Rhode Island 2025 Regular Session

Rhode Island Senate Bill S0326 Compare Versions

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

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5	5	2025 -- S 0326
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7	7	LC001316
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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 -- RHODE ISLAND CLIMATE
16	16	SUPERFUND ACT OF 2025
17	17	Introduced By: Senators Ujifusa, Euer, Bell, Kallman, Valverde, Gu, Britto, DiMario,
18	18	Mack, and Sosnowski
19	19	Date Introduced: February 21, 2025
20	20	Referred To: Senate Environment & Agriculture
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23	23	It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
24	24	SECTION 1. The general assembly hereby finds and declares all of the following: 1
25	25	(1) Climate change caused by the combustion of fossil fuels is an immediate and grave 2
26	26	threat to the people, environment, natural resources, and economy of the state. 3
27	27	(2) Rising sea levels and temperatures, extreme weather events, flooding, heat waves, 4
28	28	droughts, and other climate change effects have harmed or killed countless humans and other living 5
29	29	organisms. 6
30	30	(3) As a state with over four hundred (400) miles of coastline and an economy dependent 7
31	31	on tourism and marine trades, Rhode Island is especially vulnerable to economic and social harms 8
32	32	from climate change. 9
33	33	(4) All Rhode Islanders are adversely affected by climate change, but harms fall 10
34	34	disproportionately on seniors, children, low-income and minority communities. 11
35	35	(5) The state and municipalities have developed and implemented plans to counteract, 12
36	36	mitigate and prevent the adverse effects of climate change and must continue to do so to protect 13
37	37	the health and safety of Rhode Islanders. 14
38	38	(6) The costs of such plans and implementation have fallen and will continue to fall almost 15
39	39	exclusively on taxpayers. 16
40	40	(7) Laws must be passed to require contributions by those who most contributed to and 17
41	41	profited from causing climate change and who did so knowingly. These responsible parties are 18
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45	45	large fossil fuel corporations. 1
46	46	(8) Fair shares from these corporations can be accurately determined by analyzing the 2
47	47	amounts of “greenhouse gas,” such as, but not limited to, carbon dioxide and methane, each 3
48	48	contributed to the environment. 4
49	49	(9) Chapter 6.3 of title 42 shall help the state and municipalities make polluters pay and 5
50	50	support other private and public efforts to hold them responsible. 6
51	51	SECTION 2. Title 42 of the General Laws entitled "STATE AFFAIRS AND 7
52	52	GOVERNMENT" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following chapter: 8
53	53	CHAPTER 6.3 9
54	54	RHODE ISLAND CLIMATE SUPERFUND ACT OF 2025 10
55	55	42-6.3.-1. Short title. 11
56	56	This chapter shall be known and may be referred to as the “Rhode Island Climate 12
57	57	Superfund Act of 2025”. 13
58	58	42-6.3-2. Definitions. 14
59	59	For purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings unless 15
60	60	the context clearly requires otherwise: 16
61	61	(1) "Account" means the climate superfund account established pursuant to the provisions 17
62	62	of § 42-6.3-3(e). 18
63	63	(2) “Climate change” means the long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns due 19
64	64	primarily to the increased burning of fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas that have resulted in increased 20
65	65	extreme weather events, such as hurricanes and blizzards, and caused heat waves, draughts, wild 21
66	66	fires, and flooding. 22
67	67	(3) "Climate change response work" means planning, implementation, operation and 23
68	68	maintenance of projects designed to avoid, prepare for, moderate, repair, upgrade, relocate, restore 24
69	69	or otherwise adapt to the negative effects of climate change to protect people, the environment, 25
70	70	natural resources, and economy of the state. Such work includes, but is not limited to, work on: 26
71	71	coastal areas, stormwater drainage systems; infrastructure, such as roads, bridges, tunnels; mass 27
72	72	transit systems including buses, trains and boats; healthcare access and availability, including 28
73	73	hospitals; sewage treatment plants; public and private housing and shelters; businesses; Internet 29
74	74	broadband systems; energy services, including clean and sustainable options; forests; farms and 30
75	75	fisheries; and climate change effect predictive tools. 31
76	76	(4) "Cost recovery demand” means when the department informs a responsible party that 32
