2025 -- H 5779

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LC001399

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2025

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- 2021 ACT ON CLIMATE

     Introduced By: Representatives Cortvriend, Carson, McGaw, Kislak, McEntee, Spears,
Fogarty, Tanzi, Handy, and Speakman

     Date Introduced: February 26, 2025

     Referred To: House Finance

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Section 42-6.2-3.1 of the General Laws in Chapter 42-6.2 entitled "2021 Act

on Climate" is hereby amended to read as follows:

     42-6.2-3.1. Funding for the council.

     There is hereby established a restricted receipt account in the general fund of the state and

housed in the budget of the department of administration entitled “RGGI-executive climate change

coordinating council projects.” The express purpose of this account is to record receipts and

expenditures allocated pursuant to §§§ 23-82-6(a)(7), and (a)(8) 23-82-6(a)(8), 46-12.9-11(a), and

46-12.9-11(b). The state budget officer is hereby authorized to create restricted receipt sub-

accounts in any department of state government that receives such funding as directed by the

executive climate change coordinating council.

     The Rhode Island executive climate change coordinating council shall report annually to

the governor and general assembly within one hundred twenty (120) days of the end of each

calendar year how the funds were used to achieve the statutory objectives of the 2021 Act on

Climate.

     SECTION 2. Sections 46-12.7-4.1 and 46-12.7-13 of the General Laws in Chapter 46-12.7

entitled "Oil Spill Prevention, Administration and Response Fund" are hereby amended to read as

follows:

     46-12.7-4.1. Uniform oil response and prevention fee.

     (a) A uniform oil spill response and prevention fee in an amount not exceeding five cents

($.05) for each barrel of petroleum products, as set by the director pursuant to subsection (d) of this

section, shall be imposed upon every person owning petroleum products at the time the petroleum

products are received at a marine terminal within this state by means of a vessel from a point of

origin outside this state. The fee shall be remitted to the division of taxation on the 30th day of each

month based upon the number of barrels of petroleum products received during the preceding

month.

     (b) Every owner of petroleum products shall be liable for the fee until it has been paid to

the state, except that payment to a marine terminal operator registered under this chapter is

sufficient to relieve the owner from further liability for the fee; provided, however, that the fee for

asphalt products and asphalt derivatives shall be one cent ($.01) per barrel of asphalt products or

derivatives.

     (c) Whenever the director, in consultation with the department and the division of taxation,

estimates that the amount in the fund will reach the amount specified in subsection (e) of this

section, and the money in the fund is not required for the purposes specified in § 46-12.7-5.1, the

director shall instruct the division of taxation to cease collecting the fee.

     (d) The director shall set the amount of the oil spill prevention and response fees. The

administrator, except for the fee set out in subsection (b), shall not set the amount of the fee at less

than five cents ($0.05) ten cents ($0.10) for each barrel of petroleum products or crude oil, unless

the director finds that the assessment of a lesser fee will cause the fund to reach the designated

amount within six (6) months.

     (e) For the purposes of this chapter, “designated amount” means an amount equal to ten

million dollars ($10,000,000), adjusted for inflation after January 1, 1998, according to an index

which the director may reasonably choose.

     (f) All fees collected pursuant to this section shall be deposited in the oil spill prevention,

administration, and response fund, and shall be disbursed according to the purposes expressed in §

46-12.7-5.1.

     (g) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (f) of this section, each July 1st, two

hundred and fifty thousand dollars ($250,000) of the fees collected under this section shall be

deposited into the coastal and estuarine habitat restoration trust fund (the “trust”).

     46-12.7-13. Preventative uses of the fund.

     (a) Recognizing the importance of the development of readiness and response programs,

the legislature may allocate not more than two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000) per annum

of the amount then currently in the fund to be devoted to research and development in the causes,

effects and removal of pollution caused by oil, petroleum products and their by-products on the

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marine environment and the monitoring of baseline environmental and economic conditions.

     (b) The two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000) per annum allocated for research,

development, and monitoring shall be allocated to the Department of Environmental Management

and expended consistent with the purposes of § 46-23.2-3 entitled “The Comprehensive Watershed

and Marine Monitoring Act of 2004.”

