2026 -- H 7800

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LC003143

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2026

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO WATERS AND NAVIGATION -- RHODE ISLAND INFRASTRUCTURE

BANK

     Introduced By: Representatives Cortvriend, Carson, Handy, Boylan, McGaw, and
Kazarian

     Date Introduced: February 12, 2026

     Referred To: House Municipal Government & Housing

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Section 46-12.2-4.4 of the General Laws in Chapter 46-12.2 entitled "Rhode

Island Infrastructure Bank" is hereby amended to read as follows:

     46-12.2-4.4. Establishment of the resilient rhody infrastructure fund.

     (a) There is hereby authorized and created within the Rhode Island infrastructure bank the

resilient rhody infrastructure fund for the purpose of providing technical, administrative, and

financial assistance to local governmental units for resiliency and stormwater abatement projects.

The Rhode Island infrastructure bank shall review and approve all applications for projects to be

financed through the resilient rhody infrastructure fund.

     The Rhode Island infrastructure bank shall promulgate rules and regulations to effectuate

the provisions of this section which may include, without limitation, forms for financial assistance

applications, loan agreements, and other instruments. All rules and regulations promulgated

pursuant to this chapter shall be promulgated in accordance with the provisions of chapter 35 of

title 42 (“administrative procedures”).

     (b) The Rhode Island infrastructure bank shall have all the powers necessary and

convenient to carry out and effectuate the purposes and provisions of this section including, without

limiting the generality of the preceding statement, the authority:

     (1) To receive and disburse such funds from the state and federal government as may be

available for the purpose of the fund subject to the provisions of this section;

     (2) To make and enter into binding commitments to provide financial assistance to local

governmental units from amounts on deposit in the fund;

     (3) To levy administrative fees on eligible borrowers as necessary to effectuate the

provisions of this section, provided the fees have been previously authorized by an agreement

between the Rhode Island infrastructure bank and the eligible borrower;

     (4) To engage the services of third-party vendors to provide professional services;

     (5) To establish one or more accounts within the fund; and

     (6) Such other authority as granted to the Rhode Island infrastructure bank under this

chapter.

     (c) Subject to the provisions of this section and to any agreements with the holders of any

bonds of the Rhode Island infrastructure bank or any trustee therefor, amounts held by the Rhode

Island infrastructure bank for the account of the fund shall be applied by the Rhode Island

infrastructure bank, either by direct expenditure, disbursement, or transfer to one or more other

funds and accounts held by the Rhode Island infrastructure bank or maintained under any trust

agreement pertaining to bonds, either alone or with other funds of the Rhode Island infrastructure

bank, to the following purposes:

     (1) To provide financial assistance to local governmental units to finance costs of approved

projects, as set forth in subsection (a) of this section, and to refinance the costs of the projects,

subject to such terms and conditions, if any, as are determined by the Rhode Island infrastructure

bank;

     (2) To fund reserves for bonds of the Rhode Island infrastructure bank and to purchase

insurance and pay the premiums therefor, and pay fees and expenses of letters or lines of credit and

costs of reimbursement to the issuers thereof for any payments made thereon or on any insurance,

and to otherwise provide security for, and a source of payment for obligations of the Rhode Island

infrastructure bank, by pledge, lien, assignment, or otherwise as provided in this chapter;

     (3) To pay expenses of the Rhode Island infrastructure bank in administering the fund;

     (4) To provide a reserve for, or to otherwise secure, amounts payable by borrowers on loans

and obligations outstanding in the event of default thereof; amounts in any account in the fund may

be applied to defaults on loans outstanding to the borrower for which the account was established

and, on a parity basis with all other accounts, to defaults on any loans or obligations outstanding;

and

     (5) To provide a reserve for, or to otherwise secure, by pledge, lien, assignment, or

otherwise as provided in this chapter, any bonds of the Rhode Island infrastructure bank.

     (6) To provide financial support to local governmental units to support, develop, and

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implement risk interpretation tools to aid in:

     (i) Quantifying financial risk and the value of risk financing and transfer investments

including, but not limited to, insurance and alternative methods of risk transfer to reduce costs

associated with catastrophic event recovery; and

     (ii) Efforts that seek to ensure a property's insurability.

     (d) In addition to other remedies of the Rhode Island infrastructure bank under any loan

agreement or otherwise provided by law, the Rhode Island infrastructure bank may also recover

from a borrower, in an action in superior court, any amount due the Rhode Island infrastructure

bank together with any other actual damages the Rhode Island infrastructure bank shall have

sustained from the failure or refusal of the borrower to make the payments or abide by the terms of

the loan agreement.

     (e) The Rhode Island infrastructure bank may create one or more loan loss reserve funds

to serve as further security for any loans made by the Rhode Island infrastructure bank or any bonds

of the Rhode Island infrastructure bank issued to fund energy efficiency improvements in public

buildings in accordance with this section.

     (f) To the extent possible, and in accordance with law, the Rhode Island infrastructure bank

shall encourage the use of project labor agreements for projects over ten million dollars

($10,000,000) and local hiring on projects funded under this section.

     SECTION 2. Chapter 46-12.2 of the General Laws entitled "Rhode Island Infrastructure

Bank" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following section:

     46-12.2-28. Municipal resilience program -- Eligible costs.

     (a) Amounts designated by the Rhode Island infrastructure bank for the municipal

resilience program and/or municipal resilience projects may be used by local governmental units

for:

     (1) Resiliency related infrastructure planning processes;

     (2) Resiliency related insurability planning;

     (3) The support, development, and/or implementation of risk interpretation tools to aid in:

     (i) Quantifying financial risk and the value of risk financing and transfer investments

including, but not limited to, insurance and alternative methods of risk transfer to reduce costs

associated with catastrophic event recovery; and

     (ii) Efforts that seek to ensure a property's insurability.