77	77	it is required to pay for climate change response work under the provisions of this chapter. 33
78	78	(5) "Covered greenhouse gas emissions" means the total quantity of greenhouse gasses 34
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82	82	released into the atmosphere by a responsible party during the covered period, expressed in metric 1
83	83	tons of carbon dioxide equivalent. 2
84	84	(6) "Covered period" means the period that began January 1, 1990, to December 31, 2024. 3
85	85	(7) "Department" or “DEM” means the department of environmental management. 4
86	86	(8) "Director" means director of the department of environmental management (DEM). 5
87	87	(9) "Fossil fuel” means coal, petroleum products, bitumen, oil sands, heavy oil, 6
88	88	conventional and unconventional oil, shale oil, natural gas liquids, condensates, and related fossil 7
89	89	fuels and fuel gasses, including methane, natural gas, liquefied natural gas, and manufactured fuel 8
90	90	gasses. 9
91	91	(10) "Greenhouse gas" means any substance that causes or contributes to climate change 10
92	92	including, but not limited to, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, 11
93	93	perfluorocarbons and sulfur hexafluoride. 12
94	94	(11) "Nature-based solutions" means projects that utilize or mimic natural processes and 13
95	95	functions. 14
96	96	(12) "Program" means the climate superfund cost recovery program set forth by this 15
97	97	chapter. 16
98	98	(13) "Qualifying expenditure" means funds authorized by DEM to be used to pay for 17
99	99	climate change response work, 18
100	100	(14) "Responsible party" means any entity and successor in interest to such entity described 19
101	101	herein, which, during any part of the covered period, engaged in the trade or business of extracting 20
102	102	or refining fossil fuels and is determined by the department to be responsible for more than one 21
103	103	billion (1,000,000,000) tons of covered greenhouse gas emissions. 22
104	104	42-6.3-3. Cost recovery program. 23
105	105	(a) By January 1, 2026, the department shall determine the climate change response work 24
106	106	done by the state since January 1, 2009, and costs of such work, and make a report available to the 25
107	107	public. 26
108	108	(b) By June 1, 2026, the department shall collect information from municipalities and 27
109	109	determine what climate change response work they have done and how much they have spent since 28
110	110	January 1, 2009, and make a report available to the public. 29
111	111	(c) The department shall determine proportional amounts owed by responsible parties for 30
112	112	climate change response work during the covered period based on widely accepted peer-reviewed 31
113	113	allocation analyses. 32
114	114	(d) The department shall issue demands within six (6) months of the completion of the 33
115	115	reports to responsible parties to recover funds spent by the state and municipalities as set forth in 34
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119	119	the January 1, 2026 and June 1, 2026, reports produced pursuant to the provisions of subsections 1
120	120	(a) and (b) of this section. 2
121	121	(e) There is hereby established the climate superfund account in the state treasury. The 3
122	122	department shall accept and collect payments from responsible parties and deposit them into the 4
123	123	segregated account, and shall ensure that funds only be used for qualified expenditures pursuant to 5
124	124	this program. 6
125	125	42-6.3-4. Liability of responsible parties. 7
126	126	(a) A responsible party shall be strictly liable for a share of the costs of climate change 8
127	127	response work; 9
128	128	(b) When two (2) or more entities can be treated as a single entity under the provisions of 10
129	129	26 U.S.C. §§ 52(a) and 52(b), 26 U.S.C. §§ 414 (m) and 414(o), and 26 U.S.C. § 1563, without 11
130	130	regard to the provisions of 26 U.S.C. § 52 (c), they shall share joint and several liability within their 12
131	131	collected group, and be treated by the department as a single entity for the purposes of identifying 13
132	132	responsible parties. 14
133	133	(c) Except as provided in subsection (d)(1) of this section, a responsible party shall pay the 15
134	134	amount demanded in full not later than six (6) months following the director's issuance of the cost 16
135	135	recovery demand. 17
136	136	(d)(1) The director may implement an installment payment plan but no adjustments shall 18
137	137	be allowed if the amount demanded is less than one-tenth of one percent (0.1%) of the average total 19
138	138	profits of a responsible party over the past five (5) years. 20
139	139	(2) The director shall charge reasonable interest on each delayed payment. 21
140	140	(3) The unpaid balance of all remaining installments shall become due immediately if: 22
