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6/6/2022 Media Advisory: Bills on renewable electricity, plastic bags headed for committee vote in House
STATE HOUSE – Bills requiring 100 percent of Rhode Island’s electricity be offset by renewable energy production and prohibiting plastic checkout bags are up for votes before the House Environment and Natural Resources Committee Wednesday.

The committee is scheduled to meet Wednesday, June 8, at the rise of the House session (sometime after 4:30 p.m.) in Room 101 on the first floor of the State House. Scheduled for votes are:
  • 2022-H 7065 and 2022-S 2446 — Sponsored by Rep. Carol Hagan McEntee (D-Dist. 33, South Kingstown, Narragansett) and Senate President Dominick J. Ruggerio (D-Dist. 4, North Providence, Providence), these companion bills create 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. An amendment will be offered for the House bill.
  • 2022-H 7277 and 2022-S 2274Aaa — Sponsored by Rep. Deborah Ruggiero (D-Dist.74, Jamestown, these bills would set a timeline for offsetting 100 percent of Rhode Island’s electricity by renewable energy production. An amendment will be offered for the House bill that will set the deadline at 2033.
The committee will also hold a hearing on a bill (2022-H 8295) sponsored by Rep. Kathleen A. Fogarty (D-Dist. 35, South Kingstown) to amend dam safety standards to require the state building code standards committee to take into account climate change’s effect on inundation areas below dams classified as high, significant or low hazard.

The meeting will be televised by Capitol Television on Cox Communications (channels 15, and 61 for high definition), i3Broadband (on channel 15) and Verizon (on channel 34). Livestreaming is available at https://www.rilegislature.gov/CapTV/Pages/default.aspx .
 



For more information, contact:
Meredyth R. Whitty, Publicist
State House Room 20
Providence, RI 02903
(401) 222-1923