Rhode Island 2025 Regular Session

Rhode Island House Bill H5779 Compare Versions

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

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5	5	2025 -- H 5779
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7	7	LC001399
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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 STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- 2021 ACT ON CLIMATE
16	16	Introduced By: Representatives Cortvriend, Carson, McGaw, Kislak, McEntee, Spears,
17	17	Fogarty, Tanzi, Handy, and Speakman
18	18	Date Introduced: February 26, 2025
19	19	Referred To: House Finance
20	20
21	21
22	22	It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
23	23	SECTION 1. Section 42-6.2-3.1 of the General Laws in Chapter 42-6.2 entitled "2021 Act 1
24	24	on Climate" is hereby amended to read as follows: 2
25	25	42-6.2-3.1. Funding for the council. 3
26	26	There is hereby established a restricted receipt account in the general fund of the state and 4
27	27	housed in the budget of the department of administration entitled “RGGI-executive climate change 5
28	28	coordinating council projects.” The express purpose of this account is to record receipts and 6
29	29	expenditures allocated pursuant to §§§ 23-82-6(a)(7), and (a)(8) 23-82-6(a)(8), 46-12.9-11(a), and 7
30	30	46-12.9-11(b). The state budget officer is hereby authorized to create restricted receipt sub-8
31	31	accounts in any department of state government that receives such funding as directed by the 9
32	32	executive climate change coordinating council. 10
33	33	The Rhode Island executive climate change coordinating council shall report annually to 11
34	34	the governor and general assembly within one hundred twenty (120) days of the end of each 12
35	35	calendar year how the funds were used to achieve the statutory objectives of the 2021 Act on 13
36	36	Climate. 14
37	37	SECTION 2. Sections 46-12.7-4.1 and 46-12.7-13 of the General Laws in Chapter 46-12.7 15
38	38	entitled "Oil Spill Prevention, Administration and Response Fund" are hereby amended to read as 16
39	39	follows: 17
40	40	46-12.7-4.1. Uniform oil response and prevention fee. 18
41	41	(a) A uniform oil spill response and prevention fee in an amount not exceeding five cents 19
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45	45	($.05) for each barrel of petroleum products, as set by the director pursuant to subsection (d) of this 1
46	46	section, shall be imposed upon every person owning petroleum products at the time the petroleum 2
47	47	products are received at a marine terminal within this state by means of a vessel from a point of 3
48	48	origin outside this state. The fee shall be remitted to the division of taxation on the 30th day of each 4
49	49	month based upon the number of barrels of petroleum products received during the preceding 5
50	50	month. 6
51	51	(b) Every owner of petroleum products shall be liable for the fee until it has been paid to 7
52	52	the state, except that payment to a marine terminal operator registered under this chapter is 8
53	53	sufficient to relieve the owner from further liability for the fee; provided, however, that the fee for 9
54	54	asphalt products and asphalt derivatives shall be one cent ($.01) per barrel of asphalt products or 10
55	55	derivatives. 11
56	56	(c) Whenever the director, in consultation with the department and the division of taxation, 12
57	57	estimates that the amount in the fund will reach the amount specified in subsection (e) of this 13
58	58	section, and the money in the fund is not required for the purposes specified in § 46-12.7-5.1, the 14
59	59	director shall instruct the division of taxation to cease collecting the fee. 15
60	60	(d) The director shall set the amount of the oil spill prevention and response fees. The 16
61	61	administrator, except for the fee set out in subsection (b), shall not set the amount of the fee at less 17
62	62	than five cents ($0.05) ten cents ($0.10) for each barrel of petroleum products or crude oil, unless 18
63	63	the director finds that the assessment of a lesser fee will cause the fund to reach the designated 19
64	64	amount within six (6) months. 20
65	65	(e) For the purposes of this chapter, “designated amount” means an amount equal to ten 21
66	66	million dollars ($10,000,000), adjusted for inflation after January 1, 1998, according to an index 22
67	67	which the director may reasonably choose. 23
68	68	(f) All fees collected pursuant to this section shall be deposited in the oil spill prevention, 24
69	69	administration, and response fund, and shall be disbursed according to the purposes expressed in § 25
70	70	46-12.7-5.1. 26
71	71	(g) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (f) of this section, each July 1st, two 27
72	72	hundred and fifty thousand dollars ($250,000) of the fees collected under this section shall be 28
73	73	deposited into the coastal and estuarine habitat restoration trust fund (the “trust”). 29
74	74	46-12.7-13. Preventative uses of the fund. 30
75	75	(a) Recognizing the importance of the development of readiness and response programs, 31
76	76	the legislature may allocate not more than two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000) per annum 32
77	77	of the amount then currently in the fund to be devoted to research and development in the causes, 33
78	78	effects and removal of pollution caused by oil, petroleum products and their by-products on the 34
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82	82	marine environment and the monitoring of baseline environmental and economic conditions. 1
83	83	(b) The two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000) per annum allocated for research, 2
84	84	development, and monitoring shall be allocated to the Department of Environmental Management 3
85	85	and expended consistent with the purposes of § 46-23.2-3 entitled “The Comprehensive Watershed 4
86	86	and Marine Monitoring Act of 2004.” 5
87	87	(c) The remaining moneys in the fund which the legislature may allocate to research, 6
