; Tue, May 27)

6. H7983: Allows the division of taxation to enter into contracts with private organizations (or individual people), providing them with tax-credits in return “for engaging in certified rehabilitation of a manufacturing facility”. (H Finance; Tue, May 27) Implementing a system where people can change their tax liability by dealing directly with a government bureaucracy seems like an odd way to approach the problem of tax-incentives, and one that has substantial potential for unintended consequences. Is this kind of system used anywhere else?

7. S2853: Eliminates the the tax on ride-sharing services (such as Uber) by exempting rides that are “prearranged, and for which the rate is disclosed to the passenger in advance through a software application” from the public motor-vehicle tax. (S Commerce; Tue, May 27)

8. S2490: Removes the requirement of 20-years of service being necessary for a state police officer to be eligible to retire with a pension equal to 50% of his or her salary. (S Finance; Tue, May 27)

Can’t Rank This One Until It’s Known What Projects It’s Targeted At: S2989: Substantial package of tax-incentives for the “substantial rehabilitation” of buildings in an economic micro-zone. Micro-zones would be designated by town/city governments within their borders, and the RI Commerce Corporation would approve projects for incentives, according to criteria laid out in the law, within a designated micro-zone. (S Finance; Thu, May 29) Putting the Commerce Corporation in charge of handing out big, targeted incentives is a red flag on this bill.

9. S2276: Sets the bonus for regionalized districts in the state education aid “funding formula” at 2% (instead of zeroing it out, as existing law does). (S Finance; Tue, May 27)

10. S3017: Designates about 90 streets in the City of Providence as state highways and makes the state director of transportation responsible for their “maintenance cost, reconstruction, snow and ice removal, construction”, and their “adjoining curbs, and sidewalks, drainage, and…traffic signals”. (S Finance; Thu, May 29)

11. S2318: Applies a 10% supplemental sales tax on firearms and ammunition, with the proceeds to be used “for grants to nonprofit organizations whose mission includes a commitment to the reduction of crime and violence in the community” (S Finance; Thu, May 29) Since this bill makes appropriations to private organizations, it requires a 2/3 majority to pass.

12. S2049: Allows the General Treasurer to withhold non-education state-aid “to any municipality that does not fully fund their annual required contribution (ARC) to any locally administered pension plan that the municipality and/or its employees participates in”. “Such funds may be held for a period of up to one year commencing from the date said funds are deposited, at the end of which time the funds plus any interest earned thereon shall be deposited by the general treasurer directly into the town’s locally administered pension plan.” (S Finance; Thu, May 29)

13. H7245: Adds a 2% income tax on all incomes over $250,000 and restores “general revenue sharing” with cities and towns, fixing its total amount at 3% “of total state tax revenues”. (S Commerce; Tue, May 27) Keep in mind in any discussion about “general revenue sharing” that at the time it was eliminated it was not the main subsidy provided to cities and towns by the state, which is education aid.

14. S2773: “No retired municipal member of the employees’ retirement system of Rhode Island, any locally administered plan, or any plan established by a municipality for its employees, who is convicted of any offense punishable by life in prison, shall be entitled to a public pension or annuity during the member’s period of incarceration” Also, S2982 gives the Superior Court jurisdiction over “claims, petitions, appeals or other proceedings initiated pursuant to any municipal ordinance providing for the revocation or reduction of the pension of any municipal employee upon conviction of a crime, or for other circumstances constituting dishonorable service”. (S Finance; Thu, May 29)

15. S2815: “The commission on standards and training shall prepare and publish clearly defined standards for competency related to emergency certification and protocols for police officers responding to, handling, investigating, and reporting all incidents involving any person requiring a higher level of mental health literacy”. (S Judiciary; Tue, May 27)

16. H7922: “Volunteer fire departments responding to emergencies along Route 95 in Rhode Island shall be reimbursed from the Rhode Island general fund”. (H Finance; Tue, May 27)

