STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- RHODE ISLAND CLIMATE SUPERFUND ACT OF 2026, the official text

H7004 2026 -- H 7004 ======== LC003571 ======== STATE OF RHODE ISLAND IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2026 ____________ A N A C T RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- RHODE ISLAND CLIMATE SUPERFUND ACT OF 2026 Introduced By: Representatives Boylan, Handy, Knight, McGaw, Bennett, Potter, Fogarty, Spears, and Speakman Date Introduced: January 07, 2026 Referred To: House Environment and Natural Resources It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: 1 SECTION 1. Legislative findings and purpose. 2 The general assembly hereby finds and declares the following: 3 (1) Climate change caused by the combustion of fossil fuels is an immediate and grave 4 threat to the people, environment, natural resources, and economy of the state. 5 (2) Rising sea levels and temperatures, extreme weather events, flooding, heat waves, 6 droughts, and other climate change effects have harmed or killed countless humans and other living 7 organisms. 8 (3) Beginning decades ago, major fossil fuel producers engaged in conduct they knew or 9 reasonably should have known would cause or contribute to climate-change-related damages, 10 including sea level rise, storm intensification, and heat impacts. 11 (4) As a state with over four hundred (400) miles of coastline and an economy dependent 12 on tourism and marine trades, Rhode Island is especially vulnerable to economic and social harms 13 caused by climate change. 14 (5) All Rhode Islanders are adversely affected by climate change, but harms fall 15 disproportionately on seniors, children, low-income, and minority communities. 16 (6) The state and municipalities have developed and implemented plans to counteract, 17 mitigate, and prevent the adverse effects of climate change and must continue to do so to protect 18 the health and safety of Rhode Islanders. 1 (7) The costs of such plans and implementation have fallen and will continue to fall almost 2 exclusively on taxpayers. 3 (8) The fossil fuel companies whose products caused or contributed to climate-change- 4 related damages should bear a fair and proportionate share of the costs necessary to respond to 5 those harms, consistent with the well-established “polluter pays” and Superfund principles. 6 (9) This Act is a remedial cost-recovery measure that compensates public entities for 7 expenditures made necessary by the conduct of responsible fossil fuel companies. 8 (10) Fair shares from these corporations can be accurately determined by analyzing the 9 amounts of “greenhouse gas emissions,” including, but not limited to, carbon dioxide and methane, 10 attributable to their extraction or refining of fossil fuels. 11 (11) Chapter 6.3 of title 42 shall assist the state and municipalities in making polluters pay 12 and support other private and public efforts to hold them responsible. 13 (12) More than seventy percent (70%) of the increase in atmospheric greenhouse gas 14 concentrations since the Industrial Revolution has occurred since 1950, with a significant 15 acceleration in emissions after the year 2000. By that time, the scientific consensus regarding the 16 causes and impacts of climate change was well established, and the data necessary to attribute 17 proportional responsibility for greenhouse gas emissions during the covered period is scientifically 18 robust. 19 SECTION 2. Title 42 of the General Laws entitled STATE AFFAIRS AND 20 GOVERNMENT is hereby amended by adding thereto the following chapter: 21 CHAPTER 6.3 22 RHODE ISLAND CLIMATE SUPERFUND ACT OF 2026 23 42-6.3.-1. Short title. 24 This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Rhode Island Climate Superfund Act 25 of 2026”. 26 42-6.3-2. Definitions. 27 For purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings unless 28 the context clearly requires otherwise: 29 (1) Account means the climate superfund account established pursuant to § 42-6.3-3(e). 30 (2) “Accepted attribution methodology” means a transparent, scientific approach used to 31 quantify a responsible party’s share of greenhouse gas emissions, that is consistent with 32 methodologies recognized by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ( IPCC ) of the 33 United Nations including using the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Emissions Factors for 34 Greenhouse Gas Inventories as applied to the fossil fuel volume data for the purpose of determining LC003571 - Page 2 of 8 1 the amount of covered greenhouse gas emissions attributable to any entity from the fossil fuel 2 production of that entity. 3 (3) Climate change response work means the planning, design, construction, operation, 4 maintenance, repair, or improvement of projects necessary to protect people, property, natural 5 resources, public health, and the state’s economy from the impacts of climate change, including sea 6 level rise, flooding, storm surge, extreme heat, drought, erosion, and other climate-driven hazards. 