88	88	development, and monitoring shall be used for purposes approved by the director. Such purpose 7
89	89	may include, but shall not be limited to: 8
90	90	(1) Sensitive area data management and mapping; 9
91	91	(2) Scientific research and monitoring which is directly relevant to state legislation; and 10
92	92	(3) Development of more effective removal and containment technologies, appropriate for 11
93	93	the cleanup and containment of refined fuel oils.; and 12
94	94	(4) Supporting the executive climate change coordinating council (EC4) efforts to reduce 13
95	95	climate emissions and meet the act on climate goals. 14
96	96	SECTION 3. Section 46-12.9-5 of the General Laws in Chapter 46-12.9 entitled "Rhode 15
97	97	Island Underground Storage Tank Financial Responsibility Act" is hereby amended to read as 16
98	98	follows: 17
99	99	46-12.9-5. Purpose of fund. Purposes of fund. 18
100	100	(a) The purpose purposes of the fund shall be to: 19
101	101	(1) facilitate Facilitate the clean-up of releases from leaking underground storage tanks, 20
102	102	underground storage tank systems, including those located on sites in order to protect the 21
103	103	environment, including drinking water supplies and public health.; and 22
104	104	(2) Support projects and initiatives to reduce emissions and meet the act on climate goals 23
105	105	as directed by the executive climate change coordinating council (EC4). 24
106	106	(b) The fund shall provide reimbursement to responsible parties for the eligible costs 25
107	107	incurred by them as a result of releases of certain petroleum from underground storage tanks or 26
108	108	underground storage tank systems as provided herein. Monies in the fund shall be dispensed only 27
109	109	upon the order of the department for the following purposes: 28
110	110	(1) The fund shall pay not more than one million dollars ($1,000,000) per incident, and up 29
111	111	to two million dollars ($2,000,000) in the aggregate, for damages of eligible costs, as defined in 30
112	112	regulations promulgated hereunder and, as further defined in § 46-12.9-3, excluding legal costs and 31
113	113	expenses, incurred by a responsible party as a result of a release of petroleum from an underground 32
114	114	storage tank or underground storage tank system; provided, however, that a responsible party may 33
115	115	be responsible for the first twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) of said eligible costs; 34
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119	119	(2) Reimbursement for any third-party claim including, but not limited to, claims for bodily 1
120	120	injury, property damage, and damage to natural resources that are asserted against a responsible 2
121	121	party and that have arisen as a result of a release of petroleum from an underground storage tank 3
122	122	or underground storage tank system, in an amount not to exceed one million dollars ($1,000,000) 4
123	123	for each release as set forth in subsection (b)(1); provided, that such claims are found by the 5
124	124	department to be justified, reasonable, related to the release of petroleum, and not excessive or 6
125	125	spurious in nature; 7
126	126	(3) Costs incurred by the department in carrying out the investigative, remedial, and 8
127	127	corrective action activities at sites of a petroleum release associated with an underground storage 9
128	128	tank or underground storage tank system where the responsible party fails to comply with an order 10
129	129	of the department to undertake such activities. In the event of such failure or documented inability 11
130	130	to comply, the department may access the fund to perform the ordered work and may proceed to 12
131	131	recover from the responsible party, on behalf of the fund, any amount expended from the fund by 13
132	132	the department; 14
133	133	(4) Nothing contained in this chapter shall be construed to prevent subrogation by the state 15
134	134	of Rhode Island against any responsible party, other than the owner and/or operator, for all sums 16
135	135	of money that the fund shall be obligated to pay hereunder, plus reasonable attorney’s fees and 17
136	136	costs of litigation and such right of subrogation is hereby created; and 18
137	137	(5) Eligible costs incurred by the department to support the fund, including, but not limited 19
138	138	to, all personnel support to process and review claims in order to formulate recommendations for 20
139	139	reimbursement for consideration; provided, however, that no more than five hundred and fifty 21
140	140	thousand dollars ($550,000) shall be dispensed from the fund for administrative purposes during 22
141	141	any fiscal year. The department shall directly access the fund, pursuant to the limits set forth in 23
142	142	subsection (b)(1) of this section, to pay for such expenses.; and 24
143	143	(6) [Deleted by P.L. 2016, ch. 148, § 1 and P.L. 2016, ch. 160, § 1]. 25
144	144	(7) Projects and initiatives that have been approved by the executive climate change 26
145	145	coordinating council, and have been determined to reduce emissions and support the act on climate. 27
146	146	SECTION 4. This act shall take effect upon passage. 28
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153	153	EXPLANATION
154	154	BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
155	155	OF
156	156	A N A C T
157	157	RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNME NT -- 2021 ACT ON CLIMATE
158	158	***
159	159	This act would raise the minimum fee per barrel of petroleum products or crude oil from 1
160	160	five cents ($0.05) to ten cents ($0.10) per barrel as part of the uniform oil spill response and 2
161	161	prevention fee. Use of the fund would be expanded to support projects and initiatives to reduce 3
162	162	emissions and meet the act on climate goals as directed by the executive climate change 4
163	163	coordinating council (EC4). 5
164	164	This act would take effect upon passage. 6
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