This bill makes several amendments to the General Laws in Chapter 42-63.1, which pertains to tourism and development. The amendments include adding definitions for terms such as "Consideration," "Corporation," "District," "Hotel," "Hosting platform," "Occupancy," "Tax," "Owner," "Residential unit," "Tour operator," and "Tourist or transient." The bill also adds a new section that prohibits cities, towns, or municipalities from prohibiting owners from offering rental properties for tourist or transient use on a hosting platform that collects and remits applicable sales and hotel taxes. Hosting platforms must comply with certain requirements for the prohibition to apply. The bill also requires short-term rental properties listed on third-party hosting platforms to be registered with the Department of Business Regulation, and specifies the information that must be included in the registration. The Department of Business Regulation is also required to promulgate rules and regulations to implement the registration requirements.

Additionally, the bill requires hosting platforms to disclose the property's current, valid registration number and expiration date on the listing, and failure to do so would result in a civil fine. Hosting platforms would also be required to provide the Department of Business Regulation with a monthly electronic report of their listings. The bill establishes a registration process for property owners who offer short-term rentals, with civil fines for non-compliance. The Department of Business Regulation would create an online database to store all registered short-term rental units. The bill would take effect on January 1, 2024.

Statutes affected:
5833: 42-63.1-14