7 Climate change response work includes, but is not limited to: 8 (i) Coastal and flood protection and resilience projects; 9 (ii) Stormwater management, drainage, and water infrastructure upgrades; 10 (iii) Heat mitigation, air quality improvement, emergency preparedness, and other hazard- 11 protection measures that safeguard public health; 12 (iv) Resilient transportation, housing, and community infrastructure; 13 (v) Energy system resilience, including grid modernization and distributed energy 14 resources; 15 (vi) Ecosystem, agricultural, forest, watershed, and fisheries restoration or protection 16 projects; and 17 (vii) Hazard mitigation planning, modeling, monitoring, and early warning systems. 18 (4) Cost recovery demand” means a charge asserted against a responsible party for cost 19 recovery payments under the program for payment to the fund. 20 (5) Covered greenhouse gas emissions means the total quantity of greenhouse gasses 21 attributable to a responsible party’s extraction or refining of fossil fuels during the covered period, 22 expressed in metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent. 23 (6) Covered period means the period that began January 1, 2000, to December 31, 2025. 24 (7) Department or “DEM” means the department of environmental management. 25 (8) Director means director of the department of environmental management (DEM). 26 (9) Fossil fuel” means coal, petroleum products, bitumen, oil sands, heavy oil, 27 conventional and unconventional oil, shale oil, natural gas liquids, condensates, and related fossil 28 fuels and fuel gasses, including methane, natural gas, liquefied natural gas, and manufactured fuel 29 gasses. 30 (10) Greenhouse gas means any substance that causes or contributes to climate change 31 including, but not limited to, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, 32 perfluorocarbons and sulfur hexafluoride. 33 (11) Program means the climate superfund cost recovery program established by this 34 chapter. LC003571 - Page 3 of 8 1 (12) Qualifying expenditure means funds authorized by the DEM to be used to pay for 2 climate change response work. 3 (13) Responsible party means any entity (or successor in interest to such entity described 4 in this subsection), which, during any part of the covered period, engaged in the trade or business 5 of extracting or refining fossil fuel or refining crude oil and is determined by the department to be 6 responsible for more than one billion (1,000,000,000) tons of covered greenhouse gas emissions. 7 The term responsible party shall not include any person who lacks sufficient connection with the 8 state to satisfy the nexus requirements of the United States Constitution. 9 42-6.3-3. Implementation. 10 (a) Administrative authority. 11 To implement, enforce, and administer the provisions of this chapter, the department may: 12 (1) Appoint or engage necessary staff, including full-time equivalent positions and 13 contracted services, consistent with applicable state personnel and procurement laws; and 14 (2) Adopt rules and regulations pursuant to chapter 35 of title 42 (“administrative 15 procedures”) to implement, enforce, and administer the provisions of this chapter. 16 (b) Expenditure inventory and report. 17 Within twelve (12) months of the effective date of this chapter, the department shall 18 identify climate change response work eligible for cost recovery under this chapter undertaken by 19 the state and municipalities or needed in the future and their corresponding expenditures, and 20 provide its report to the public on the department s website. 21 (c) Proportional liability calculations and demands. 22 (1) Within eighteen (18) months of the effective date of this chapter, the department shall 23 determine proportional amounts owed by responsible parties for climate change response work 24 during the covered period using accepted attribution methodology and issue cost recovery demands 25 to responsible parties. 26 (2) The department may adjust the cost recovery demand amount of a responsible party 27 who refined petroleum products or who is a successor in interest to an entity that refines petroleum 28 products if the responsible party establishes to the satisfaction of the department that: 29 (i) A portion of the cost recovery demand amount was attributable to the refining of crude 30 oil extracted by another responsible party; and 31 (ii) The crude oil extracted by the other entity was accounted for when the department 32 determined the cost recovery demand amount for the other entity or a successor in interest of the 33 other entity 34 (d) Information requests. LC003571 - Page 4 of 8 1 (1) The department may require from any responsible party any information or records 2 needed to administer or enforce this chapter, and responsible parties shall produce all requested 3 materials in a timely manner. 