| 23 | | - | WHEREAS, Carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels into the atmosphere have 1 |
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| 24 | | - | changed the earth’s climate leading to surface temperature rise; and 2 |
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| 25 | | - | WHEREAS, Plastic pollution is dangerous to the health of our oceans, harms our marine 3 |
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| 26 | | - | species, contributes to climate change, and is a major component of unsightly litter both on our 4 |
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| 27 | | - | lands and in our waters; and 5 |
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| 28 | | - | WHEREAS, Rhode Island is on a path towards achieving net-zero carbon emission and 6 |
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| 29 | | - | reducing our plastic refuse; and 7 |
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| 30 | | - | WHEREAS, Rhode Island State agencies must support the transition by adopting 8 |
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| 31 | | - | renewable technologies and policies that support our goals to preserve and protect the 9 |
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| 32 | | - | environment; now, therefore be it 10 |
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| 33 | | - | RESOLVED, That this Senate of the State of Rhode Island hereby respectfully requests 11 |
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| 34 | | - | the Department of Administration (DOA) to undertake a review and analysis of state purchasing 12 |
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| 35 | | - | practices that support reducing carbon emissions and refuse among our state agencies including: 13 |
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| 36 | | - | A summary of current purchasing practices to reduce refuse and carbon emissions; 14 |
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| 37 | | - | A list of the total number of electric vehicles in the state fleet and green energy certified 15 |
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| 38 | | - | state-owned buildings; and 16 |
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| 39 | | - | A cost-benefit analysis focused on transitioning state agencies to electric vehicles and 17 |
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| 40 | | - | renewable energy technology; and be it further 18 |
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| 41 | | - | RESOLVED, That this Senate, in order to reduce our carbon and refuse footprint, hereby 19 |
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| 21 | + | It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: |
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| 22 | + | SECTION 1. Chapter 37-2 of the General Laws entitled "State Purchases" is hereby 1 |
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| 23 | + | amended by adding thereto the following sections: 2 |
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| 24 | + | 37-2-82. State purchasing ban on plastic bottles, bags and polystyrene. 3 |
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| 25 | + | (a) State funds shall not be used to purchase single-serving bottled water for use in facilities 4 |
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| 26 | + | that are served by public water supplies or potable well water, except when required for safety, 5 |
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| 27 | + | health or emergency situations. 6 |
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| 28 | + | (b) State funds shall not be used to purchase single-use plastic checkout bags or expanded 7 |
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| 29 | + | polystyrene, except when required for safety, health or emergency situations. 8 |
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| 30 | + | (c) State governmental entities shall be prohibited from entering into a contract with: 9 |
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| 31 | + | (1) A food service provider that provides and/or makes available single-use plastic 10 |
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| 32 | + | checkout bags; or 11 |
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| 33 | + | (2) A food service provider that provides food in single service articles that consist of 12 |
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| 34 | + | expanded polystyrene. 13 |
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| 35 | + | (d)(1) For purposes of this section, "single-use plastic checkout bag" means a carryout bag 14 |
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| 36 | + | that is provided to the consumer at the point of sale for the purpose of transporting food, groceries 15 |
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| 37 | + | or other retail goods, and is made from compostable or non-compostable plastic and not specifically 16 |
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| 38 | + | designed and manufactured for multiple re-use. The term "single-use plastic checkout bag" does 17 |
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| 39 | + | not include the following types of bag: 18 |
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| 40 | + | (i) Bags used by consumers inside a business to package loose items, such as fruits, 19 |
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| 44 | | - | LC000289/SUB A - Page 2 of 2 |
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| 45 | | - | requests the DOA to report on the feasibility for procuring the following: 1 |
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| 46 | | - | 1. Transitioning the state vehicle fleet, through lease or purchase, to alternative fueled 2 |
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| 47 | | - | vehicles and expand electric vehicle charging infrastructure including: 3 |
