2021 Legislative Agenda
ECRI has considered these bills and has decided to support or oppose them at hearings. People interested in tracking legislation during the session are encouraged to sign up for an account in the General Assembly's Bill Tracker system.
FYI, all blue-headed columns are sortable, e.g., by bill number, topic, support/oppose, etc.
Legislative Topic | Title and Description | House Bill# | Senate Bill # | Link(s) to Bill text pdfs | ECRI's Position | Pro-Con-Neutral-Watch |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Resilience and Adaptatiion |
Ocean State Climate Adaptation Fund. Establishes the Ocean State Climate Adaptation and Resilience Fund. Enables municipalities and the state to apply for grants to improve public safety and community climate resilience for coastal habitats, as well as river and stream floodplains. |
5967 | 0035 | S0035, S0035subAaa, H5967, H5967subA | Support | |
Waste |
Disposable Food Service Containers. Prohibits a covered establishment from preparing, selling, processing or providing food or beverages in or on a disposable food service container that is composed in whole or in part of polystyrene foam |
5138 | 0036 | S0036, H5138 | Support | |
Waste |
Plastic Waste Reduction Act. Creates the "Plastic Waste Reduction Act" designed to reduce the use of plastic bags by retail establishments by offering recyclable bag options and providing penalties for violations. |
5358 | 0037 | S0037, H5358 | Support | |
Waste |
Helium Balloons. Prohibits the release of balloons inflated with lighter-than-air gas |
5376 | 0038 | S0038, S0038subAaa, H5376, H5376subAaa | Support | |
Land and Forest |
Enables Conservation Easements. Requires conservation and preservation restrictions to be liberally interpreted in favor of the grants awarded. |
5472 | 0094 | S0094, H5472 | Support | |
Environmental Justice |
Environmental Justice Act. Requires the department of environmental management to create environmental justice areas. |
0105 | S0105, S0105subA | Support | ||
Waste |
Beverage Container Deposit Recycling Act Of 2021. Creates a refundable four cent ($0.04) deposit for non-reusable beverage containers. A ten cent ($0.10) handling fee would be paid by distributors. |
5280 | 0106 | S0106, S0220, H5280 | Support | |
Waste |
Single-Use Plastic Straws. Prohibits a food service establishment from providing a consumer with a single-use plastic straw, unless the consumer requests such a straw |
5131 | 0155 | S0155, S0155subA, H5131, H5131subA | Support | |
Land and Forest |
Public Trust Designation for Municipal Lands. Creates a voluntary mechanism for municipalities to use to dedicate a park, conservation or other land they own as public trust land in perpetuity to protect and preserve its future use. |
5259 | 0172 | S0172, S0172subA, H5259, 5259subA | Support | |
Waste |
Beverage Container Deposit Recycling Act Of 2021. Creates a refundable four cent ($0.04) deposit for non-reusable beverage containers. A ten cent ($0.10) handling fee would be paid by distributors. |
5280 | 0220 | S0106, S0220, H5280 | Support | |
Transportation |
Vulnerable Road User Protection. Povides for specific fines and sanctions to operators of motor vehicles who fail to exercise due care to avoid colliding with a vulnerable road user causing injury, serious injury, or death to the vulnerable road user. |
5093 | 0318 | S0318, S0318subA, H5093, H5093subA | Support | |
Climate and Energy |
Appliance Efficiency Standards Act of 2021. Establishes minimum energy and water efficiency standards for appliances and specified equipment purchased or installed after January 1, 2023 |
5966 | 0339 | S0339, S0339subA, H5966, H5966subA | Support | |
Climate and Energy |
Climate Literacy Act. Implements literacy of climate change for all students enrolled in public schools or other schools managed and controlled by the state in kindergarten through twelve (K-12). |
5625 | 0464 | S0464, H5625 | Support | |
Land and Forest |
Forest Conservation Act. Creates a forest conservation commission, to be coordinated with the department of environmental management, to seek new funding and identify incentives for landowners to maintain their land as forest. |
5760 | 0470 | H5760, S0470, S0470A | Support | |
Climate and Energy |
Prohibit Solar Project Co-location. Prohibits the co-location of multiple renewable energy resources one or more contiguous parcels, unless the total capacity of the co-location is less than ten megawatts (10MW) in total. |
6169 | 0474 | S0474, H6169 | Support | |
Waste |
High Heat Waste Facility Prohibition. Prohibits new high-heat waste processing facilities. |
5923 | 0527 | S0527, H5923, H5923subAaa | Support | |
Environmental Justice |
Green Justice Zone Act. Establishes the first Green Justice Zone, a model that may be replicated in future years to ensure that all communities throughout the state have clean air and clean water. |
5674 | 0540 | S0540, H5674 | Support | |
Waste |
Miniature Alcoholic Beverage Container Act. Creates a refundable fifty cent ($0.50) deposit for miniature alcoholic beverage containers, often referred to as "nips." |
5113 | 0562 | S0562, H5113 | Support | |
Environmental Justice |
Home Energy Affordability (PIPP). Creates the Percentage of Income Home Energy Affordability Program, an income-sensitive tiered subsidy program to ensure that home energy utility costs are affordable for eligible low-income households.