     SECTION 3. Sections 46-23.3-2 and 46-23.3-4 of the General Laws in Chapter 46-23.3

entitled "The Ocean State Climate Adaptation and Resilience Fund" are hereby amended to read as

follows:

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     46-23.3-2. Definitions.

     For the purposes of this chapter, the following words and phrases shall have the following

meanings:

     (1) “Adaptation and resilience projects” means those projects on public land that protect or

enhance coastal or riverine habitats to address climate change impacts. Adaptation and resilience

projects include, but are not limited to: those projects that reduce the vulnerability of low-lying

infrastructure on public land through measures that include removal and relocation of

infrastructure; restoration of river and stream floodplains, including regrading of banks;

revegetation; acquisition of that area of land necessary to maintain and preserve public access; and

redesigning, resizing, and replacing culverts and bridge spans at existing wetland crossings; risk

financing and transfer investment including, but not limited to, insurance and alternative methods

of risk financing and transfer to protect nature-based solutions from catastrophic risk; and those

efforts that seek to ensure a property's insurability.

     (2) “Bank” means the Rhode Island infrastructure bank.

     (3) “Climate change impacts” means and includes, but is not limited to: flooding, erosion,

sea level rise, and storm surge.

     (4) “Council” means the coastal resources management council.

     (5) “Department” means the department of environmental management.

     (6) “Director” means the director of the department of environmental management.

     (7) “Infrastructure” means and includes, but is not limited to: roads, parking lots, and other

paved surfaces; shoreline protection structures; buildings; water control structures; culverts; other

structures; and remnants of development.

     (8) “Public land(s)” means property owned by state or municipal governments, including

any quasi-public agencies thereof, public and private lands dedicated to public use, including lands

that provide access to shorelines and riverbanks. Public lands include properties where the state or

municipality holds an easement for public purposes.

     (9) “Shoreline protection structures” means and includes, but is not limited to: revetments,

bulkheads, seawalls and floodwalls, breakwaters, jetties, and other structures, the purpose or effect

of which is to control the erosion of coastal or river features, and includes, but is not limited to, any

sheet pile walls, concrete or stone walls.

     46-23.3-4. Establishment — The Ocean State Climate Adaptation and Resilience

fund.

     (a) Establishment. There is established within the Rhode Island infrastructure bank, the

Ocean State Climate Adaptation and Resilience fund (the “OSCAR fund”).

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     (b) Financing. The fund shall consist of the following sources:

     (1) Sums the general assembly may appropriate;

     (2) Monies received from federal, state, or other sources, including bond funds, for the

purposes of the OSCAR fund;

     (3) Monies received from any private donor for the OSCAR fund; and

     (4) Any interest earned on the monies in the fund.

     (c) Allocation of OSCAR funds. OSCAR funds shall be used to carry out the purposes of

this chapter as follows:

     (1) The administrative expenses required to carry out the activities of the program as

described in this chapter shall not exceed fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) each for the Rhode Island

infrastructure bank, coastal resources management council, and the department of environmental

management annually, which sum shall not include the cost of issuing bonds or notes, if any. The

department and the council shall be responsible for submitting annual budget requests for its

administrative and implementation costs of the program to the bank;

     (2) The planning, design, engineering, construction, and monitoring of adaptation and

resilience projects as defined in this chapter; and

     (3) The OSCAR projects approved by the department and the council upon

recommendation of the technical advisory committee. Only grants approved through the process

established by the department and council shall be eligible for funding under this program. Subject

to the availability of funds in the OSCAR fund, the bank shall award funding upon receipt of written

approval of the department and council; and

     (4) The support, development, and implementation of risk interpretation tools to aid in

quantifying financial risk and the value of risk financing and transfer investments including, but

not limited to, insurance and alternative methods of risk transfer in order to reduce costs associated

with catastrophic event recovery.

     (d) OSCAR fund grants. Factors to be taken into consideration by the technical advisory

committee for the purposes of granting monies to municipalities and the state for OSCAR grants,

for determining the eligibility of projects for financial assistance, and in prioritizing the selection

of projects by the technical committee shall include, but need not be limited to:

     (1) Consistency with the following where applicable: the council’s most recent projections

for sea level rise, the coastal habitat restoration strategy, the state nonpoint source pollution control

plan; and other applicable state and federal laws;

     (2) The ability and authority of the applicant to carry out and properly maintain the

adaptation and resilience project;

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     (3) Whether the project will enhance public access to public land;

     (4) The severity to, or the risk and/or extent of, infrastructure degradation on public land;

     (5) The extent of the use by the public of the public land;

     (6) The proposed milestones to ensure that the project is completed as designed and

approved;

     (7) Whether the adaptation and resilience project can also be shown to create or replace

habitat losses that benefit fish and wildlife resources;

     (8) Potential water quality improvements;

     (9) Potential improvements to fish and wildlife habitats for species that are identified as

rare or endangered by the Rhode Island natural history survey or the Federal Endangered Species

Act, 16 U.S.C. § 1531 et seq.;

     (10) The level and extent of collaboration by partners (e.g., municipality, nongovernment

organization, watershed council, federal agency, etc.); and

     (11) Overall potential benefits to the public and estimated length of time frame of benefit;

and

     (12) The insurability of the adaptation and resilience project.

     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 WATERS AND NAVIGATION -- RHODE ISLAND INFRASTRUCTURE

BANK

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     This act would allow local government recipients of grant funds from the Rhode Island

infrastructure bank's OSCAR fund, Rhode Island infrastructure fund, and municipal resilience

program to use monies for insurability planning.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

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