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| 48 | | - | Alternative fueled vehicles including light and medium duty passenger vehicles, light and 4 |
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| 49 | | - | heavy-duty vehicles, buses, emergency vehicles, bicycles, and scooters; and 5 |
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| 50 | | - | If a vehicle cannot be replaced due to limited supply or inadequate replacement the state 6 |
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| 51 | | - | shall consider the purchase or lease of hybrid vehicles; 7 |
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| 52 | | - | 2. Renewable and energy efficient technologies for use at state properties to improve 8 |
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| 53 | | - | existing infrastructure, reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, including, but 9 |
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| 54 | | - | not limited to: 10 |
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| 55 | | - | Air conditioning systems, ventilation systems, heating systems, domestic hot water 11 |
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| 56 | | - | heating systems, compressed air systems, distribution systems, lighting systems, power 12 |
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| 57 | | - | systems, and controls of the building; 13 |
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| 58 | | - | 3. Replacement of plasticware with biodegradable and compostable cutlery, straws, 14 |
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| 59 | | - | drinkware, and napkins at state facilities with dining accommodations; 15 |
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| 60 | | - | 4. Phasing out single-use plastic water bottles by creating access to potable water through 16 |
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| 61 | | - | bottle fill stations or other available measures; and 17 |
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| 62 | | - | 5. Providing compostable bins at state facilities and contracting with a compost disposal 18 |
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| 63 | | - | service; and be it further 19 |
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| 64 | | - | RESOLVED, That this Senate hereby requests DOA to develop guidelines for vendor 20 |
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| 65 | | - | contracts that limit or prohibit the purchase or use of Styrofoam, plasticware, and single-use 21 |
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| 66 | | - | plastic water bottles; and be it further 22 |
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| 67 | | - | RESOLVED, That this Senate hereby further requests the DOA to provide a timeframe to 23 |
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| 68 | | - | enter into purchase agreements that support the transition to green technology and practices, and 24 |
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| 69 | | - | report its findings and recommendations to the Senate on or before February 1, 2024; and be it 25 |
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| 70 | | - | further 26 |
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| 71 | | - | RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to 27 |
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| 72 | | - | transmit duly certified copies of this resolution to the Director of the Department of 28 |
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| 73 | | - | Administration. 29 |
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| 43 | + | LC000289 - Page 2 of 4 |
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| 44 | + | vegetables, nuts, ground coffee, grains, candies or small hardware items; or 1 |
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| 45 | + | (ii) Bags used to contain or wrap frozen foods, meat or fish, flowers or potted plants, or 2 |
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| 46 | + | other items to contain dampness or prevent contamination of other goods. 3 |
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| 47 | + | (2) For purposes of this section, "expanded polystyrene" means polystyrene that has been 4 |
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| 48 | + | expanded into a solid foam. Expanded polystyrene does not include expanded polystyrene 5 |
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| 49 | + | containers used for prepackaged food that have been filled and sealed prior to receipt by the food 6 |
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| 50 | + | service establishment, mobile food commissary or store; or expanded polystyrene containers used 7 |
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| 51 | + | to store raw meat, pork, fish, seafood or poultry sold from a butcher case or similar retail 8 |
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| 52 | + | establishment. 9 |
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| 53 | + | 37-2-83. State purchasing -- Alternative fueled vehicles. 10 |
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| 54 | + | (a) State funds shall be used to lease or purchase alternative fueled vehicles and electric 11 |
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| 55 | + | vehicle infrastructure for use by state agencies. 12 |
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| 56 | + | (b)(1) For purposes of this section, "alternative fueled vehicles" means a vehicle that uses 13 |
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| 57 | + | one or more electric motors for propulsion. Alternative fueled vehicles include light and medium 14 |
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| 58 | + | duty passenger vehicles, light and heavy-duty vehicles, buses, emergency vehicles, bicycles, and 15 |
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| 59 | + | scooters. Alternative fueled vehicles do not include hybrid electric vehicles or HEVs that require 16 |
