 |
|
4/7/2025
|
Media Advisory: Local tax bills up for committee vote, bills to help the unhoused to be heard
|
STATE HOUSE – The Senate Committee on Housing and Municipal Government will meet Thursday for votes on two bills concerning local taxes in Providence and Middletown and for hearings on two bills to help those experiencing homelessness. The committee will also receive a Pew Charitable Trusts presentation on state housing policy.
The committee is scheduled to meet Thursday, April 10, at the rise of the Senate session (sometime after 4:30 p.m.) in Room 212 on the second floor of the State House.
It will receive a presentation by Alex Horowitz, director of the Housing Policy Initiative at The Pew Charitable Trusts, entitled “State Housing Policy: New Developments & Outcomes.”
The committee is then scheduled to vote on two bills on property taxes in Providence and Middletown:
-
2025-S 0720 — Sponsored by Sen. Frank A. Ciccone III (D-Dist. 7, Providence, Johnston), this bill would enable the Providence City Council to set the veterans’ tax exemption limit to an amount it determines via ordinance or resolution.
-
2025-H 5694 — This bill sponsored by Rep. Terri Cortvriend (D-Dist. 72, Portsmouth, Middletown) enables Middletown to adopt a tax classification plan that allows a lower tax rate to landlords who rent to residents rather than using their properties as short-term rentals. The Senate passed companion legislation (2025-S 0351) sponsored by Sen. Louis P. DiPalma (D-Dist. 12, Middletown, Little Compton, Newport, Tiverton) on March 11.
The bills scheduled for hearings are:
-
2025-S 0797 — Sponsored by Senate Health and Human Services Committee Chairwoman Melissa Murray, this bill updates the Homeless Bill of Rights to add rules governing encampments, including the right to clean and sanitary conditions, and to impose penalties for violations of the rights set forth in this chapter in the amount of $500 per violation.
-
2025-S 0713 — This bill sponsored by Sen. Tiara T. Mack (D-Dist. 6, Providence) provides for warming center and cooling center alerts to trigger certain procedures municipalities shall follow during extreme heat or cold to help at-risk individuals with shelter.
The meeting will be televised by Capitol Television on channels 15 and 61 for high definition on Cox Communications, channel 15 on i3Broadband (Formerly Full Channel) and channel 34 for Verizon viewers. Senate committee hearings may also air on Channel 75 for Cox subscribers. Livestreaming is available at https://capitoltvri.cablecast.tv/.
Anyone wishing to submit written testimony must email it to SLegislation@rilegislature.gov by 3 p.m. Thursday in order for it to be provided to the members of the committee at the hearing and to be included in the meeting records.
For more information, contact:
Greg Pare, Director of Communications for the Senate
State House Room 112
Providence, RI 02903
(401) 276-5558
|
|