Legislative Updates Advocacy in Action April 6, 2026   This Week at the State House   Tuesday, April 7th     Attorney General Authority Over Businesses   The breadth of the Attorney General’s authority is a topic of discussion for the House Committee on State Government & Elections Committee at the Rise on Tuesday.  H.7993,…

Legislative Updates Advocacy in Action March 23, 2026   This Week at the State House     Tuesday, March 24th   A number of bills will be heard in the Senate Commerce Committee at the Rise (approximately 4:30 pm) in Room 212.  Testimony regarding these matters can be submitted to: slegislation@rilegislature.gov   Credit Card Fees…

Legislative Updates Advocacy in Action March 16, 2026     This Week at the State House     Wednesday, March 18th   Payment of Wages   On Wednesday at 4pm in Room 101, the House Labor Committee will convene for hearings on a few bills impacting payment of wages, including changes to minimum wage. Testimony…

Legislative Updates Advocacy in Action March 9, 2026     This Week at the State House   Tuesday, March 10th     New Employer Tax Proposal   The companion bill to last week’s H.7965 is scheduled for hearing in the Senate Health and Human Services Committee at the Rise (approximately 4:30 p.m.) in the Senate…

Legislative Updates Advocacy in Action March 2, 2026     This Week at the State House   Tuesday, March 3rd   Tax Amnesty; Tax Rates   The House Finance Committee will convene at the Rise (approximately 4:30 p.m.) in Room 35.  The agenda includes the Governor’s tax amnesty program as well as the increase in…

Legislative Updates Advocacy in Action February 16, 2026     What is in the Governor’s Budget? In the coming editions of Advocacy in Action, we will highlight and summarize key articles of interest to the business community.     Article 8 – Relating to Medical Assistance https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText26/HouseText26/Article-008.pdf   Article 8 provides for changes to certain…

Legislative Updates Last Week at the State House   The Chamber provided testimony on four bills last week.   Prohibiting Credit Card Surcharges – Opposed Passage H 7409 would make it a deceptive trade practice for any retail establishment to impose a surcharge fee on a customer for the use of a credit card.   The…

Legislative Updates Advocacy in Action February 2, 2026 What is in the Governor’s Budget? In the coming editions of Advocacy in Action, we will highlight and summarize key articles of interest to the business community. Article 2 – Relating to State Funds https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText26/HouseText26/H7127.pdf Article 2 provides for changes to certain state funding accounts. Section 1…

Legislative Updates This Week at the State House   Tuesday, January 27th   Credit Card Fee Notification   The House Corporations Committee has on its agenda for Tuesday at the Rise (approximately 4:30pm) in the Room 101, two bills of interest.  H.7022 http://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7022.pdf  requires any business that charges a fee to customers for the use…

Legislative Updates Governor McKee’s “Affordability for All” Agenda   In his 2026 State of the State Address last Tuesday, Governor Dan McKee laid out his vision for the year ahead, which was followed on Thursday by his Fiscal Year 2027 budget Proposal, comprised of H 7126 (FY26 Revisions), H 7127 (FY27 Appropriations). See also the…

Legislative Updates 2026 Legislative Session Begins   The 2026 legislative session kicked off January 6th, with the House Speaker and Senate President addressing their respective members.  On the House side, the Speaker stated, “Let’s buckle up and buckle down. It’s going to be a very challenging year.” He referenced the significant changes made on the…

Legislative Updates 2026 Greater Newport Chamber of Commerce Policy Platform 2026 Policy Platform Greater Newport Chamber of Commerce Introduction The Greater Newport Chamber of Commerce represents businesses across Newport County and works to strengthen our regional economy by advocating for pro-business policies, offering direct technical support to entrepreneurs, and providing critical data and insights on…