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4/7/2025
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Media Advisory: House committee to vote on bills from Speaker’s housing package
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STATE HOUSE — The House Committee on Municipal Government and Housing will meet Thursday to vote on several bills from Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi’s 12-bill package of housing legislation. It will also hear bills related to accessibility in new construction, minimum lot sizes and affordable housing requirements.
The committee is scheduled to meet Thursday, April 10, at the rise of the House, sometime after 4:30 p.m. in Room 101 on the first floor of the State House. The committee is scheduled to vote on three bills from the Speaker’s housing package:
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2025-H 5793 — This legislation sponsored by Rep. Arthur J. Corvese (D-Dist. 55, North Providence) would allow an exemption from the local annual maximum tax levy for new construction of housing under certain conditions. The exemption would be contingent upon approval by the municipality and is only allowed where the new housing includes a portion of affordable units, among other criteria. The committee will also consider an amendment to the bill.
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2025-H 5802 — This legislation sponsored by Rep. Thomas E. Noret (D-Dist. 25, Coventry, West Warwick) would leverage data collected by the Commission to Study the Cost and Status of State-Owned Vacant Properties to review state-owned vacant and abandoned properties that may be utilized for housing opportunities throughout the state. This legislation would establish a streamlined approval process to be used for such properties. The committee will also consider an amendment to the bill.
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2025-H 5803 — This legislation sponsored by Speaker Shekarchi (D-Dist. 23, Warwick) would require that applications for the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council and the Rhode Island Department of Transportation to utilize the e-permitting system created by legislation in last year’s housing package by October 2026. The committee will also consider an amendment to the bill.
The committee will also hear several bills, including:
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2025-H 5268 — This legislation introduced by Rep. Tina L. Spears (D-Dist. 36, Charlestown, New Shoreham, South Kingstown, Westerly) would require all new construction of covered dwelling units to incorporate design features that provide safe and convenient use, regardless of age or physical ability.
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2025-H 5964 — This legislation sponsored by Rep. Cherie L. Cruz (D-Dist. 58, Pawtucket) would cap the minimum lot size that may be required to not exceed three new separate parameters relating to the availability of public water, sewer and transit.
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2025-H 6175 — This legislation sponsored by Rep. June S. Speakman (D-Dist. 68, Warren, Bristol) would update inclusionary zoning statutes to ensure that more affordable housing units that are already required by zoning ordinances are built in new developments by allowing a payment of a fee in lieu of construction only for fractional affordable units, not whole affordable units.
Written testimony must be submitted to HouseMunicipalGovernmentandHousing@rilegislature.gov. Testimony must include your name, the bill number, and your viewpoint, whether for, against, or neither. Sign-up sheets for in-person testimony will be available in the hearing room.
The meeting will be televised by Capitol Television, which can be seen on Cox channel 61, on i3Broadband channel 15 and on Verizon channel 34. It will be live streamed at capitoltvri.cablecast.tv.
For more information, contact:
Tristan Grau, Publicist
State House Room B20
Providence, RI 02903
401.222.4935
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