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| 60 | + | use of an internal combustion engine and emit carbon emissions. 17 |
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| 61 | + | (2) For the purposes of this section, "electric vehicle infrastructure" means structures, 18 |
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| 62 | + | machinery, and equipment necessary and integral to support an electric vehicle, including battery 19 |
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| 63 | + | charging stations, rapid charging stations, and battery exchange stations. 20 |
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| 64 | + | (c) If a combustion engine vehicle cannot be replaced with an electric vehicle due to limited 21 |
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| 65 | + | supply or inadequate replacement, the state may lease or purchase a hybrid vehicle until a time 22 |
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| 66 | + | when a comparable vehicle is available. 23 |
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| 67 | + | 37-2-84. State purchasing -- Renewable energy and efficient technologies. 24 |
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| 68 | + | (a) State funds shall be used to purchase renewable and energy efficient technologies for 25 |
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| 69 | + | use on state properties to improve existing infrastructure, reduce energy consumption and 26 |
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| 70 | + | greenhouse gas emissions. 27 |
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| 71 | + | (b) For the purpose of this section, "renewable energy technologies" means any system that 28 |
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| 72 | + | collects energy from renewable resources such as sunlight, wind, waves, and geothermal heat. 29 |
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| 73 | + | "Energy efficiency technologies" means technology certified as energy efficient, which uses less 30 |
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| 74 | + | energy and reduces pollution. Renewable energy systems and efficient technologies may be located 31 |
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| 75 | + | on or within the physical structure of a state owned building or located on state owned property. 32 |
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| 76 | + | (c) The state shall install renewable energy and efficient technologies in new buildings or 33 |
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| 77 | + | during the renovation or repairing of an existing state property. For new and existing structures 34 |
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| 78 | + | |
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| 79 | + | |
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| 80 | + | LC000289 - Page 3 of 4 |
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| 81 | + | energy efficient systems may include air conditioning systems, ventilation systems, heating 1 |
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| 82 | + | systems, domestic hot water heating systems, compressed air systems, distribution systems, 2 |
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| 83 | + | lighting systems, power systems, and controls of the building. 3 |
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| 84 | + | 37-2-85 State purchasing -- Recycling in state buildings. 4 |
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| 85 | + | (a) State funds shall be used to purchase recycling bins for all state buildings to ensure 5 |
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| 86 | + | proper disposal of recyclable items. For any state facility with a cafeteria, state purchasing shall 6 |
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| 87 | + | require the use of biodegradable and compostable materials. Cafeterias shall provide biodegradable 7 |
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| 88 | + | or compostable utensils, straws, cups, plates, and napkins by January 1, 2024. No plastic plates, 8 |
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| 89 | + | cutlery, or drinkware shall be offered after January 1, 2024. 9 |
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| 90 | + | (b) To reduce the amount of waste entering our state landfill, state funds shall be used to 10 |
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| 91 | + | lease or purchase compostable bins for state facilities, along with contracting with a compost 11 |
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| 92 | + | disposal service. 12 |
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| 93 | + | (c) For the purposes of this section, "compostable materials" means an organic material 13 |
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| 94 | + | that has the potential to be composted and not co-mingled or contaminated by significant amounts 14 |
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| 95 | + | of toxic substances. Compostable material includes leaves, twigs, dead flowers, straw, corn stalks, 15 |
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| 96 | + | shredded cardboard and paper, paper towels and napkins, vacuum cleaner bag contents, dryer lint, 16 |
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| 97 | + | untreated wood chips and saw dust, vegetable and fruit scraps, spoiled vegetables and fruits, 17 |
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| 98 | + | eggshells, coffee grounds and filters, tea bags, grass clippings, and fresh plant and yard trimmings. 18 |
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| 99 | + | (d) The state shall require all agencies to implement a recycling and compost program no 19 |
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| 100 | + | later than January l, 2025. 20 |
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| 101 | + | SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage. 21 |
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