Legislative Updates
Advocacy in Action
May 11, 2026
Speaker Shekarchi Hands Gavel to Speaker Blazejewski
Thursday May 7th, Speaker Joe Shekarchi resigned his position of Speaker as he submitted his application for Rhode Island Supreme Court Justice. Speaker Shekarchi served as Speaker of the House for six years, being known for his open-door policy, hands-on negotiating standard and inclusive leadership style. The Chamber thanks Speaker Joe Shekarchi for his years of dedicated service to the people of Rhode Island.
The House Democrats caucused Thursday and nominated Representative Chris Blazejewski to succeed him as Speaker with Representative Katherine Kazarian elected Majority Leader. As is custom, the Republican delegation nominated Minority Leader Mike Chippendale for Speaker and the vote was 65-10 along party lines.
Speaker Blazejewski was first elected in November, 2010 and represents District 2 in Providence. He was House Majority Leader in 2020. As a representative, he championed housing affordability, environmental protection, public education, civil rights, senior services, health care and economic opportunity for working families. He co-sponsored and led passage of the Act on Climate as well as the renewable energy standard setting a course to 100% renewable electricity by 2033. He sponsored the Wavemaker Fellowship program, which aims at attracting and retaining graduates in the STEM fields. Speaker Blazejewski graduated from Harvard University in 2002 and received his law degree from Harvard Law in 2005. An attorney, he works for Sherin and Lodgen LLP. A lifelong Rhode Islander, he resides in Providence with his wife, Ami Gada, their daughter, Aria and their son, Liam.
Leader Kazarian has served the residents of East Providence and Pawtucket in District 63 since being elected in November 2012. In January 2021, she was elected Majority Whip. She has introduced laws to allow adults to modify their birth certificates with culturally sensitive language, banning certain military-style assault weapons, and requiring monthly updates from the Department of Transportation on the Washington Bridge and allowing online mail ballot applications and mail ballots. Leader Kazarian worked at both Upserve and Virgin Pulse and was previously a Senior Planner for the City of Pawtucket. She is a graduate of Roger Williams University School of Law and currently works as an Associate Attorney at CMBG3 Law in Boston. Leader Kazarian is a lifelong resident of East Providence where she continues to live with her husband Sam Daniel and their twin daughters.
Revenue Estimating Conference Completed
The Revenue Estimating Conference has completed its work, leading the way for the debate over the FY27 budget to heat up.
The State did realize some reduction in total caseload general revenue spending to the tune of $15.5 million in the current fiscal year over the adopted FY26 budget, but they expect the state to spend $11.7 million more than originally anticipated for FY27. Those numbers are better than predicted in November. In FY27, the conferees believe the state will experience a substantial decrease in RI Works recipients (from 9,875 to 6,600) saving $10.7 million. SSI payments are slightly up by $183,000. Residential Rehabilitation assistance is up $900,000. Other services such as community-based services, day programs, employment services, Transportation and Professional support program costs are projected to be up $5.5 million. Hospital costs are expected to decrease $4.7 million. Long-term care is up $18.1 million. Managed care is $50 million more than the original FY27 adopted budget. Part of the increase will be paid through federal dollars, with the overall budget impact of the FY27 caseload resulting in an increase spending from general revenue funds of $11.7 million
On the revenue side, the conferees anticipate an increase of $66.9 million in personal income tax revenue (as compared to the estimate in November) in FY26 and a $35 million increase in FY27 over the November estimate. Business Corporations taxes are up $47 million in FY26 and $23 million over the November estimate for FY27. It is important to note these numbers reflect a decrease in the total corporation tax revenue of $9 million between FY26 and FY27. A great deal of time was spent on estimating sales and use tax numbers for FY27. The Governor’s budget office talked about the slowing economy and the potential to see a shift in spending on items that are not taxable. The conferees settled on a 2% growth with a total sales tax revenue of $1.776 billion ($1.6 million over the November estimate). The conferees enjoyed a brief moment of brevity as they commented on the adoption of “1776” as the sales tax estimate. The FY26 realty transfer tax saw a $10 million increase over FY25 and is expected to get to $33.3 million (another $4.5 million increase over FY26). Lottery revenues are $5 million less than anticipated in the November conference, and estimated to increase slightly - $1.6 million more in FY27. The overall impact to FY26 general revenue is $154.6 million more than anticipated in November’s REC; and $77.8 million more than anticipated for FY27.
