2022 -- S 3045 | |
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LC006166 | |
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STATE OF RHODE ISLAND | |
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY | |
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2022 | |
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A N A C T | |
RELATING TO TOWNS AND CITIES -- LOW AND MODERATE INCOME HOUSING | |
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Introduced By: Senators Kallman, and Mack | |
Date Introduced: June 20, 2022 | |
Referred To: Senate Housing & Municipal Government | |
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: | |
1 | SECTION 1. Section 45-53-7 of the General Laws in Chapter 45-53 entitled "Low and |
2 | Moderate Income Housing" is hereby amended to read as follows: |
3 | 45-53-7. Housing appeals board. |
4 | (a)(1) There shall be within the state a housing appeals board consisting of nine (9) voting |
5 | members and three (3) alternates as follows: one voting member who shall be from the Center for |
6 | Justice Rhode Island; one voting member who shall be from Direct Action for Rights and Equality |
7 | (DARE); and seven (7) voting members to be appointed by the governor, who shall include four |
8 | (4) local officials, who shall not be from the same city or town; two (2) of whom shall be from a |
9 | city or town with a population of less than twenty-five thousand (25,000); and two (2) of whom |
10 | shall be from a city or town with a population of twenty-five thousand (25,000) or greater, and shall |
11 | include one local zoning board member, one local planning board member, one city council |
12 | member and one town council member, one of the local official members shall be designated by |
13 | the governor as the alternative local official member who shall be a voting member of the board |
14 | only in the event that one or more of the other three (3) local officials is unable to serve at a hearing; |
15 | one affordable housing developer; one affordable housing advocate; one representative of the |
16 | business community; and one attorney knowledgeable in land use regulation, who should be |
17 | chairperson of the board. There shall be (2) additional alternates appointed by the governor chosen |
18 | from candidates submitted by realtors or developers doing business in the state and the alternates |
19 | shall rotate service as a voting member at the discretion of the chairperson. |
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1 | (2) Those members of the board as of July 2, 2004 who were appointed to the board by |
2 | members of the general assembly shall cease to be members of the board on July 2, 2004, and the |
3 | governor shall thereupon nominate four (4) new members each of whom shall serve for the balance |
4 | of the current term of his or her predecessor. |
5 | (3) All other members of the commission as of July 2, 2004 shall continue to serve for the |
6 | duration of their current terms. |
7 | (4) All gubernatorial appointments made under this section after July 2, 2004 shall be |
8 | subject to the advice and consent of the senate. |
9 | (b) All appointments are for two (2) year terms; except as otherwise provided in subsection |
10 | (a)(2) of this section, the terms of members appointed after December 31, 2004, shall be for three |
11 | (3) years. Each member who is duly appointed or continued in office after January 1, 2005, shall |
12 | hold office for the term for which the member is appointed and until the member's successor shall |
13 | have been appointed and qualified, or until the member's earlier death, resignation, or removal. A |
14 | member shall receive no compensation for his or her services, but shall be reimbursed by the state |
15 | for all reasonable expenses actually and necessarily incurred in the performance of his or her |
16 | official duties. The board shall hear all petitions for review filed under § 45-53-5, and shall conduct |
17 | all hearings in accordance with the rules and regulations established by the chair. Rhode Island |
18 | housing shall provide space, and clerical and other assistance, as the board may require. |
19 | SECTION 2. Chapter 45-53 of the General Laws entitled "Low and Moderate Income |
20 | Housing" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following section: |
21 | 45-53-10. Annual status report on appeals. |
22 | (a) The Rhode Island housing resources commission established pursuant to chapter 128 |
23 | of title 42 (the "commission") shall maintain accurate records and shall prepare, an annual status |
24 | report (“status report”) on all active cases and appeals pending before the state housing appeals |
25 | board (the “board”). The status report shall be forwarded to the secretary of housing, the speaker |
26 | of the house, and the president of the senate. Each report shall also be made available on the |
27 | commission's website for a period of at least three (3) years, and shall also be deemed to be a public |
28 | record. The report shall be due on or before March 15 of each year, commencing in the calendar |
29 | year 2023. |
30 | (b) The report required by this section shall contain the following information for the |
31 | twelve (12) month calendar period covered by the report: |
32 | (1) The total number of appeals pending before the board; |
33 | (2) The number of appeals for which a decision has been rendered, have been settled by |
34 | agreement, or have otherwise been disposed of during the previous calendar year; |
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1 | (3) The number of board decisions which were appealed in the previous calendar year and |
2 | the status of those cases; and |
3 | (4) The length of time for the board to decide appeals in the previous calendar year |
4 | aggregated by: |
5 | (i) Appeals decided by the board within six (6) months; |
6 | (ii) Appeals decided by the board within six (6) to nine (9) months; and |
7 | (iii) Appeals decided by the board in more than nine (9) months. |
8 | SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage. |
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EXPLANATION | |
BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL | |
OF | |
A N A C T | |
RELATING TO TOWNS AND CITIES -- LOW AND MODERATE INCOME HOUSING | |
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1 | This act would amend the composition of the state housing appeals board by adding one |
2 | member from the Center for Justice and one member from Direct Action for Rights and Equality, |
3 | as well as two (2) alternates appointed by the governor from candidates submitted by realtors and |
4 | developers doing business in the state. The act would also provide for an annual report to be issued |
5 | on the status of appeals before the state housing appeals board. |
6 | This act would take effect upon passage. |
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