17. S2315: Requires any “commercial food wholesaler or distributor, industrial food manufacturer or processor, supermarket, resort or conference center, banquet hall, restaurant, educational or religious institution, research institution, military installation, prison, corporation, hospital or other medical care institution, [or] casino” in Rhode Island that generates more than 104 tons per year of organic waste to “ensure that the organic waste materials…are recycled at an authorized, composting facility, or anaerobic digestion facility”. (S Environment and Agriculture; Wed, May 28)

18. S2497: Appropriates $3.4M for a “housing rental subsidy program” and $439K for “homeless prevention and assistance”. (S Finance; Thu, May 29)

19. S2145: Adds “military retirement income, including retirement income from the regular armed forces, reserves and national guard, paid by the United States or by this state to persons sixty-five (65) years and older, commencing January 1, 2014 including any survivorship annuities” to the section of the law titled “Rhode Island income of a resident individual”. (S Finance; Tue, May 27) Most of the sections of this law are clear about whether they are adding or subtracting from Federal gross adjusted income calculation; this would be a section unto its own, where the direction of the change isn’t immediately made clear.

20. S2018: Increases the maximum allowed tax on residential properties subject to Federal limits on maximum rent that can be charged and/or tenant-income from 8% to 10% of “the property’s previous years’ gross scheduled rental income”. (S Finance; Tue, May 27)

21. S2862: Requires various appropriations to charter schools to be reported as specific line-items in local school district budgets. (S Education; Wed, May 28)

22. S2947: “Encourages every [school] district to provide professional development opportunities for school counselors that focus on best practices in collaborating with business, industry, and other community organizations to create internships and apprenticeships for secondary students”. (S Education; Wed, May 28)

23. S2500: Exempts “the purchase or use of tangible personal property or services that is critical or necessary to the receiving, initiating, amplifying, processing, transmitting, retransmitting, switching, or monitoring of switching of telecommunications, cable television, or internet access service” from the state sales tax. (S Finance; Tue, May 27) Would this go as far as excluding television sets, i.e. tangible personal property that receives cable television, from the sales tax? Is it intended to?

24. H8200: Creates new “renewable energy professional” and “solar thermal professional” certificates within the body of Rhode Island contracting law. (H Corporations; Tue, May 27)

25. H7528: Prohibits motor vehicles manufacturers from attempting to coerce dealers into not charging fees they are entitled to. (H Corporations; Tue, May 27)

26. H7526: Eliminates the 2015 sunset date on the “Health Care Services Utilization Review Act”. (S Health and Human Services; Tue, May 27)

27. S2438: Regulations for siting renewable energy facilities on farms. (S Environment and Agriculture; Wed, May 28)

28. S2585: Applies a bunch of mild oversight provisions to Rhode Island quasi-public corporations, e.g. requiring board members to “understand, review and monitor the implementation of fundamental financial and management controls and operational decisions of the corporation”, requiring a performance audit every 5 years, requiring the adoption of a “a code of ethics applicable to each officer, director and employee of the corporation that, at a minimum, includes the standards established in chapter 36-14 (“Code of Ethics”) , etc.  Also, the law specifically exempts the Rhode Island Commerce Corporation from its provisions, stating that the Commerce Corporation is “subject to similar transparency and accountability requirements set forth in chapter 42-64”. (S Government Oversight; Wed, May 28) Apparently, the Rhode Island Senate thinks a code of ethics is important, as long as it doesn’t apply to them.

Ranking Indeterminate: S2788: Substantial changes regarding the licensing of insurance claims adjusters. (H Corporations; Tue, May 27)

H8069: One-year moratorium on the issuance of “comprehensive” low-or-moderate income housing permits to for-profit developers (H Finance; Tue, May 27)

H7812: Creates a category in the law of “certified angel investors” who are eligible for tax deductions and capital gains exemptions for certain investments in small businesses. (H Finance; Tue, May 27)

Local Impact: Cranston, East Greenwich, Exeter, Narragansett, North Smithfield 2 3 4, Pawtucket 2 3 4 5 6 7 8, Smithfield, Warren, West Greenwich.