The proposed legislation amends Rhode Island's laws regarding interest and usury by adding a new section that allows the state to opt out of certain provisions of the Federal Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Control Act of 1980 (DIDMCA). Specifically, it expressly rejects the application of the amendments made by sections 521 through 523 of DIDMCA concerning loans made within the state, ensuring that financial institutions chartered in other states cannot evade Rhode Island's interest rate limits. This change aims to prevent evasion of Rhode Island's interest rate limits and lending rules.

Additionally, the bill introduces the "Anti-Evasion of Lending Rules Act of 2026," which establishes strict prohibitions against any attempts to circumvent Rhode Island's lending rules and interest rate limits. It outlines various deceptive practices that would be considered violations, such as disguising loans as sales, disguising loan proceeds as cash rebates, and obscuring the fact that a transaction is a loan. The act clarifies that individuals or entities acting as agents or service providers for exempt lenders can still be held accountable as lenders if they maintain a significant economic interest in the loans.

Violations of this act would render loans void and uncollectible, and violators would be liable for actual and consequential damages, statutory damages, reasonable attorneys' fees, and any other legal or equitable relief deemed appropriate by the court. The act is set to take effect on October 1, 2026.