Article 1, Section 10:  RI Department of Environmental Management (DEM) is capped at 399 FTE (Full-Time Equivalent) positions. Which represents status quo from FY 2014.

Article 5 would create ballot questions for the November 2014 state general election. Question 4 would authorize the issuance of bonds for Clean Water, Open Space, and Healthy Communities ($75 million), Brownfield Remediation and Economic Development ($5 million), Green Streets and Green Neighborhoods ($4 million), Flood Prevention ($3 million) and many more environmentally important projects.

This is the Senate's bill to comprehensively address climate change. The strategy of this bill is essentially to codify the Executive Climate Change Council, which would be aided by the input of an advisory council whose members would be appointed by the Executive Council members themselves (2 for each). The mitigation targets in this bill are much weaker than the Resilient RI Act targets in the near term but do call for an 80% reduction by 2050.

This act would require certain large commercial food scrap generators to divert food residuals to composting facilities.

• Extends and expands Rhode Island's distributed generation (DG) program
• Creates small solar class in DG
• Switches DG from contract to tariff-based program
• Removes cap on net metering

House and Senate Bills are identical.

This legislation would establish siting guidelines to make it easier for farmers to install wind turbines on their land. The installed renewable energy facilities would also be exempt from property taxes.

This act would provide that in the event of insufficient federal funds for the environmental lead program, the General Assembly shall appropriate no less than six hundred thousand dollars ($600,000) per year for support and maintenance of the Department of Health's environmental lead program, and five hundred ninety thousand dollars ($590,000) per year for the state match for the lead hazard abatement program (Housing Resources Commission).

This bill would require DEM to phase out the use of lead ammunition by hunters by 2017, if it is practicable and if the agency has the resources to enforce it. DEM would provide coupons so hunters do not incur financial losses. It does not apply to law enforcement officers. Breaking the law is punishable by $500 fine for first offense, $1000 second offense, and $5000 third offense.

Provides substantial funds for transportation, including for public transit (RIPTA) views transportation holistically to include both DOT and RIPTA.
"qualified support"

This legislation would give a tax credit to individuals who purchase plug-in electric vehicles equal to 100% of the sales tax up to $2000.

This bill will strike the following language from Sections 23-19-3 and 23-19-11 of the General Laws in Chapter 23-19 entitled "Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation" 

(7) The plan shall not include incineration of solid waste. and

(16) That incineration of solid waste is the most costly method of waste disposal with known and unknown escalating costs that would place substantial and unreasonable burdens on both state and municipal budgets to the point of seriously jeopardizing the public's interest. 

This act would phase out the use of cesspools throughout the state, beginning with those close to tidal water areas and public drinking water supplies. It would require the identification and replacement of cesspools on all properties that are subject to sale and transfer.