| Chapter 415 |
| 2022 -- H 7945 SUBSTITUTE A Enacted 06/30/2022 |
| A N A C T |
| RELATING TO TOWNS AND CITIES -- LOW AND MODERATE INCOME HOUSING |
Introduced By: Representatives Speakman, Shekarchi, Donovan, Cortvriend, Carson, Hull, Fogarty, Casimiro, and Alzate |
| Date Introduced: March 07, 2022 |
| It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: |
| SECTION 1. Section 45-53-7 of the General Laws in Chapter 45-53 entitled "Low and |
| Moderate Income Housing" is hereby amended to read as follows: |
| 45-53-7. Housing appeals board. |
| (a)(1) There shall be within the state a housing appeals board consisting of nine (9) voting |
| members and three (3) alternates as follows: one voting member who shall be from the Center for |
| Justice Rhode Island; one voting member who shall be from Direct Action for Rights and Equality |
| (DARE); and seven (7) voting members to be appointed by the governor, who shall include four |
| (4) local officials, who shall not be from the same city or town; two (2) of whom shall be from a |
| city or town with a population of less than twenty-five thousand (25,000); and two (2) of whom |
| shall be from a city or town with a population of twenty-five thousand (25,000) or greater, and shall |
| include one local zoning board member, one local planning board member, one city council |
| member and one town council member, one of the local official members shall be designated by |
| the governor as the alternative local official member who shall be a voting member of the board |
| only in the event that one or more of the other three (3) local officials is unable to serve at a hearing; |
| one affordable housing developer; one affordable housing advocate; one representative of the |
| business community; and one attorney knowledgeable in land use regulation, who should be |
| chairperson of the board. There shall be (2) additional alternates appointed by the governor chosen |
| from candidates submitted by realtors or developers doing business in the state and the alternates |
| shall rotate service as a voting member at the discretion of the chairperson. |
| (2) Those members of the board as of July 2, 2004, who were appointed to the board by |
| members of the general assembly shall cease to be members of the board on July 2, 2004, and the |
| governor shall thereupon nominate four (4) new members each of whom shall serve for the balance |
| of the current term of his or her predecessor. |
| (3) All other members of the commission as of July 2, 2004, shall continue to serve for the |
| duration of their current terms. |
| (4) All gubernatorial appointments made under this section after July 2, 2004, shall be |
| subject to the advice and consent of the senate. |
| (b) All appointments are for two-(2) year (2) terms; except as otherwise provided in |
| subsection (a)(2) of this section, the terms of members appointed after December 31, 2004, shall |
| be for three (3) years. Each member who is duly appointed or continued in office after January 1, |
| 2005, shall hold office for the term for which the member is appointed and until the member's |
| successor shall have been appointed and qualified, or until the member's earlier death, resignation, |
| or removal. A member shall receive no compensation for his or her services, but shall be reimbursed |
| by the state for all reasonable expenses actually and necessarily incurred in the performance of his |
| or her official duties. The board shall hear all petitions for review filed under § 45-53-5, and shall |
| conduct all hearings in accordance with the rules and regulations established by the chair. Rhode |
| Island housing shall provide space, and clerical and other assistance, as the board may require. |
| SECTION 2. Chapter 45-53 of the General Laws entitled "Low and Moderate Income |
| Housing" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following section: |
| 45-53-10 45-53-13. Annual status report on appeals. |
| (a) The Rhode Island housing resources commission established pursuant to chapter 128 |
| of title 42 (the "commission") shall maintain accurate records and shall prepare, an annual status |
| report (“status report”) on all active cases and appeals pending before the state housing appeals |
| board (the “board”). The status report shall be forwarded to the secretary of housing, the speaker |
| of the house, and the president of the senate. Each report shall also be made available on the |
| commission's website for a period of at least three (3) years, and shall also be deemed to be a public |
| record. The report shall be due on or before March 15 of each year, commencing in the calendar |
| year 2023. |
| (b) The report required by this section shall contain the following information for the |
| twelve-(12) month (12) calendar period covered by the report: |
| (1) The total number of appeals pending before the board; |
| (2) The number of appeals for which a decision has been rendered, have been settled by |
| agreement, or have otherwise been disposed of during the previous calendar year; |
| (3) The number of board decisions which were appealed in the previous calendar year and |
| the status of those cases; and |
| (4) The length of time for the board to decide appeals in the previous calendar year |
| aggregated by: |
| (i) Appeals decided by the board within six (6) months; |
| (ii) Appeals decided by the board within six (6) to nine (9) months; and |
| (iii) Appeals decided by the board in more than nine (9) months. |
| SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage. |
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| LC005362/SUB A |
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