     (c) The remaining moneys in the fund which the legislature may allocate to research,

development, and monitoring shall be used for purposes approved by the director. Such purpose

may include, but shall not be limited to:

     (1) Sensitive area data management and mapping;

     (2) Scientific research and monitoring which is directly relevant to state legislation; and

     (3) Development of more effective removal and containment technologies, appropriate for

the cleanup and containment of refined fuel oils.; and

     (4) Supporting the executive climate change coordinating council (EC4) efforts to reduce

climate emissions and meet the act on climate goals.

     SECTION 3. Section 46-12.9-5 of the General Laws in Chapter 46-12.9 entitled "Rhode

Island Underground Storage Tank Financial Responsibility Act" is hereby amended to read as

follows:

     46-12.9-5. Purpose of fund. Purposes of fund.

     (a) The purpose purposes of the fund shall be to:

     (1) facilitate Facilitate the clean-up of releases from leaking underground storage tanks,

underground storage tank systems, including those located on sites in order to protect the

environment, including drinking water supplies and public health.; and

     (2) Support projects and initiatives to reduce emissions and meet the act on climate goals

as directed by the executive climate change coordinating council (EC4).

     (b) The fund shall provide reimbursement to responsible parties for the eligible costs

incurred by them as a result of releases of certain petroleum from underground storage tanks or

underground storage tank systems as provided herein. Monies in the fund shall be dispensed only

upon the order of the department for the following purposes:

     (1) The fund shall pay not more than one million dollars ($1,000,000) per incident, and up

to two million dollars ($2,000,000) in the aggregate, for damages of eligible costs, as defined in

regulations promulgated hereunder and, as further defined in § 46-12.9-3, excluding legal costs and

expenses, incurred by a responsible party as a result of a release of petroleum from an underground

storage tank or underground storage tank system; provided, however, that a responsible party may

be responsible for the first twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) of said eligible costs;

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     (2) Reimbursement for any third-party claim including, but not limited to, claims for bodily

injury, property damage, and damage to natural resources that are asserted against a responsible

party and that have arisen as a result of a release of petroleum from an underground storage tank

or underground storage tank system, in an amount not to exceed one million dollars ($1,000,000)

for each release as set forth in subsection (b)(1); provided, that such claims are found by the

department to be justified, reasonable, related to the release of petroleum, and not excessive or

spurious in nature;

     (3) Costs incurred by the department in carrying out the investigative, remedial, and

corrective action activities at sites of a petroleum release associated with an underground storage

tank or underground storage tank system where the responsible party fails to comply with an order

of the department to undertake such activities. In the event of such failure or documented inability

to comply, the department may access the fund to perform the ordered work and may proceed to

recover from the responsible party, on behalf of the fund, any amount expended from the fund by

the department;

     (4) Nothing contained in this chapter shall be construed to prevent subrogation by the state

of Rhode Island against any responsible party, other than the owner and/or operator, for all sums

of money that the fund shall be obligated to pay hereunder, plus reasonable attorney’s fees and

costs of litigation and such right of subrogation is hereby created; and

     (5) Eligible costs incurred by the department to support the fund, including, but not limited

to, all personnel support to process and review claims in order to formulate recommendations for

reimbursement for consideration; provided, however, that no more than five hundred and fifty

thousand dollars ($550,000) shall be dispensed from the fund for administrative purposes during

any fiscal year. The department shall directly access the fund, pursuant to the limits set forth in

subsection (b)(1) of this section, to pay for such expenses.; and

     (6) [Deleted by P.L. 2016, ch. 148, § 1 and P.L. 2016, ch. 160, § 1].

     (7) Projects and initiatives that have been approved by the executive climate change

coordinating council, and have been determined to reduce emissions and support the act on climate.

     SECTION 4. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- 2021 ACT ON CLIMATE

***

     This act would raise the minimum fee per barrel of petroleum products or crude oil from

five cents ($0.05) to ten cents ($0.10) per barrel as part of the uniform oil spill response and

prevention fee. Use of the fund would be expanded to support projects and initiatives to reduce

emissions and meet the act on climate goals as directed by the executive climate change

coordinating council (EC4).

     This act would take effect upon passage.

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