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5/27/2025
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MEDIA ADVISORY: Providence revenue bills to be heard today
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STATE HOUSE – The Senate Housing and Municipal Government Committee will meet this afternoon for hearings on several bills that help raise revenue for municipalities, particularly Providence.
“Providence policymakers and taxpayers are confronting a perfect storm of fiscal pressures – most notably, the financial impact of the city’s settlement with the Department of Education and the effects of a citywide revaluation. Together, these three bills provide the city with additional tools to raise revenue more flexibly and equitably, helping ensure that the steepest tax increases do not fall on those least able to afford them,” said Housing and Municipal Government Committee Chairman Jacob E. Bissaillon (D-Dist. 1, Providence).
The hearing is scheduled today, Tuesday, May 27, at the rise of the Senate (sometime after 4:30 pm.) session in Room 212 on the second floor of the State House.
Among the bills being heard are:
2025-S 1114 — Sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Frank A. Ciccone III (D-Dist. 7, Providence, Johnston), this bill would authorize Providence to adopt progressive tax rates on the marginal value of residential properties exceeding $1 million per dwelling unit.
Majority Leader Ciccone observed, “This legislation takes a more progressive approach to property taxes. It reflects a methodology utilized in other jurisdictions to better align property tax burdens with property wealth. Importantly, it also includes income-based safeguards to protect low income residents. A fairer tax code will be able to distinguish between homes valued at $400,000 and one valued at $4 million.”
2025-S 1115 — This bill sponsored by Sen. Samuel W. Bell (D-Dist. 5, Providence) encourages nonprofit colleges in Providence to reach a new agreement with the city for increased payments by empowering the city to bill them for municipal services if they fail to reach a new agreement. The legislation is modeled on former Senator Stephen Archambault's 2013 legislation, which successfully brought Bryant University to the table to contribute towards the Town of Smithfield. The legislation also closes loopholes that could allow colleges to reduce payments below the current baseline.
Sen. Bell said, “At every community meeting I have held on Providence finances, my constituents always ask why we can't ask our tax-exempt colleges and universities to contribute more. This bill takes a proven approach, modeled after former Senator Archambault's successful Smithfield legislation. I am grateful for his leadership in establishing this pathway.”
2025-S 1116 — Sponsored by Chairman Bissaillon, this bill would allow Providence to create a distinct tax classification for industrial properties, separate from commercial properties, and authorize a higher tax rate for industrial parcels—up to 1.5 times the commercial rate. Any additional revenue generated through this mechanism would be exempt from the state’s 4% levy cap.
“The tax code in Providence is out of balance, and this bill is a step to address it,” said Chairman Bissaillon. “Enabling a distinction between commercial and industrial property would improve alignment between the impacts of those facilities and their tax contributions to the city, and updating the language on how energy-generating facilities, such as power plants, are taxed will help ensure they pay their fair share. Dominion Energy’s Manchester Street Power Station is expected to receive a tax cut of more than $200,000 due to rate changes, even though this infrastructure takes up valuable land and requires specialized oversight. At a time when everybody else is being asked to pay more, that’s just unfair, and this legislation would fix it.”
Additionally, on Thursday, May 29, at the rise of the Senate in Room 212, the committee will meet to hear numerous zoning bills to help address the housing crisis, including:
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2025-S 1083 — This bill sponsored by Sen. Meghan E. Kallman (D-Dist. 15, Pawtucket, Providence) adds the process of permitting the construction of attached single-family dwellings in identified zoning districts as a factor that zoning ordinances must address.
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2025-S 1084 — Sponsored by Sen. Victoria Gu (D-Dist. 38, Westerly, Charlestown, South Kingstown), this bill would amend the administration requirements a zoning ordinance must provide and require that zoning certificates be issued within 20 days of the written request.
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2025-S 1090 — Sponsored by Chairman Bissaillon, this bill would require zoning ordinances to provide for residential development in all or some of the areas encompassing commercial districts.
For more information, contact:
Greg Pare, Director of Communications for the Senate
State House Room 112
Providence, RI 02903
(401) 276-5558
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