|
5809 | 0584 | S0584, H5809 | Support | |
Water and Toxics |
Neonicotinoid Pesticide Regulation. Prohibits the use of neonicotinoids which are a class of insecticides. |
5641 | 0702 | S0702, H5641, H5641subA | Support | |
Buildings |
Green Buildings Act Amendments. Repeals the expiration provisions that major facility projects or other public improvements comply with green building standards, thereby requiring major facility projects of state agencies to be constructed to LEED standards. |
5919 | 0760 | S0760, H5919 | Support | |
Transportation |
Transportation Emission and Mobile (TEAM) Community Act. Establishes the Transportation Emission and Mobile (Team) Community Act intended to limit and reduce indirect carbon dioxide emissions throughout the state while promoting the purposes of the transportation climate initiative program. |
6310 | 0872 | S0872, S0872A, H6310 | Support |
Legislative Topic | Title and Description | House Bill# | Senate Bill # | Link(s) to Bill text pdfs | ECRI's Position | Pro-Con-Neutral-Watch |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Climate and Energy |
Act On Climate. Establishes a statewide greenhouse gas emission reduction mandate. |
5445 | 0078 | S0078, H5445, H5445subA | Support | |
Water and Toxics |
PFAS In Drinking Water, Groundwater And Surface Waters. Requires DOH to establish maximum contaminate levels of PFAS in drinking water and to set interim standards. Also requires DEM to set standards for PFAS in ground- and surface waters. Defines PFSA as hazardous substances. |
5523 | 0107 | S0107, S0107subA, H5523 | Support | |
Water and Toxics |
PFAS in Food Packaging. Prohibits PFAS, a class of fluorinated organic chemicals, from being used in food packaging. |
5356 | 0110 | S0110, H5356, H5356A | Support | |
Waste |
"Advanced Recycling". License required for advanced recycling facilities. No licensing within two (2) miles residential zone, school, place of worship or waterway or wetlands, except this prohibition shall not apply to grandfathered operation. H55446: Exempts post-use polymers and recovered feedstocks used in advanced recycling processes from the definition of solid waste |
5446 | 0254 | S0254, H5446 | Oppose | |
Climate and Energy |
Renewable Energy Standard. (Increases the percentage of retail electricity sales from renewable energy sources. Sets forth new renewable energy standards. |
5762 | 0629 | H5762, S0629, S0629subA | Support | |
Climate and Energy |
Energy Efficiency - Least Cost Procurement. Requires the energy efficiency and resources management council to run a triennial competitive bid process to select an entity to propose and administer system reliability and energy efficiency and conservation procurement until March 1, 2036. (Senate) Requires submission of a triennial system reliability/energy efficiency/conservation procurement plan until 9/1/2036 and continues a charge on gas/electricity to fund energy efficiency/conversation programs until 9/1/2035. (House) |
6144 | 0634 | S0634, S0634A, S0634B, H6144, H6144A | Support |