Senator • Democrat

Samuel Bell

Rhode Island • District SD-005

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Activity Summary

Bills Sponsored

Aggregate Impact (Sponsored Bills):

100% Positive

Voting Pattern

Nay: 230

Not Voting: 21

Yea: 1443

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Samuel Bell

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Activity Summary

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Sponsored Bills

Allows for the issuance of a Class BV liquor license for the property located at 865 Westminster Street in the city of Providence.

Requires transition planning for high school students with disabilities, who have a “504” plan, like the transition planning required for high school students with disabilities, who have an individualized education program (IEP).

Grants tenants that are the victim of various forms of abuse, including, but not limited to, sexual and domestic abuse and stalking, the right to terminate a lease agreement early without penalty or liability for rent.

Modifies the real estate sales disclosure form to include the disclosure of “blower door diagnostic air leakage testing” and advises that air leakage testing is recommended prior to purchasing a residential unit.

Creates the division of civil representation within the department of housing and require civil representation by a Designated Legal Organization to provide legal representation to all tenants who qualify in eviction proceedings.

Removes the five (5) year waiting period for filing a motion to seal an eviction court file. It also deletes the numerical limitation on filing seal requests.

Prohibits the compelled production of a private key as it relates to a digital asset, digital identity or other interest or right.

Prohibits employers from seeking/using credit reports in making hiring decisions concerning prospective employees, asking questions about the applicant's financial past during interviews or including credit history questions in their job applications.

Removes appointees of state boards, commissions, public authorities and quasi-public who have a corporate/business interest in the subject matter of the board or commission.

Exempts from taxation the real and tangible personal property of PROJECT Weber/RENEW, a Rhode Island domestic nonprofit corporation.

This act would sunset/discontinue the Jobs Development Act rate reduction as of July 1, 2025.

Includes municipal detention facility corporations as exempt from taxation, and requires that an amount equal to 27% of all tax that would have been collected if the property was taxable be paid to the municipality annually.

Amends the composition of school bus districts within the state to provide transportation to students in grades kindergarten through 12.

Updates the Homeless Bill of Rights to add rules governing encampments, including the right to clean and sanitary conditions and impose penalties for violations of the rights set forth in this chapter in the amount of $500 per violation.

Provides for warming center and cooling center alerts to trigger certain procedures municipalities shall follow during extreme heat or cold to help at-risk individuals with shelter.

Reduces penalties for non-violent drug offenses and provide for terms of imprisonment of not more than 10 years for any drug offense and would repeal certain other offenses.

Eliminates the sunset on the provision of finding for child care for eligible child care educators and child care staff.

Requires small employers with one to fifty (1-50) employees and large employers with fifty (50) or more employees to pay overtime wages to exempt workers if their salary exceeds varying multipliers of minimum wage for a forty (40) hour workweek.

Provides that exemptions to the prohibition of liquor licenses within two hundred feet (200') of schools or places of worship do not eliminate neighboring property owners’ remonstrance rights to object to the license.

Provides for a prohibition on the licensing of any new high-heat waste facility.

Establishes an intervenor support program to provide compensation for an intervenor who makes a substantial contribution to a proceeding resulting in a decision favorable to the interest of utility consumers.

Would promote transparency and accountability in the use of artificial intelligence by health insurers to manage coverage and claims.

Establishes The Body Cameras for Correctional Facilities Act which mandates all department of corrections staff with direct supervision rolls to wear body cameras while on duty in their assigned facility.

Establishes the restrictive housing oversight committee ("committee") for the purpose of monitoring the use of restrictive housing ("solitary confinement"), as well as disciplinary and administrative confinement at the department of corrections.

Precludes any legal entity from possessing, controlling or otherwise claiming legal title to real property exceeding an aggregate value of twenty-five million dollars ($25,000,000) in single-family dwellings or multi-family dwellings.

Establishes that Medicaid eligibility in RI can only be determined using state-controlled data, prohibit private entity data in eligibility decisions, and ensure terminations are made by human employees rather than automated systems.

Provides that prisoners who committed offenses prior to age 18 and sentenced as adults would be eligible for parole after completing 15 yrs of their sentence/does not lengthen their eligibility should prisoner be eligible for parole earlier than 15 yrs.

Prohibits a landlord from inquiring about the immigration status of a tenant subject to any federal laws or regulations, but may request financial information or proof of identity.

Seeks to promote increased consumer access to Medicare supplement health insurance policies.

Prohibits state and municipal officials or body from entering into and renewing any agreements that will be used to detain individuals for federal civil immigration violations.

Requires the board of regents to adopt support and intervention strategies consistent with Comprehensive Education Strategy and SALT in one district at a time.

Repeals provisions that assess costs for women in the community corrections program for women offenders.

Defines a vape shop and exempt it from the prohibition of selling electronic nicotine-delivery system products.

Recent Votes