Rhode Island 2025 Regular Session

Rhode Island House Bill H5450 Compare Versions

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

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5	5	2025 -- H 5450
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7	7	LC001198
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9	9	S T A T E O F R H O D E I S L A N D
10	10	IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
11	11	JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2025
12	12	____________
13	13
14	14	A N A C T
15	15	RELATING TO PUBLIC PROPERTY AND WORKS -- ALL-ELECTRIC BUILDING ACT
16	16	Introduced By: Representatives Handy, Cortvriend, Kislak, Stewart, McGaw, Speakman,
17	17	Boylan, Fogarty, Carson, and Ajello
18	18	Date Introduced: February 12, 2025
19	19	Referred To: House Municipal Government & Housing
20	20
21	21
22	22	It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
23	23	SECTION 1. Title 37 of the General Laws entitled "PUBLIC PROPERTY AND WORKS" 1
24	24	is hereby amended by adding thereto the following chapter: 2
25	25	CHAPTER 27 3
26	26	ALL-ELECTRIC BUILDING ACT 4
27	27	37-27-1. Short title. 5
28	28	This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "All-Electric Building Act". 6
29	29	37-27-2. Definitions. 7
30	30	As used in this chapter: 8
31	31	(1) "All-electric building or project" means a building or project that uses a permanent 9
32	32	supply of electricity, as the sole source of energy to meet its building energy needs. An all-electric 10
33	33	building or project shall have no natural gas, propane, or oil heaters, boilers, piping systems, 11
34	34	fixtures or infrastructure installed to meet building energy needs. 12
35	35	(2) "All-electric ready" means a building, project, or portion thereof, that contains electrical 13
36	36	systems and designs that provide sufficient capacity for a future retrofit of a mixed-fuel building to 14
37	37	an all-electric building, including sufficient space, drainage, electrical conductors or raceways, bus 15
38	38	bar capacity, and overcurrent protective devices for such retrofit. The public utilities commission, 16
39	39	in conjunction with the office of housing and community development and the state building code 17
40	40	commission, shall promulgate guidelines for an electric-ready building on or before January 1, 18
41	41	2026. 19
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45	45	(3) "Building energy needs" means all space conditioning including heating and cooling, 1
46	46	water heating including pools and spas, cooking appliances and clothes drying appliances. 2
47	47	(4) "Mixed-fuel building" means a building that uses a combination of electricity and 3
48	48	natural gas, propane, or oil to meet its building energy needs. For the purposes of this section, 4
49	49	"mixed-fuel building" shall not include buildings that use geothermal or solar energy to meet their 5
50	50	heating and/or cooling building energy needs; provided, however, that are otherwise, all-electric 6
51	51	buildings. 7
52	52	(5) "Mixed-use building" means a building used for both residential and commercial 8
53	53	purposes. 9
54	54	37-27-3. Permits for all-electric buildings. 10
55	55	(a) No city or town shall issue a permit for the construction of any new commercial, 11
56	56	residential, or mixed-use building, that is not an all-electric building, if the initial application for 12
57	57	such permit was submitted after December 31, 2026, unless the circumstances set forth in 13
58	58	subsection (b) or (e) of this section apply. For purposes of this subsection, the initial application 14
59	59	shall be the first site or building permit application, associated with the building or project. 15
60	60	(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, a city or town may 16
61	61	issue a permit for construction of a new mixed-fuel building upon a finding by the permitting body 17
62	62	of such city or town, that constructing an all-electric building or project is physically or technically 18
63	63	infeasible and that a modification is warranted. Financial considerations shall not be a sufficient 19
64	64	basis to determine physical or technical infeasibility. Modifications shall only be issued under this 20
65	65	exception where the permitting body finds that: 21
66	66	(1) Sufficient evidence was submitted to substantiate the infeasibility of an all-electric 22
67	67	building or project design. Such evidence shall show that the building either: 23
68	68	(i) Cannot satisfy necessary building code requirements, without the usage of gas or oil 24
69	69	piping systems, fixtures and/or infrastructure; or 25
70	70	(ii) If the building is specifically designated for occupancy by a commercial food service 26
71	71	establishment, that such establishment cannot feasibly operate using commercially available all-27
72	72	electric appliances; 28
73	73	(2) The installation of natural gas or oil piping systems, fixtures and/or infrastructure is 29
74	74	strictly limited to the system and area of the building for which an all-electric building or project 30
75	75	design is infeasible; 31
76	76	(3) The area or service within the project where gas or oil piping systems, fixtures and/or 32
77	77	infrastructure are installed, is all-electric ready; and 33
78	78	(4) The project's modified design provides equivalent health, safety and fire protection to 34
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82	82	an all-electric building or project design. 1
83	83	(c) No local permitting body shall issue building or construction permits that would convert 2
84	84	an all-electric building or project into a mixed-fuel building where the initial application was 3
85	85	submitted after December 31, 2026. 4
86	86	(d) On or before February 1, 2027, the public utilities commission, the office of housing 5
87	87	community development and the state building code commission, shall report jointly to the 6
88	88	governor, the senate president, and the speaker of the house, regarding what changes to electric rate 7
89	89	designs, new or existing subsidy programs, policies, or laws, are necessary to ensure this section 8
90	90	does not diminish the production of affordable housing or the affordability of electricity for 9
91	91	customers in all-electric buildings. For the purpose of this subsection, "affordability of electricity" 10
92	92	means that electricity does not cost more than six percent (6%) of a residential customer's income. 11
93	93	(e) Exemptions. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, a city or 12
94	94	town shall issue a permit for new construction, substantial remodel, or rehabilitation of a building 13
95	95	or group of buildings, in which the use of mixed-fuel is used, to meet building energy needs and 14
96	96	said building or group of buildings, are for the sole use as a hospital, medical facility, laboratory 15
97	97	for biological research or restaurant. 16
98	98	SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage. 17
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105	105	EXPLANATION
106	106	BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
107	107	OF
108	108	A N A C T
109	109	RELATING TO PUBLIC PROPERTY AND WORKS -- ALL-ELECTRIC BUILDING ACT
110	110	***
111	111	This act would provide that no city or town may issue a permit for the construction of new 1
112	112	buildings, that are not an all-electric building, if the initial application for a permit was submitted 2
113	113	after December 31, 2026, unless certain circumstances apply. Exceptions would be granted to 3
114	114	restaurants, hospitals, medical facilities or biolabs. 4
115	115	This act would take effect upon passage. 5
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