The bill amends Chapter 36-4 of the General Laws, titled "Merit System," by introducing a new section, 36-4-15.1, which establishes specialized information technology positions within state service. It defines these positions as technical or specialized job classifications under the supervision of the Division of Enterprise Technology Strategy and Services (ETSS) and includes roles such as chief information officer, chief technology officer, chief information security officer, software/application/cloud architects, engineers, developers, cybersecurity professionals, artificial intelligence analysts, data/database/cloud administrators, and other specialized IT positions.

The bill grants the personnel administrator the authority to modify, change, or amend any official pay plan for employees in the classified or unclassified service to create new job classifications or to modify the title, content, or pay grade of existing job classifications for these specialized IT positions, without the need for public hearings or gubernatorial approval.

Additionally, the personnel administrator is required to file a written report within thirty days after any personnel action related to these specialized positions. This report must include the title and pay grade of the position(s), the job description, and the reason for the position's necessity. The report must also be posted on the Division of Human Resources website for at least one year.

However, the provisions of this section do not apply to any specialized information technology positions utilized by ETSS that are part of a collective bargaining unit established and certified by the Rhode Island State Labor Relations Board. The act will take effect upon passage.