Rhode Island Senate

Here are the highlights from news and events that took place in the General Assembly this week:https://rilegislature.gov/pressrelease/Weekly%20Highlights/06-12-2026.pdf

After passage by the General Assembly Tuesday, Governor Dan McKee today signed the 2027 state budget bill, a balanced $15.2 billion plan that provides economic relief for Rhode Islanders, strengthens support for education and the state’s hospitals and healthcare providers and establishes new government reform efforts without any broad-based tax or fee increases.

The signing, attended by Senate President Valarie Lawson and House Speaker Chris Blazejewski For State Representative – along with Senate Finance Chairman Lou DiPalma, Senator Lammis J. Vargas, and other legislators – was held this morning at Children’s Friend in Providence to highlight its initiatives to get Rhode Island children off to a strong start.

“This budget is a collaborative effort that includes many of the initiatives that the Senate has worked hard on this year, particularly in the area of helping Rhode Islanders access the healthcare they need. From funding the 988 crisis prevention line, to extending the Eat Well Be Well program that enables SNAP recipients to eat healthy food to enabling the funding of the Workforce Training Center at CCRI, this budget reflects our strong commitment to bettering the lives of Rhode Islanders. I’m thankful to our Senate Finance Committee and our colleagues in the House for their hard work and cooperative effort in crafting a budget that will move our state forward,” said President Lawson.

“This budget addresses significant challenges facing the state and its people while also offering the immediate support and services that Rhode Islanders need during these fiscally uncertain times. In partnership with the House and the governor’s office, the Senate is pleased to see meaningful investments in healthcare and education, which will protect the health of our state’s residents while investing in our children and Rhode Island’s future,” said Chairman DiPalma.

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Senate President Valarie Lawson and Senate Health & Human Services Committee Chairwoman Senator Melissa Murray are celebrating passage of 12 of the Senate’s priority healthcare bills.

The bills were part of a 17-bill package announced in March. This is the third year that Senate leadership has brought forward a legislative package focused on healthcare accessibility and affordability.

“We took important steps this session to improve the well-being of our communities, with a focus on improving the stability and sustainability of our health system to make essential care both accessible and affordable for every Rhode Islander. I am proud that the Senate has been a leader in addressing Rhode Island’s healthcare crisis. Together, we are working with urgency to meet the needs of patients and providers across our state,” said President Lawson (D-Dist. 14, East Providence).

“As Chair of the Senate Health & Human Services Committee, I am deeply grateful to my colleagues who embraced these measures to improve our healthcare system. While we know that solving the healthcare crisis cannot be accomplished through any single piece of legislation, or any one collection of bills, those that were successful this session build upon our past progress and help address the most pressing needs of this moment. These bills will support Rhode Islanders in crisis, protect patients and providers, and strengthen the health workforce. Achieving our goals is a long-term effort, and our chamber remains committed to seeing it through,” said Chairwoman Murray (D-Dist. 24, Woonsocket, North Smithfield).

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In the final days of the 2026 session, the General Assembly approved several bills sponsored by Senate Housing and Municipal Government Committee Chairman Jake Bissaillon to address elements of the state’s housing crisis. All are now headed to the governor’s desk.

“There are a multitude of factors creating our housing crisis, demanding a wide range of solutions and responses. In our committee and in the General Assembly, we’ve been working, hard, year after year, to identify barriers to housing and collaboratively develop ways to address them. I’m grateful to the leaders and all my colleagues in the legislature, as well as the many stakeholders and advocates who have helped us identify solutions, and we will continue to work to ensure that all Rhode Islanders can access the safe, affordable, comfortable homes we all need,” said Chairman Bissaillon (D-Dist. 1, Providence).

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Today, Senate Majority Whip Senator David P. Tikoian helped distribute bike helmets to fourth- and fifth-grade students at Old Country Road Elementary School in Smithfield.