141	141	(i) The responsible party fails to pay any installment in a timely manner, as specified in the 23
142	142	rules and regulations of the department; 24
143	143	(ii) The responsible party ceases to do business; or 25
144	144	(iii) There is a sale of substantially all the assets of a responsible party, then the buyer 26
145	145	assumes liability in the same manner as if the buyer were the responsible party. 27
146	146	(e) A responsible party aggrieved by the issuance of a notice of cost recovery demand shall 28
147	147	be entitled to a hearing in accordance with chapter 35 of title 42 (“administrative procedures”) by 29
148	148	filing a request for reconsideration with the director within thirty (30) days following issuance of 30
149	149	the notice of cost recovery demand. A request for reconsideration shall state the grounds for the 31
150	150	request and include supporting documentation. The director shall notify the responsible party of 32
151	151	the date and time of the hearing as well as the final decision by issuing a subsequent notice of cost 33
152	152	recovery demand. A responsible party aggrieved by the issuance of a final notice of cost recovery 34
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156	156	demand may appeal the final notice to the superior court by filing a complaint with the reasons of 1
157	157	appeal within twenty (20) days of receipt of the final decision. 2
158	158	42-6.3-5. Implementation. 3
159	159	(a) The department is authorized to promulgate rules and regulations necessary to 4
160	160	implement the provisions of this chapter and shall, within one year of the effective date of this 5
161	161	chapter, adopt regulations defining work eligible for funding. 6
162	162	(b) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to supersede or diminish in any way any other 7
163	163	remedies available to any person or government entity, under common law or statute. 8
164	164	(c) The department may prescribe, adopt, and enforce any emergency regulations as 9
165	165	necessary to implement, administer, and enforce its duties under this chapter. 10
166	166	(d) To pay for initial analyses of climate change response work, the department shall 11
167	167	require responsible parties to pay a proportional share of that amount no later than September 1, 12
168	168	2025. 13
169	169	42-6.3-6. Enforcement. 14
170	170	(a) The department shall have the authority to enforce the requirements of this chapter and 15
171	171	to collect penalties for late payment of the cost recovery demands pursuant to this chapter. The late 16
172	172	penalty shall accrue daily, assessed at the rate of ten percent (10%) per annum on the amount 17
173	173	remaining due. 18
174	174	(b) This chapter does not preempt, displace, or restrict any rights or remedies of the state, 19
175	175	units of local government, tribal governments, or individuals or groups brought under common law, 20
176	176	state or federal law. 21
177	177	(c) This chapter does not preempt or supersede any state law or local ordinance, regulation, 22
178	178	policy, or program that does any of the following: 23
179	179	(1) Limits, sets, or enforces standards for emissions of greenhouse gases; 24
180	180	(2) Monitors, reports, or keeps records of emissions of greenhouse gases; 25
181	181	(3) Collects revenue through fees or levy taxes; or 26
182	182	(4) Conducts or supports investigations. 27
183	183	42-6.3-7. Severability. 28
184	184	If any word, phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph, section, or other part of this chapter shall 29
185	185	be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect, 30
186	186	impair, or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in its operation to the word, phrase, 31
187	187	clause, sentence, paragraph, section, or part thereof directly involved in the controversy in which 32
188	188	such judgment shall have been rendered. 33
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192	192	SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage. 1
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199	199	EXPLANATION
200	200	BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
201	201	OF
202	202	A N A C T
203	203	RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- RHODE ISLAND CLIMATE
204	204	SUPERFUND ACT OF 2025
205	205	***
206	206	This act would establish the Rhode Island Climate Superfund Act cost recovery program 1
207	207	to be administered by the Rhode Island department of environmental management to recover funds 2
208	208	from entities that extracted or refined fossil fuels and were responsible for more than one billion 3
209	209	(1,000,000,000) tons of covered greenhouse gas emissions. 4
210	210	This act would take effect upon passage. 5
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