The bill seeks to amend existing environmental and climate change laws in Rhode Island by establishing a new restricted receipt account for the Rhode Island executive climate change coordinating council (EC4) to manage funds for climate change initiatives. It also modifies the "Oil Spill Prevention, Administration and Response Fund" to allow for up to $250,000 annually to be used for research on marine pollution from oil and petroleum products and to support EC4's efforts to reduce climate emissions in line with the Act on Climate. Furthermore, the "Rhode Island Underground Storage Tank Financial Responsibility Act" is amended to include emission reduction projects as part of its objectives, with a new environmental protection regulatory fee of one cent per gallon of motor fuel imposed to fund these initiatives. The bill includes both insertions of new legal language and deletions of some existing language to reflect these updates.

The bill outlines the allocation of revenues from the environmental protection regulatory fee on motor fuel, with up to $2,000,000 directed to the EC4 in fiscal year 2025 and a maximum of $1,000,000 in subsequent years. It also details the distribution of the current one-cent-per-gallon fee, with half going to the intermodal surface transportation fund and the other half to the fund supporting the EC4's climate goals. The bill sets conditions for the suspension and reinstatement of the fee based on the fund's balance, with a suspension threshold of $8,000,000 and a reinstatement threshold of $5,000,000. Additionally, it includes a provision for the potential recommendation to discontinue the fee if the fund balance is sufficient to cover all claims. The act will take effect upon passage.

Statutes affected:
2332  SUB A: 42-6.2-3.1, 46-12.7-13
2332: 46-12.7-13, 46-12.9-11