4 (2) Information may be withheld only if protected by law. The responsible party bears the 5 full burden of proving such protection and shall, at the time of response, identify each withheld 6 portion, cite the legal basis, and briefly explain the claim. Unsubstantiated claims shall require full 7 production. 8 (e) Climate superfund account. 9 A climate superfund account shall be established within the office of the general treasurer. 10 The department shall accept and collect payments from responsible parties and deposit them into 11 the established account and shall ensure that funds only be used for qualified expenditures under 12 this program. 13 (f) Reimbursements 14 The DEM shall distribute funds to municipalities, tribal governments, and community 15 organizations to reimburse eligible climate change response costs under a transparent and equitable 16 allocation system. 17 (g) Coordination. 18 The DEM shall coordinate with the attorney general, department of health, and the office 19 of energy resources to ensure equitable implementation and enforcement. 20 (h) Other remedies preserved. 21 Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to supersede or diminish any other remedies 22 available to any person or government entity under common law or statute. 23 (i) Emergency regulations. 24 The department may prescribe, adopt, and enforce emergency regulations as necessary to 25 implement, administer, and enforce its duties under this chapter. 26 42-6.3-4. Liability of responsible parties. 27 (a) Aggregated entities. 28 When two (2) or more entities may be treated as a single entity under 26 U.S.C. §§ 52(a), 29 52(b), 414(m), 414(o), or 1563 (without regard to 26 U.S.C. § 52(c)), they shall share joint and 30 several liability and be treated as a single entity for the purposes of identifying responsible parties. 31 (b) Payment deadline. 32 Except as provided in subsection (c)(1), a responsible party shall pay the amount demanded 33 in full within six (6) months after issuance of the cost recovery demand. 34 (c) Installment payments. LC003571 - Page 5 of 8 1 (1) The director may implement an installment plan, but no adjustments shall be allowed 2 if the amount demanded is less than one-tenth of one percent (0.1%) of the average total profits of 3 a responsible party over the past five (5) years. 4 (2) Reasonable interest shall be charged on delayed payments. 5 (3) The unpaid balance of all installments becomes immediately due if: 6 (i) A responsible party fails to pay an installment on time; 7 (ii) A responsible party ceases to do business; or 8 (iii) Substantially all assets are sold, in which case the buyer assumes liability. 9 (d) Administrative hearings and appeals. 10 A responsible party may request reconsideration within thirty (30) days and may appeal a 11 final decision to the superior court within twenty (20) days. 12 42-6.3-5. Enforcement. 13 (a) Authority. 14 The department and the office of the attorney general shall have concurrent authority to 15 enforce this chapter, pursue violations, and recover all costs, penalties, and other relief as provided 16 by law. 17 (b) Penalties for late payment. 18 The department may collect penalties for late payment. The late penalty shall accrue daily 19 at ten percent (10%) per annum on the unpaid amount. 20 (c) Preservation of rights. 21 This chapter does not preempt any rights or remedies of the state, units of local government, 22 tribal governments, or individuals or groups under common law or any federal or state law. 23 (d) No preemption of other climate laws. 24 This chapter does not preempt or supersede any state law or local ordinance regarding 25 greenhouse gasses that: 26 (1) Limits or enforces emissions standards; 27 (2) Monitors, reports, or keeps records of emissions; 28 (3) Collects revenue through fees or levies; or 29 (4) Conducts or supports investigations. 30 42-6.3-6. Severability. 31 If any part of this chapter is adjudged invalid, such judgment shall not affect the remainder 32 of the provisions of this chapter, which shall continue in full force and effect. LC003571 - Page 6 of 8 1 SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage. ======== LC003571 ======== LC003571 - Page 7 of 8 EXPLANATION BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL OF A N A C T RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- RHODE ISLAND CLIMATE SUPERFUND ACT OF 2026 *** 1 This act would create a Rhode Island Climate Superfund and direct the department of 2 environmental management (DEM) to assess, pursue cost recovery demands, and charge a 3 responsible party for climate change response work. This charge would include, but would not be 4 limited to, maintenance, repair, or improvement of projects necessary to protect people, property, 5 natural resources, public health, and the State’s economy from the impacts of climate change. This 6 act would also authorize the creation of a climate superfund account. 7 This act would take effect upon passage. ======== LC003571 ======== LC003571 - Page 8 of 8