Legislative Updates

Advocacy in Action

June 8, 2026

 

Anticipated Final Week at the State House

The General Assembly hopes to complete its work for the 2026 session this week, likely by Thursday. This edition of Advocacy in Action includes legislation scheduled for actions this week as of Sunday night. The House and Senate may add bills and other Substitute language thereto throughout the week. If the legislative work is completed this week, bills will be transmitted to the Governor periodically over the following few weeks. The Chamber will send out a final legislative wrap-up once that process concludes and will provide a list of new laws businesses need to consider.

 

Monday, June 8^th

 

FY2027 Budget

 

Last Friday, the House voted a revised FY 2027 budget by a vote of 65-10, which now proceeds to consideration by the Senate Finance Committee at 5:30pm on Monday, and likely to be on the Senate floor on Tuesday. The $15.2 billion plan raises additional revenue, increases expenditures in a variety of categories and asks the voters for approval to bond $600 million for projects.  This represents a 6.2% increase over the current year’s fiscal budget.  Many of the proposals were also included in the Governor’s budget submitted in January of this year. The final articles as adopted by the House can be reviewed here: https://www.rilegislature.gov/Budget/SitePages/FY27.aspx.

 

House Floor

The House is scheduled to meet at 4pm on Monday to vote on 116 bills between its regular and consent calendars, which include the items below, the full calendars can be found here: https://status.rilegislature.gov/calendars.aspx

• H 7349 Sub A, which extends to 6/30/29 the sunset for the increased amount of earnings a partial-unemployment insurance claimant can receive, and the amount of earnings disregarded when calculating a weekly benefit rate. http://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7349A.pdf
• H 7452 Sub A, which provides for electronic registration and titling of motor vehicles at the DMV. https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7452A.pdf
• H 7869 Sub A and S 3002 as amended, which provide updates to the size, weigh, and load regulations for commercial and specialized vehicles. https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7869A.pdf
• H 7774 Sub A, which provides for the expedited adoption of the 2024 International Residential Code applicable to one to three family dwelling units by 1/1/27. https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7774A.pdf
• S 2601 Sub A, which provides enhanced protections for critical infrastructure, particularly components of wireless, cable, and broadband communications devices and facilities, that are at risk of vandalism, trespass, theft, or damage by extreme weather or climate change related disasters. The companion bill H 7173 as amended is scheduled for a Senate floor vote on Tuesday. https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2601A.pdf

 

Tuesday, June 9^th

 

Senate Floor

 

The Senate is scheduled to meet at 4pm on Tuesday to vote on 100 bills between its regular and consent calendars, which includes:

• S 2195 Sub A as amended and H 7350 Sub A, which create additional safety features for AI companion technology, particularly for personal safety. https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2195Aaa.pdf
• S 2269A, which
• S 2504 Sub A, which requires employers to provide warehouse employees of descriptions of quotas applicable to their employment. https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2504A.pdf
• S 2644, which prohibits restrictive covenants related to grocery stores. https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2644.pdf
• S 2647 Sub B, which provides for commercial kitchen exhaust system inspection and cleaning licensing and certification. https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2647B.pdf
• S 3136 Sub A, which requires persons transacting equitable interests in real estate without taking legal title to such property, to be licensed as a real estate broker or salesperson and make certain disclosures. https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S3136A.pdf
• S 3212 Sub A, which protects businesses from identify theft, deceptive solicitations, and unauthorized formation of entities. https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S3212A.pdf

1099 Thresholds

At 3pm in Room 35, the House Finance committee will consider H 8604 Sub A, and at 5pm the Senate Finance Committee will hear/consider S 3367, which would update the thresholds that require the filing of Form 1099 with the state from $100 to the federal threshold, currently $600, regardless of whether state income tax is withheld. https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/Proposed26/H8604A.pdf

 

Safety Lids & Signage

 

The House and Senate have each advanced, in different form, legislation requiring all licensed retailers authorized that sell intoxicating beverages to provide a safety lid to a consumer upon request. The initial drafts of the bills included that operators prominently and conspicuously display signage of “Don’t get roofied! Drink lids available here. Ask a staff member for details.”

The House removed signage from 7975  SUB A prior to passing it. The Senate has scheduled a hearing on passage of this bill in concurrence for Tuesday in room 313 at 3:30pm, but it is possible that other amendments may be made to this proposal. The Senate removed the “Don’t get roofied!” component when it passed S 3000  SUB A, but otherwise retained signage requirements.

Hospitality businesses demonstrated willingness to comply with the lid mandate, but express opposition to signage requirements, as it conveys the unfounded message that all venues and operations are unsafe. The Senate bill has yet to be scheduled for consideration in the House as of the writing of this report.