Under The Dome: 3/3/2025

This Week At the State House

 

Tuesday, March 4th 3:00 p.m.

 

RI Utility and Energy Programs Presentation

 

Anyone in the hallways of the state house knows that energy prices are a hot topic. As recent electric and heating bills are arriving in consumers’ mailboxes, legislators are receiving emails and phone calls from constituents. About 51% of the residential electric bill reflects the supply charge. This charge is expected to grow over the short term as the state’s renewable electricity mandate continues to rise. As a result of legislation signed into law in 2022, RI Energy is mandated to obtain an additional 6% of its supply from renewable sources in 2025. The percentage increases another 7% in 2026 and 2027, and continues to rise until the state achieves 100% renewable electricity in 2033. It is unclear if prices will stabilize once renewable energy sources mature.

 

Roughly 20% of a residential customer’s bill relates to the distribution charge; 13% from the transmission charge; 2.1% is tax; and 1.9% is a customer charge. The remaining 12% relates to clean energy programs. In 2023, using RIPUC data, electric customers paid $335.5 million into clean energy programs. According to a Channel 12 report, “The money goes toward different priorities, such as renewable-energy distribution, energy-efficiency projects and long-term contracts for the Block Island wind farm and the Johnston landfill gas plant.”

 

On Tuesday, the Senate Committees on Commerce, and Environment and Agriculture will hear from Ronald Gerwatowski, Chairman of the Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission and Linda George, Administrator of the Division of Public Utilities & Carriers as they begin to wrestle with the environmental benefits of the renewable source rule and clean energy programs and their relationship to the increasing costs of energy for Rhode Island’s consumers.

 

The presentation can be watched in person in room 313 at the State House, or livestreamed at https://capitoltvri.cablecast.tv/

 

 

Property Transfer Tax Increase

 

It is the Senate Finance Committee’s turn to take testimony on section 10 of Budget Article 5 relative to the real estate conveyance tax (RECT) statute. As it was reported last week, the State currently imposes a tax on each deed, instrument, or writing by which interests in real estate are conveyed to a purchaser when the value of the transfer is greater than $100. The tax rate is $2.30 for each additional $500 in value (0.46 percent). For transactions valued $800,000 and above, the RECT rate applied to the value above that amount doubles from $2.30 to $4.60 per each $500 (0.92 percent of the additional value). Section 10 of Article 5 amends the real estate conveyance tax statute. For residential real estate transactions valued above $800,000 a new tax is imposed (in addition to two described above) on the amount above the first $800,000. The new tax is applied at a rate of $1.65 per $500, or fractional part of it (0.33 percent for a total of 1.25 percent on the value over $800,000). As a comparison, Massachusetts has a real estate conveyance tax of

$2.28 per $500 (0.456 percent). Connecticut’s tax is 0.75 percent for residential real estate below $800,000, 1.25 percent for property above $800,000 but below $2.5 million. The tax is 2.25 percent on transactions valued above $2.5 million. If you wish to provide comments on any of these issues, email testimony to SenateFinance@rilegislature.gov

 

 

Wednesday, March 5th

 

Minimum Wage, Transportation Benefits, Holiday Work Rules and Pay Stubs

 

Both the House and Senate Labor Committees are meeting at 4:00 on Wednesday to discuss a variety of employment labor bills.

 

House Labor (in Room 101) has 8 bills of interest on the agenda.

 

H.5029 sets the minimum wage for 2026 at $16 per hour, 2027 at $17 per hour, 2028 at $18 per hour, 2029 at $19 per hour and for 2030 at $20 per hour. All increments would take effect January 1st of the respective year. https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText25/HouseText25/H5029.pdf

 

H.5304 requires employers with 500 or more employees to establish a pre-tax commuter transportation fringe benefit program effective January 1, 2026. The funds could be used for both highway vehicle and transit benefits. If a covered employer fails to comply, it can be assessed a civil penalty between $100 and $250 for the first violation. An employer has 90 days to offer the pre-tax fringe benefit, before the civil penalty is imposed. After 90 days, each additional 30-day period in which an employer fails to comply is considered a subsequent violation subject to a civil penalty of $250. An employer cannot be penalized more than once in a 30-day period. https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText25/HouseText25/H5304.pdf

 

H.5507 increases the tipped wage (currently $3.89 per hour) to $6.95 January 1, 2026, to $8.95 January 1, 2027; to $10.95 January 1, 2028; to $12.95 January 1, 2029, to $14.95 January 1, 2030, and to the state’s minimum wage January 1, 3031. Under current law, tips provided by customers are considered part of the employee’s wage. If an employee does not reach minimum wage level through the tipped wage plus tips, the employer must make up the difference. This legislation essentially adopts the European model where employees are paid the minimum wage (or more) by the employer and customers tend to no longer tip. https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText25/HouseText25/H5507.pdf

 

H.5508 increases the minimum wage from the current $15 per hour to $20 per hour effective January 1, 2026. https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText25/HouseText25/H5508.pdf

