Rhode Island 2023 Regular Session

Rhode Island House Bill H6097 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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5	5	2023 -- H 6097
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7	7	LC001316
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9	9	S TATE OF RHODE IS LAND
10	10	IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
11	11	JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2023
12	12	____________
13	13
14	14	A N A C T
15	15	RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- TOURISM AND
16	16	DEVELOPMENT
17	17	Introduced By: Representatives Carson, McGaw, Speakman, Edwards, and Vella-
18	18	Wilkinson
19	19	Date Introduced: March 03, 2023
20	20	Referred To: House Municipal Government & Housing
21	21	(by request)
22	22
23	23	It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
24	24	SECTION 1. Section 42-63.1-14 of the General Laws in Chapter 42-63.1 entitled "Tourism 1
25	25	and Development" is hereby amended to read as follows: 2
26	26	42-63.1-14. Offering residential units through a hosting platform. 3
27	27	(a) For any rental property offered for tourist or transient use on a hosting platform that 4
28	28	collects and remits applicable sales and hotel taxes in compliance with §§ 44-18-7.3(b)(4)(i), 44-5
29	29	18-18, and 44-18-36.1, cities, towns, or municipalities shall not prohibit the owner from offering 6
30	30	the unit for tourist or transient use through such hosting platform, or prohibit such hosting platform 7
31	31	from providing a person or entity the means to rent, pay for, or otherwise reserve a residential unit 8
32	32	for tourist or transient use. A hosting platform shall comply with the requirement imposed upon 9
33	33	room resellers in §§ 44-18-7.3(b)(4)(i) and 44-18-36.1 in order for the prohibition of this section to 10
34	34	apply. The division of taxation shall at the request of a city, town, or municipality confirm whether 11
35	35	a hosting platform is registered in compliance with § 44-18-7.3(b)(4)(i). 12
36	36	(b) Any short-term rental property listed for rent on the website of any third-party hosting 13
37	37	platform that conducts business in Rhode Island shall be registered with the department of business 14
38	38	regulation. The registration shall provide the information necessary to identify the property 15
39	39	pursuant to subsection (d) of this section. For purposes of this section, the term “short-term rental” 16
40	40	means a person, firm, or corporation’s utilization, for transient lodging accommodations, not to 17
41	41	exceed thirty (30) nights at a time. 18
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44	44	LC001316 - Page 2 of 4
45	45	(c) The department of business regulation shall contact all hosting platforms that list 1
46	46	property in Rhode Island on their website for rent and that submit hotel taxes to the division of 2
47	47	taxation and shall provide notice of the registration requirement, pursuant to this section, instructing 3
48	48	the hosting platforms to notify their listed properties to register with the department of business 4
49	49	regulation by December 31, 2021, or be subject to fines pursuant to § 42-63.1-14.1. 5
50	50	(d) The state registration pursuant to this section shall include: 6
51	51	(1) The principal place of business of the owner, or if outside the state, the agent for service 7
52	52	of process or property manager for the owner; 8
53	53	(2) The phone number of the owner of the property and/or property manager; 9
54	54	(3) The email address of the property owner and/or property manager; 10
55	55	(4) The address of the rental property; 11
56	56	(5) The number of rooms for rent at the property; 12
57	57	(6) Whether the registrant rents or owns; and 13
58	58	(7) Intended use (entire space, private room, or shared space). 14
59	59	(e) The assigned registration number shall consist of numeric and alpha characters, the 15
60	60	alpha characters shall correspond to the city/town where the property is located and shall be uniform 16
61	61	for the remaining properties in said city/town. 17
62	62	(f) The department of business regulation shall notify all hosting platforms to contact all 18
63	63	listed properties by December 31, 2021, to ensure compliance with this section and if the listed 19
64	64	properties are not duly registered after six (6) months, the hosting platform shall remove the 20
65	65	property listing from its website. 21
66	66	(g) The department of business regulation shall promulgate rules and regulations to 22
67	67	correspond with and enforce this section and § 42-63.1-14.1 and may charge a registration fee to 23
68	68	property owners registering with the department pursuant to this section. 24
69	69	(h) The department of business regulation shall create an online database to store all 25
70	70	registered short-term rental units, and each unit shall have an online identification number in said 26
71	71	database to correspond with subsection (e) of this section. 27
72	72	(i) Any owner of the property who or that fails to register with the department of business 28
73	73	regulation as prescribed herein and lists the property as a short-term rental on a hosting platform 29
74	74	website shall be subject to a civil fine as follows: 30
75	75	(1) Two hundred fifty dollars ($250) for the first thirty (30) days of non-compliance; 31
76	76	(2) Five hundred dollars ($500) for between thirty-one (31) and sixty (60) days of non-32
77	77	compliance; and 33
78	78	(3) One thousand dollars ($1,000) for more than sixty (60) days of non-compliance. 34
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82	82	SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage. 1
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84	84	LC001316
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88	88	LC001316 - Page 4 of 4
89	89	EXPLANATION
90	90	BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
91	91	OF
92	92	A N A C T
93	93	RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- TOURISM AND
94	94	DEVELOPMENT
95	95	***
96	96	This act would remove the municipal preemption on prohibiting the offering of 1
97	97	residential units for tourist or transient use through a hosting platform. 2
98	98	This act would take effect upon passage. 3
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100	100	LC001316
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