| R 193 |
| 2024 -- H 7361 Enacted 04/09/2024 |
| H O U S E R E S O L U T I O N |
| CREATING A SPECIAL COMMISSION TO MAKE A COMPREHENSIVE STUDY AND PROVIDE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR REMEDIES TO THE EROSION OF RHODE ISLAND BEACHES |
Introduced By: Representatives Azzinaro, Fogarty, Hull, Tanzi, Spears, Cotter, Cortvriend, Carson, McEntee, and Kennedy |
| Date Introduced: January 31, 2024 |
| WHEREAS, Rhode Island is officially nicknamed the "Ocean State" and has a tidal |
| shoreline on Narragansett Bay and the Atlantic Ocean of more than 400 miles and more than 30 |
| islands within the bay; and |
| WHEREAS, Rhode Island has eight state beaches: Charlestown Breachway, East Beach |
| in Charlestown, East Matunuck in South Kingstown, Misquamicut in Westerly, Roger Wheeler, |
| Scarborough North and South, and Salty Brine in Narragansett; and |
| WHEREAS, In 2022, visitor spending in Rhode Island totaled $5.3 billion and sustained |
| more than 80,000 jobs, a large portion of which is derived from and influenced by the State's |
| beaches and coastline; and |
| WHEREAS, The harsh reality is that Rhode Island's beaches are eroding and are in |
| urgent need of protection and restoration; and |
| WHEREAS, Beach restoration involves various methods including; |
| • The placement of sand on an eroded beach for the purposes of restoring it as a |
| recreational beach and providing storm protection for upland properties and the preservation of |
| erosion hot spots; and |
| • Dune stabilization techniques including: importing dredged sand from offshore to build |
| up the dune, planting grasses or other plants to secure the sand, and installing fencing along the |
| dune on both the seaward and landward sides of the dune; and |
| WHEREAS, Rhode Islanders care deeply about the quality of life and income derived |
| from our beautiful coastline; now, therefore be it |
| RESOLVED, That a special legislative commission be and the same is hereby created |
| consisting of nine (9) members; four (4) of whom shall be members of the House, not more than |
| three (3) from the same political party, to be appointed by the Speaker of the House; one of whom |
| shall be the Director of the RI Department of Environmental Management, or designee; one of |
| whom shall be the executive director of the Costal Resources Management Council, or designee; |
| one of whom shall be the Dean of Biological Oceanography at the University of Rhode Island, or |
| designee; one of whom shall be the Commander of the New England Army Corps of Engineers, |
| or designee; and one of whom shall be the Executive Director of the Misquamicut Business |
| Association, or designee. |
| In lieu of any appointment of a member of the legislature to a legislative study |
| commission, or any commission created by a General Assembly resolution, the appointing |
| authority may appoint a member of the general public to serve in lieu of a legislator; provided |
| that, the Majority Leader or the Minority Leader of the political party which is entitled to the |
| appointment, consents to the member of the general public. |
| The purpose of said commission shall be to make a comprehensive study and cost |
| analysis in order to provide recommendations for remedies to the erosion of Rhode Island |
| beaches. |
| Forthwith upon passage of this resolution, the members of the commission shall meet at |
| the call of the Speaker of the House and organize and shall select a chairperson. |
| Vacancies in said commission shall be filled in like manner as the original appointment. |
| The membership of said commission shall receive no compensation for their services. |
| All departments and agencies of the state shall furnish such advice and information, |
| documentary and otherwise, to said commission and its agents as is deemed necessary or |
| desirable by the commission to facilitate the purposes of this resolution. |
| The Speaker of the House is hereby authorized and directed to provide suitable quarters |
| for said commission; and be it further |
| RESOLVED, That the commission shall report its findings and recommendations to the |
| House of Representatives no later than January 5, 2025, and said commission shall expire on |
| March 5, 2025. |
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| LC004575 |
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