 

H.5678 proposes changes to the state’s overtime payment rules. Under current law, employers are not obligated to pay overtime to their executive, administrative, and professional employees who are compensated through salary rather than hourly wages, unless the salary of such employees would, if calculated according to a 40-hour work week, fall below the state’s current minimum wage. This act would raise that cut-off and make additional salaried employees non-exempt and therefore eligible for overtime pay, by requiring small employers (up to 50

employees) and large employers (50 or more employees), to pay overtime wages to currently exempt workers, if their salary falls below a threshold based upon multipliers of minimum hourly wage, for a forty (40) hour workweek. For example, for the year 2026, the multiplier would be one and one-half (1½) times the minimum hourly wage for a forty (40) hour workweek for small employers and two (2) times the minimum hourly wage for a forty (40) hour workweek for large employers. https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText25/HouseText25/H5678.pdf

 

H.5679 changes an employer’s responsibilities as it relates to providing employees with statements of earnings. Today employers must include the hours worked, deductions from gross earnings and an explanation of those deductions. The legislation adds items such as the last four digits of the social security number, deduction explanations in “understandable language and form,” the employer’s address and name, and output information if pay is based on quantity. The bill was altered compared to last year’s bill to clarify that employers must only keep records for three years which is consistent with current law. H.5679 also requires employers to provide a type of “mini employee handbook” to employees. The sponsor did change the bill to include English as the language for the handbook. https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText25/HouseText25/H5679.pdf

 

H.5939 would eliminate all exceptions to Rhode Island’s weekly payment of wages law except for employees of the state and municipal governments, nonprofit organizations with less than twenty-five (25) employees, and those whose compensation is fixed at a biweekly, semi-monthly, monthly or yearly rate. Rhode Island and Vermont already have the two most stringent weekly payment laws on the books. https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText25/HouseText25/H5939.pdf

 

H.5943 exempts retail establishments with fourteen (14) or fewer employees from the Sunday and Holiday time and half payment rule and from the four (4) hour minimum work rule. Rhode Island is the only state in the country that requires employees who work on Sunday or holidays as a normal part of their forty (40) hour work week to be paid time and a half. https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText25/HouseText25/H5943.pdf

 

 

Senate Labor & Gaming (Room 212) has

 

S.125 mirrors H.5029.It sets the minimum wage for 2026 at $16 per hour, 2027 at $17 per hour, 2028 at $18 per hour, 2029 at $19 per hour and for 2030 at $20 per hour. All increments would take effect January 1st of the respective year. https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText25/SenateText25/S0125.pdf

 

S.215 increases the tipped wage from $3.89 per hour to $6.75 per hour effective January 1, 2026. https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText25/SenateText25/S0215.pdf

 

S.310 is identical to S.125. It sets the minimum wage for 2026 at $16 per hour, 2027 at $17 per hour, 2028 at $18 per hour, 2029 at $19 per hour and for 2030 at $20 per hour. All increments

would take effect January 1st of the respective year. https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText25/SenateText25/S0310.pdf

 

Testimony on bills to be heard in House Labor can be emailed to: HouseLabor@rilegislature.gov

Testimony on bills to be heard in the Senate Labor & Gaming can be emailed to: SLegislation@rilegislature.gov

 

 

 

This week, the House introduced 482 new bills and the Senate introduced 230 new bills. We will be including them in this newsletter over the following few weeks. Below is the first batch of new bills:

Senate Bill No. 375 DiPalma, Bell, Burke, Gu, Murray, AN ACT RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- DIGITAL ASSET KEYS--PROHIBITION OF PRODUCTION OF PRIVATE KEYS (Prohibits the compelled production of a private key as it relates to a digital asset, digital identity or other interest or right.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText25/SenateText25/S0375.pdf

Senate Bill No. 380 Rogers, de la Cruz, E Morgan, Paolino, AN ACT RELATING TO PUBLIC UTILITIES AND CARRIERS -- PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION (Requires the public utilities commission (PUC) to produce a report by January 1, 2026 and each January 1 thereafter, on the ability for the current electric grid to handle the electrification load need to power cars, buildings, and heating of homes.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText25/SenateText25/S0380.pdf Senate Bill No. 382 Bissaillon, Gu, Britto, DiPalma, Kallman, McKenney, Lawson, Burke, Vargas, Bell, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- THE COMMUTER TRANSPORTATION BENEFITS ACT (Establishes the commuter transportation benefit chapter. Employers with five hundred (500) or more employees would be required to establish a pre-tax commuter transportation fringe benefit program.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText25/SenateText25/S0382.pdf

Senate Bill No. 400 Rogers, de la Cruz, E Morgan, Raptakis, Paolino, Ciccone, AN ACT RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- 2021 ACT ON CLIMATE (Repeals the 2021 Act on Climate which established a statewide greenhouse gas emission reduction mandate in its entirety.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText25/SenateText25/S0400.pdf