This Week at the State House
Tuesday, May 12th
The Senate Finance Committee is meeting at the Rise (approximate 4:45pm) with two bills of interest on the calendar.
Tax on Real Property Gains
S.2549, An Act Relating to Taxation – Tax on Gains from the Sale or Exchange of Real Property is designed to discourage short-term real estate flipping by imposing a new tax on profits from sales of property held for six years or less. The new tax would be applied as follows:
Years property held by transferor 0-99% Gain 100-199% Gain 200% or more Gain
Less than 4 months 60% 70% 80%
4 – 8 months 35% 52.5% 70%
8 months – 1 year 30% 45% 60%
1 - 2 years 25% 37.5% 50%
2 - 3 years 20% 30% 40%
3 – 4 years 15% 22.5% 30%
4 - 5 years 10% 15% 20%
5 – 6 years 5% 7.5% 1-%
The legislation does provide exclusions for properties sold by 501(c) corporations, properties transferred by courts relative to marriage, certain farmlands and property purchased by the State of Rhode Island. https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2549.pdf
Employee Ownership Tax Credit
Also on the agenda is the Lt. Governor’s bill, S.2809, An Act Relating to Taxation – Employee Ownership Tax Credit. The bill is designed to encourage businesses to transition to employee-owned models like Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) or worker cooperatives. Businesses can claim a credit of up to 50% of "conversion costs" (legal, accounting, etc.) for transitioning to an ESOP/employee trust (capped at $100,000) or other equity structures (capped at $25,000). Existing employee-owned firms can receive a 50% credit (up to $25,000) for expanding ownership by at least 20%. The program is to be administered by the Office of Business Development with a total cap of $1,000,000 in annual credits, which are refundable. https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2809.pdf
Testimony on S.2549 and S.2809 can be emailed to SenateFinance@rilegislature.gov
Social Security Income Tax Phaseout
The House Finance Committee will hear, at the Rise, H.7057, An Act Relating to Taxation – Personal Income Tax. H.7057 gradually phases out the state’s income tax on social security benefits over a 5-year period. Beginning January 2027, the bill provides a 20% exemption, increasing to 40% in 2028, 60% in 2029, 80% in 2030 and a 100% exemption in 2031. https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7057.pdf
Testimony on H.7057 may be submitted to HouseFinance@rilegislature.gov
Wednesday, May 13th
Benefits for Striking Workers
The Senate Labor and Gaming Committee is taking testimony at 4:00pm. S.2170, An Act Relating to Labor and Labor Relations – Employment Security Benefits, would require the payment of unemployment benefits for workers who are on strike or are locked out of their workplaces by their employer due to a labor dispute. Strikes and lockouts are part of the labor negotiation process, often arising from disagreements over wages, working conditions, or other terms of employment. These actions are typically voluntary on the part of the employees and should not be viewed as a situation of involuntary unemployment. According to the Tax Foundation’s 2026 report, Rhode Island ranks 48th out of 50 for unemployment insurance tax liability, 50 being the highest liability. https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2170.pdf
Testimony on S.2170 may be submitted to SLegislation@rilegislature.gov
Thursday, May 14th
Grocery Store and Retailer Restrictions
The Senate Commerce Committee is scheduled to vote on S.2342 which limits grocery stores by capping the number of self-service checkout stations they can operate to eight, and mandating a minimum ratio of manual checkout stations to self-service checkout stations. Stores would be required to operate one manual checkout station for every two self-check-out stations operating. Lastly, S.2342 states that “No more than two (2) self-service checkout stations may be simultaneously monitored by any one employee.” Any store having multiple violations is subject to a fine equal to the wages paid to the highest paid retail clerk during an eight-hour shift. If the violation is not rectified within thirty days, the business could be subject to a deceptive trade practice violation. Committees can post amended versions of bills 24 hours prior to the vote. It is unclear if a SubA (amendment) will be offered. https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2342.pdf
New Introductions
House Bill No. 8524 Corvese, Kennedy, Azzinaro, Solomon, Casey, McEntee, Noret, Read, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- WORKERS' COMPENSATION--GENERAL PROVISIONS (Amends various sections of the workers' compensation statute relative to the court's jurisdiction and the court's authority.)