The General Assembly today approved Senator Walter S. Felag and Representative Terri Cortvriend’s legislation that would amend the Consumer PFAS Ban Act of 2024. Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are substances that include any member of the class of fluorinated organic chemicals containing at least one fully fluorinated carbon atom. They have been found to be extremely damaging to health and the environment.

“The more we learn about PFAS and forever chemicals, the more horrifying these products become that affect our health and well-being. This bill will help enforce the PFAS ban in Rhode Island, which in turn, will protect individuals and certain professions such as fire fighters from being harmed by PFAS exposure,” said Senator Felag (D-Dist. 10, Warren, Bristol, Tiverton).

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To provide stability and predictability for a program that has been proven to improve outcomes for Rhode Island children experiencing mental and behavioral health crises, the General Assembly today approved legislation sponsored by Senate President Valarie Lawson and RI State Representative Julie Casimiro to codify Children’s Mobile Response and Stabilization Services (MRSS) in state law. The bill is part of the Senate’s 17-bill package of healthcare legislation.

“For the well-being of our communities, and the future of our state, it is imperative that we do everything in our power to ensure the stability and sustainability of our health system, and to make essential care both accessible and affordable for every Rhode Islander. This is especially true for our children experiencing a crisis,” said President Lawson (D-Dist. 14, East Providence). “Trained mobile crisis response clinicians are best able to handle local mental health emergencies, to deescalate crises and to provide the onsite counseling and follow-up needed to keep youth safe and out of emergency rooms. Mobile crisis response provides better outcomes for youth in crisis while reducing the strain on emergency departments, and this bill will provide a stable future for this invaluable program.”

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The General Assembly today voted to approve legislation from State Senator Meghan Kallman and Representative José F. Batista to protect those attending court proceedings in Rhode Island from arrest by ICE or other federal immigration authorities.

“When ICE targets Rhode Islanders in our courthouses, it has a chilling effect on our justice system. Our courts only remain free and fair when every defendant, plaintiff and witness — regardless of their immigration status — can access them without fear of detention and deportation,” said Senator Kallman (D-Dist. 15, Pawtucket, Providence). “Under this administration, ICE’s persistent targeting of individuals who are fulfilling their legal rights and responsibilities at our courthouses has deprived those with uncertain immigration status of the justice they deserve and hurts public safety by depriving our courts of essential community participation, including witnesses. This act will limit federal overreach and ensure that all Rhode Islanders can exercise the right to their day in court.”

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The General Assembly today voted to approve legislation from Pam Lauria, RI Senator D32 and RI State Representative Teresa Tanzi to require healthcare providers and facilities to notify patients if they use artificial intelligence tools to document visits and to review this documentation for accuracy after the visit.

“Documenting healthcare visits is one of the most important and time-consuming parts of a medical visit for a provider. Accurate visit documentation ensures continuity of care, accurate billing and provides safeguards against legal action,” said Senator Lauria (D-Dist. 32, Barrington, Bristol, East Providence), who works as a primary care nurse practitioner. “However, the documentation burden has become a leading cause of burnout, as reflected in the infamous industry term ‘pajama time,’ which describes the common practice of providers working late into the night to finish their notes. In recent years, AI has become an incredibly valuable tool to help write these notes. The notes are more comprehensive, accurate coding is easier and the time needed to complete notes is drastically reduced. At the same time, patients are very clear that they want as much transparency as possible. This bill ensures that they will always be notified when AI-transcription is used in their visit and have the option to opt-out if they are not comfortable.”

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The General Assembly today approved legislation from RI State Senator Victoria Gu, District 38 and Terri Cortvriend, RI State Representative District 72 to educate tenants and short-term rental guests about public shoreline access rights.

“This bill expands upon the work we’ve done to codify shoreline access and educate buyers of shoreline property about the public’s right to access the shore,” said Senator Gu (D-Dist. 38, Westerly, Charlestown, South Kingstown). “Many Rhode Islanders have called our attention to online listings for beachfront rental properties that incorrectly advertise a “private beach. This is an important consumer protection and education measure to ensure that people renting ocean front real estate understand the public’s right to access the shoreline.”

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