Senate Bill No. 413 Tikoian, Patalano, LaMountain, Ciccone, Burke, Felag, Urso, Dimitri, Rogers, Thompson, AN ACT RELATING TO CORPORATIONS, ASSOCIATIONS AND PARTNERSHIPS -- THE RHODE ISLAND LIMITED

LIABILITY COMPANY ACT (Increases the LLC organization fee to $500. Exempts the LLC from filing an annual tax return, paying the minimum tax and obtaining a letter of good standing from the division of taxation in order to dissolve.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText25/SenateText25/S0413.pdf

Senate Bill No. 586 DiPalma, Ciccone, Mack, Lawson, Tikoian, AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- DIVISION OF OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH (Requires employers to protect employees from extreme temperatures through rest breaks, PPE, training, and equipment, and mandates quarterly supervisor training, to recognize and mitigate heat- and cold-related risks.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText25/SenateText25/S0586.pdf

Senate Bill No. 587 Bissaillon, Ciccone, Dimitri, Appollonio, Britto, McKenney, Burke, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- EMPLOYMENT SECURITY -- BENEFITS (Allows unemployment benefits for workers who are on strike or are locked out of their workplaces by their employer due to a labor dispute.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText25/SenateText25/S0587.pdf

Senate Bill No. 589 Kallman, Euer, Mack, Murray, Britto, Ujifusa, Ciccone, Acosta, Bell, Gallo, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- MINIMUM WAGES--OVERTIME (Requires small employers with one to fifty (1-50) employees and large employers with fifty (50) or more employees to pay overtime wages to exempt workers if their salary exceeds varying multipliers of minimum wage for a forty (40) hour workweek.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText25/SenateText25/S0589.pdf

 

House Bill No. 5551 (Lieutenant Governor) Cotter, Bennett, AN ACT RELATING TO COMMERCIAL LAW--GENERAL REGULATORY PROVISIONS -- UNIT PRICING (Provides that an electronic shelving label by itself would not satisfy the disclosure and display requirements for unit pricing by way of the attachment of a stamp, tag or label to the commodity.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText25/HouseText25/H5551.pdf

House Bill No. 5554 McEntee, Voas, Cortvriend, Dawson, Shallcross Smith, Caldwell, Spears, Phillips, Lima, Cotter, AN ACT RELATING TO COMMERCIAL LAW -- GENERAL REGULATORY PROVISIONS -- INTERCHANGE FEES (Prohibits the charging of interchange fees on taxes and gratuities.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText25/HouseText25/H5554.pdf

House Bill No. 5566 Place, Santucci, Quattrocchi, Hopkins, Nardone, AN ACT RELATING TO CORPORATIONS, ASSOCIATIONS, AND PARTNERSHIPS --

THE RHODE ISLAND LIMITED-LIABILITY COMPANY ACT (Permits a member or members of a limited-liability company to avoid dissolution by buying the membership interest owned by the other member or members seeking dissolution.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText25/HouseText25/H5566.pdf

House Bill No. 5575 Solomon, O'Brien, Lima, Kennedy, Santucci, AN ACT RELATING TO PUBLIC UTILITIES AND CARRIERS -- LONG TERM CONTRACTING STANDARDS FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY (Allows for the procurement of nuclear power.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText25/HouseText25/H5575.pdf

House Bill No. 5579 Paplauskas, Chippendale, Santucci, Newberry, Nardone, Place, J. Brien, Baginski, Lima, Fascia, AN ACT RELATING TO PUBLIC UTILITIES AND CARRIERS -- PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION (Requires the public utilities commission to produce a report each January containing an analysis of the electric grid and its ability to supply the electricity needs to power cars, buildings and heat homes within the state.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText25/HouseText25/H5579.pdf

House Bill No. 5582 Serpa, AN ACT RELATING TO COMMERCIAL LAW--GENERAL REGULATORY PROVISIONS -- INTERCHANGE FEE RESTRICTION ACT (Creates the interchange fee restriction act restricting interchange fees on sales and use tax or excise tax when payment is made with a credit or debit card.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText25/HouseText25/H5582.pdf

House Bill No. 5591 Phillips, J. Brien, Santucci, Casey, Voas, Bennett, Lima, Azzinaro, Corvese, Read, AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- VEHICLE BARRIERS -- THE CHARLOTTE A. VACCA ACT (Requires commercial property owners to install vehicle barriers at their retail establishment locations when new construction are being done and permits insurers to consider the installation to provide a discount on the owner's insurance policy.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText25/HouseText25/H5591.pdf

House Bill No. 5680 Furtado, Kazarian, Morales, Caldwell, Casimiro, Stewart, Alzate, Fogarty, Dawson, Potter, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- EMPLOYMENT SECURITY -- BENEFITS (Allows unemployment benefits for workers who are on strike or are locked out of their workplaces by their employer due to a labor dispute.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText25/HouseText25/H5680.pdf