1A. H5350: Binding arbitration for municipal employees. (H Labor; Thu, Mar 5)

1B. H5475: Abolishes expiration dates from RI public-school teacher and municipal employee contracts, making their terms permanent until a new contract is agreed upon. (H Labor; Thu, Mar 5)

1C. H5473: Subjects fire-department “platoon structure and/or shift schedule” to collective bargaining. (H Labor; Thu, Mar 5)

2. H5317: Reduces the allowed difference in municipal property tax rates for different property classifications from 50% to 25%. (H Municipal Government; Thu, Mar 5)

3A. S0023/S0311/S0313: Mandates that for car-tax purposes, automobiles be assessed at trade-in rather than their retail value. (S Finance; Tue, Mar 3)

3B. S0043 raises the car-tax exemption for “distressed communities” to $6,000 (this is an automatic raise, not a local option). S0227 raises the car-tax exemption for “distressed communities” to $6,000 and compensates said distressed communities for the reduced revenue with state money. (S Finance; Tue, Mar 3) In present Rhode Island context, this means certain communities can receive a state subsidy for their financial mismanagement.

4. H5018 prohibits EBT cards from being used at liquor stores, casinos or other gambling facilities, retail establishments which provide adult-oriented entertainment, adult bookstores or adult paraphernalia stores, firearms dealers, tattoo parlors or manicuring shops, jewelry stores or cruise ships. H5250 prohibits EBT cards from being used for the purchase of alcoholic beverages, lottery tickets, tobacco products, visual material or performances intended to create or simulate sexual conduct or sexual excitement, firearms and ammunition, vacation services, tattoos or body piercings, jewelry, gambling or fees, fines, bail, or bail bonds ordered by a court. H5249 requires that a photo ID be presented when using an EBT card. (H Judiciary; Tue, Mar 3)

5. H5379: Prohibits non-compete agreements for physicians. (H Corporations; Tue, Mar 3)

6. Somehow, I missed that the “franchise tax” (defined separately from the “corporate minimum tax”) was repealed last year. But also beginning this year, the $500 minimum corporate minimum tax, which had previously applied only to C-Corps and LLCs is being extended to S-Corps, i.e. right now, all Rhode Island corporations owe the government an annual $500 minimum. With that background, the bills being heard by the Senate Finance Committee on Thursday, March 5 are…

• S0019: Reduces the minimum corporate tax from $500 to $250.
• S0103: Refunds the difference between the $500 minimum corporate a corporation initially owes and its annual gross receipts, if AGRs amount to less than $500.
• S0110: Straight-out repeal of the minimum corporate tax.
• S0113: Suspends the $500 minimum corporate tax for the first three years of a corporations existence.
• S0302: Exempts the $500 minimum corporate tax for the first year of a corporation’s existence.
• S0230: Creates a sliding scale for the minimum corporate tax based on annual gross receipts. Businesses with less than $100,000 in AGR would owe $100; businesses with more than $500,000 in AGR would owe $500, with some additional brackets in between.

7. H5401: Requires solid waste haulers to obtain a license from the state. (H Corporations; Tue, Mar 3)

8. H5247: Changes Rhode Island from a pure-comparative fault tort-liability system, to a modified-comparative fault tort-liability system where a party cannot recover damages if 51% or more at-fault for damages. (H Judiciary; Tue, Mar 3)

9. H5278: Requires that, within the legislature, an economic impact statement be drawn up for “any bill or resolution which may reasonably be expected to have an impact on the operating costs of any business or enterprise operating within the state”. (H Finance; Tue, Mar 3)

10. H5380/H5501: Substantial new regulation regarding naturopathic medicine. (H Health, Education and Welfare; Wed, Mar 4)

11. H5303: Decreases the rate of interest on lawsuit judgments from 12% to 6%. (H Judiciary; Tue, Mar 3)

12. H5376: Requires “a Medicare enrollee’s application for coverage” for Medicap to be accepted throughout the year, and prohibits insurers from making “any premium rate distinctions because of health status, claims experience, medical condition , or whether the applicant is receiving health care service”. (H Corporations; Tue, Mar 3)

13. H5424: Eliminates under-21 nightclubs. (H Corporations; Tue, Mar 3)

14. Presently, municipal governments are allowed to “aggregate…one or more classes of the retail electrical loads located, respectively, within [them] and…enter into service agreements to facilitate for those loads the sale and purchase of electricity”, under the condition that 1) the agreement is done in consultation with the Public Utilities Commission, 2) two public hearings are held and 3) the agreement is approved by voter referendum. H5375 would reduce the above conditions, by eliminating consultation with the PUC and eliminating the voter referendum, and only requiring one hearing. (H Corporations; Tue, Mar 3) Obviously someone wants more of these kinds of agreements to be put into place.

15. H5006: Creates a restricted-receipt account, administered by the director of the department of transportation, for compensating “certain business owners who experience a decline in business revenue as a direct result of the failure of any contractor licensed or registered pursuant to this chapter, to complete any road or bridge construction project in a timely fashion in accordance with any contract entered into with the department of transportation”, funded with money paid by contractors for breeches of contract and/or regulations. (H Finance; Tue, Mar 3)

16. H5308: Grants subpoena power to the “legislative oversight commission” (14 members; 4 from the House, 3 from the Senate, 4 from the General public, the Director of Administration, the House Fiscal advisor, and the Auditor General, charged with “conduct[ing] evaluations and reviews of statutes, statutory entities, and associated rules and regulation”). (H Judiciary; Tue, Mar 3)

17. H5427: Applies the full range of insurance regulations to corporations established by two or more municipalities for the purpose of self-insuring, administrating insurance, or otherwise obtaining insurance. (H Corporations; Tue, Mar 3)

18. H5078/H5197/H5502: Various bills requiring labeling of foods “produced with genetic engineering”, foods that are “genetically engineered”, or that “all of our food products contain genetically modified organisms”. (H Health, Education and Welfare; Wed, Mar 4)

19. H5235/H5324: Phases in a requirement of zero-based budgeting by the all state departments. (H Finance; Tue, Mar 3)

20. H5353: Allows latch-open devices on gas pumps, if the latch-open device was factory installed. (H Corporations; Tue, Mar 3)

21. H5430: Prohibits veterinarians from holding animals hostage as collateral for an unpaid veterinary bill. (H Corporations; Tue, Mar 3)

Inobvious priorities: H5378 >> Prohibits direct mail or internet sale of hearing aids.

Local Impact: Barrington 2, Central Falls, Coventry 2, East Greenwich, Glocester, North Kingstown, Richmond, Tiverton.