2021 -- S 0501 SUBSTITUTE A | |
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LC000646/SUB A | |
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STATE OF RHODE ISLAND | |
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY | |
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2021 | |
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A N A C T | |
RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- TOURISM AND | |
DEVELOPMENT | |
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Introduced By: Senators Euer, DiPalma, McCaffrey, Goodwin, and DiMario | |
Date Introduced: March 04, 2021 | |
Referred To: Senate Judiciary | |
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: | |
1 | SECTION 1. Section 42-63.1-14 of the General Laws in Chapter 42-63.1 entitled "Tourism |
2 | and Development" is hereby amended to read as follows: |
3 | 42-63.1-14. Offering residential units through a hosting platform. |
4 | (a) For any residential unit rental property offered for tourist or transient use on a hosting |
5 | platform that collects and remits applicable sales and hotel taxes in compliance with § 44-18- |
6 | 7.3(b)(4)(i), §§ 44-18-18, and § 44-18-36.1, cities, towns or municipalities shall not prohibit the |
7 | owner of such residential unit from offering the unit for tourist or transient use through such hosting |
8 | platform, or prohibit such hosting platform from providing a person or entity the means to rent, pay |
9 | for or otherwise reserve a residential unit for tourist or transient use. A hosting platform shall |
10 | comply with the requirement imposed upon room resellers in § 44-18-7.3(b)(4)(i) and § 44-18-36.1 |
11 | in order for the prohibition of this section to apply. The division of taxation shall at the request of |
12 | a city, town, or municipality confirm whether a hosting platform is registered in compliance with |
13 | § 44-18-7.3(b)(4)(i). |
14 | (b) Any short-term rental property listed for rent on the website of any third-party hosting |
15 | platform that conducts business in Rhode Island shall be registered with the department of business |
16 | regulation. The registration shall provide the information necessary to identify the property |
17 | pursuant to subsection (d) of this section. For purposes of this section, the term "short-term rental" |
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1 | means a person, firm, or corporation's utilization, for transient lodging accommodations, not to |
2 | exceed thirty (30) nights at a time. |
3 | (c) The department of business regulation shall contact all hosting platforms who list |
4 | property in Rhode Island on their website for rent and who submit hotel taxes to the division of |
5 | taxation and shall provide notice of the registration requirement, pursuant to this section, instructing |
6 | the hosting platforms to notify their listed properties to register with the department of business |
7 | regulation by December 31, 2021 or be subject to fines pursuant to § 42-63.1-14.1. |
8 | (d) The state registration pursuant to this section shall include: |
9 | (1) The name and primary residential address of the owner of the property; |
10 | (2) The principal place of business of the owner, or if outside the state, the agent for service |
11 | of process or property manager for the owner; |
12 | (3) The phone number of the owner of the property and/or property manager; |
13 | (4) The email address of the property owner and/or property manager; |
14 | (5) The address of the rental property; |
15 | (6) The number of rooms for rent at the property; |
16 | (7) Whether the registrant rents or owns; and |
17 | (8) Intended use (entire space, private room or shared space). |
18 | (e) The assigned registration number shall consist of numeric and alpha characters, the |
19 | alpha characters shall correspond to the city/town where the property is located and shall be uniform |
20 | for the remaining properties in said city/town. |
21 | (f) The department of business regulation shall notify all hosting platforms to contact all |
22 | listed properties by December 31, 2021, to ensure compliance with this section and if the listed |
23 | properties are not duly registered after six (6) months, the hosting platform shall remove the |
24 | property listing from its website. |
25 | (g) The department of business regulation shall promulgate rules and regulations to |
26 | correspond with and enforce this section and § 42-63.1-14.1 and may charge a registration fee to |
27 | property owners registering with the department pursuant to this section. |
28 | (h) The department of business regulation shall create an online database to store all |
29 | registered short-term rental units, and each unit shall have an online identification number in said |
30 | database to correspond with subsection (e) of this section. |
31 | SECTION 2. Chapter 42-63.1 of the General Laws entitled "Tourism and Development" is |
32 | hereby amended by adding thereto the following section: |
33 | 42-63.1-14.1. Properties listed on hosting platform websites. |
34 | (a) Notwithstanding the provisions of § 42-63.1-14(a), a hosting platform shall not conduct |
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1 | business involving a short-term rental property if that property has not been registered with the |
2 | department of business regulation. Any future property that is added to the hosting platform website |
3 | for rent must first be registered with the department of business regulation before it appears on any |
4 | website for rent. |
5 | (b) If a hosting platform lists an unregistered short-term rental property on its hosting |
6 | platform website the hosting platform and the owner of the property shall be subject to civil fines, |
7 | as follows: |
8 | (1) Two hundred fifty dollars ($250) for the first thirty (30) days of non-compliance; |
9 | (2) Five hundred dollars ($500) for between thirty-one (31) and sixty (60) days of non- |
10 | compliance; and |
11 | (3) One thousand dollars ($1,000) for more than sixty (60) days of non-compliance. |
12 | SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage. |
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LC000646/SUB A | |
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EXPLANATION | |
BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL | |
OF | |
A N A C T | |
RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- TOURISM AND | |
DEVELOPMENT | |
*** | |
1 | This act would require a third-party hosting platform to register each short-term rental unit |
2 | listed for rent in the state with the department of business regulation. If a short-term rental is not |
3 | registered a third-party hosting platform would not be able to conduct business in the state using |
4 | such property(s). If a hosting platform lists an unregistered unit a fine would be imposed. |
5 | Additionally, this act would require the department of business regulation to create a database to |
6 | store all registered short-term rental units. |
7 | This act would take effect upon passage. |
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LC000646/SUB A | |
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