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SB 3150

AN ACT RELATING TO INSURANCE -- WEATHER-RELATED LOSSES

2026 Regular Session Introduced by Sue Sosnowski

Creates a Rhode Island program (Strengthen Rhody Homes) using a revolving fund to grant funds for residential wind-resilience retrofits meeting IBHS Fortified standards.

06/23/2026 Signed by Governor
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Bill Summary · SB 3150

Summary of SB 3150 (Rhode Island, 2026) – Weather-Related Losses

Purpose and Intent

SB 3150 establishes a formal program within the Rhode Island Department of Business Regulation (DBR), Division of Insurance, called the Strengthen Rhody Homes program. The primary goal is to provide grants and support to residential property owners to retrofit or construct features that increase resilience to hurricanes and other catastrophic wind events, reducing potential weather-related losses.

Key notes on scope:
- The program is grant-funded and explicitly relies on federal grants or funds from other sources; it does not obligate the state to fund inspections, construction, or retrofits by itself.
- The act creates a revolving fund to manage and disburse grant dollars and related activities.

Key Provisions and Changes

Creation and Administration

  • Establishes the Strengthen Rhody Homes revolving fund within DBR (Insurance Division) to receive and manage grant funds.
  • The program may receive financial grants or gifts and can provide grants to nonprofit entities to administer projects, subject to program rules and documentation requirements.
  • The Insurance Division may promulgate rules and eligibility criteria.

Eligibility and Grant Administration

  • Grants are for residential property owners in Rhode Island to make resilience improvements (e.g., IBHS Fortified standards).
  • Eligibility criteria (illustrative, not exhaustive):
    • Owner-occupied, single-family, primary residence; not a condo or mobile home.
    • Property must be in good repair unless damaged by a catastrophic event; funds cannot be used for general maintenance.
    • Property must be pre-qualified by a certified IBHS evaluator and identify required improvements to meet IBHS Fortified Roof/Silver/Gold standards (or successor standards approved by the Insurance Division).
    • Property owner must obtain bids from at least three IBHS-certified contractors approved by the program.
    • Property must have wind insurance (and flood insurance if in a special flood hazard area).
    • Grant applications filed in a form prescribed by the Insurance Division, with applicable fees.

Project Implementation and Oversight

  • Mitigation must comply with local permits/building codes and IBHS Fortified standards; random re-inspections may occur.
  • Payments: Grant funds are paid directly to the contractor after a certificate of IBHS standard is issued.
  • Timelines: Retrofit projects must begin within three months of grant approval; new builds must be completed within the timeframe approved by the Insurance Division; failure to comply may lead to grant forfeiture.
  • Contractors and evaluators:
    • Contractors must be IBHS-certified, licensed, and free of disqualifying actions; they cannot have conflicts of interest and cannot be the program’s evaluator.
    • Evaluators must be IBHS-certified Fortified roof evaluators, in good standing, and must avoid conflicts of interest.

Accountability and Transparency

  • Documents submitted in support of grant applications are confidential and not subject to open records requests, subpoenas, or civil discovery.
  • The Division may conduct random audits to detect fraud, modeled after existing investigations in related chapters.

Affected Parties

  • Rhode Island residential property owners seeking resilience grants.
  • Insurers and the Insurance Division (DBR) administering the program.
  • IBHS-certified evaluators and contractors engaged in eligible projects.
  • Potential nonprofit partners that may administer grants.

Timeline and Effective Date

  • Effective date: upon passage of the act.
  • Ongoing program with funds governed by the revolving fund and grants from external sources.

Procedural Status

  • Referred to Senate Environment & Agriculture.
  • After committee action, the measure was recommended to be held for further study (April 29, 2026), indicating ongoing consideration.

If you want, I can provide a side-by-side quick-reference of eligibility criteria and the IBHS standards referenced (Fortified Roof, Silver, Gold) with brief descriptions.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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