Rhode Island

STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- PEACE OFFICER MAXIMUM WORKDAY AND OVERTIME COMPENSATION - Establishes a maximum hourly workday for all peace officers as defined in § 12-7-21 and a violation rate of pay of double time and a half.

MOTOR AND OTHER VEHICLES -- CERTIFICATES OF TITLE AND SECURITY INTERESTS - Allows on and after September 1, 2026, an owner of motor vehicle(s) to transfer ownership and registration of said vehicle on their death, by a certificate of title designation and requires DMV to amend title forms, to include transfer-on-death language.

STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUTH AND FAMILIES - Provides that all extended benefits offered by DCYF to foster children shall be extended to children placed in guardianship.

ELECTIONS -- LOCAL CANVASSING AUTHORITY - Prohibits members of elected city/town political party committees as well as representative/senate district committees from serving on local canvassing authorities.

EDUCATION -- SCHOOL EMPLOYEE BACKGROUND CHECKS - Provides for a comprehensive criminal and employment background check procedure for all school employees.

FOOD AND DRUGS -- UNIFORM CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES ACT -- POWERS OF ENFORCEMENT PERSONNEL -- CIVIL FORFEITURE PROCEDURE - Prohibits civil asset forfeiture regarding violations of the controlled substances laws until a criminal conviction is obtained.

MOTOR AND OTHER VEHICLES -- PASSING, USE OF LANES AND RULES OF THE ROAD - Allows lane filtering, the act of passing stopped or slow-moving vehicles proceeding in the same direction, for motorcycles at low speeds.

STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- DEPARTMENT OF ATTORNEY GENERAL - Clarifies the process of depositing settlement funds from non-multi-state initiatives and require that settlements could not be spent without express general assembly authorization.

PUBLIC OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES -- MERIT SYSTEM-CLASSIFICATION PLAN - Require that the classification guide to desk audit analysis and class specification development be amended so that the lack of supervision of other employees not prevent an employee from receiving a classification upgrade

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE -- DOMESTIC VIOLENCE PREVENTION ACT - Includes animal cruelty offenses to the domestic violence crimes committed by a family or household members against another.

STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES - Amends the administrative procedures act and provides that on the review of an agency decision by a court upon appeal, the court shall decide questions of law without deference to any previous determination or interpretation of the law by the agency.

LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- HEALTH AND SAFE FAMILIES WORKPLACES ACT -- WORKWEEK - Mandates the workweek be reduced to 32 hrs. Rate of pay for a 32 hr workweek remains the same as the rate of pay for 40 hrs. Work in excess of 32 hrs in any one workweek qualify for overtime pay. Does not apply to employers with less than 500 employees.

MOTOR AND OTHER VEHICLES -- SIZE, WEIGHT, AND LOAD LIMITS - Authorizes a blanket permit and fee to allow the movement of self-propelled cranes which are in excess of size and weight load requirements, to move on state highways.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY -- AUDITOR GENERAL - Requires the auditor general to conduct performance audits of all state agencies.

STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- EMINENT DOMAIN - Allows the department of environmental management to acquire established foot paths by eminent domain, to provide public access to streams, rivers, lakes and ponds.

LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- WORKPLACE PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY ACT - Prohibits psychological abuse in the workplace by employers or co-workers, ensuring a safe environment for employees, provides protection, civil remedies, and penalties for employers based on revenue.

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE -- STATE CRIME LABORATORY COMMISSION - Increases the membership of the state crime laboratory commission from five (5) to nine (9). The overseer and co-executive secretaries of the commission have been changed to the deans of URI's colleges of pharmacy and engineering.

LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- INSPECTION OF PERSONNEL FILES - Expands the obligations of employers to create, maintain and retain their employees' personnel records, it requires that records be retained for at least 3 years after employee's termination. It also increases the financial penalties for each violation.

LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- FAIR EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES - Provides a definition for antisemitism to be used by state agencies to evaluate whether discrimination is present.

INSURANCE -- ACCIDENT AND SICKNESS INSURANCE POLICIES - Requires health insurance plans to cover services provided by licensed certified professional midwives. Insurers would be required to report utilization and cost data annually and certain limited benefit policies would be exempt.