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HB 5456

AN ACT RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- RHODE ISLAND COMMERCE CORPORATION

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Jon Brien and 9 co-sponsors

HB 5456 reorganizes the Rhode Island Commerce Corporation governance, creating a 13-member board with diverse representation and clarifying leadership structure, including a Secret

03/13/2025 Committee recommended measure be held for further study
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Bill Summary · HB 5456

Summary — HB 5456

Title: AN ACT RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT — RHODE ISLAND COMMERCE CORPORATION
Bill Number: HB 5456 (2025)
Primary Sponsor: Rep. Santucci
Companion: SB 1283

Main purpose

HB 5456 amends § 42-64-8 of the Rhode Island General Laws to set forth the composition, duties, appointment and removal rules, officer structure, training requirements, quorum and voting rules, and certain personnel authorities for the Rhode Island Commerce Corporation (the state economic development corporation). The changes clarify governance, officer roles (particularly in relation to a Secretary of Commerce), and representational requirements for board membership.

Key provisions and changes

  • Board composition
    • Establishes a 13-member board: the Governor (ex officio chair, voting only to break ties) plus 12 public members appointed by the Governor and subject to Senate advice and consent.
    • Appointees must be Rhode Island residents and the board must reflect the state's geographic diversity.
    • Specific representation requirements among the 12 public members:
    • Four must be owners or principals of independently owned/operated small businesses in Rhode Island employing 100 or fewer persons.
    • One representative of organized labor.
    • One representative of higher education.
    • One representative from the Governor’s workforce board.
    • One representative of a minority business.
    • One interim municipal representative (the mayor or council president) in limited circumstances when the corporation’s project plan on federal land is disapproved by the municipality; that interim member participates only for deliberations related to that disapproved project plan and the appointment ends after final board action.
  • Appointment, terms, and vacancies
    • Terms are staggered four-year terms (initial staggered schedule described), members may succeed themselves by reappointment with Senate consent.
    • Vacancies are filled in the same manner as original appointments for the remainder of the term.
  • Training
    • The corporation must conduct a training course for newly appointed members or designees within six months of qualification; the executive director develops and conducts the course with board approval and may use others to assist.
    • The course must cover the commerce chapter and specified other chapters of state law and the board’s rules.
    • (Text references an earlier Department of Administration obligation to prepare materials within 90 days of July 15, 2005 — a carryover provision.)
  • Removal and compensation
    • Board members are removable by the Governor for cause only (per § 36-1-7); partisan or personal removal is prohibited.
    • Directors receive no compensation but are reimbursed for reasonable expenses and may engage in private employment.
  • Quorum and voting
    • A majority of directors constitutes a quorum.
    • Except where § 42-64-13 provides otherwise, actions require a two‑thirds majority of directors present and entitled to vote.
  • Executive leadership and staffing
    • The chief executive officer is the executive director until a Secretary of Commerce is appointed.
    • Upon appointment, the Secretary of Commerce becomes the corporation’s CEO and is responsible for management.
    • A Chief Operating Officer (COO) is appointed by the Secretary of Commerce; the COO is the chief administrative officer, responsible for day‑to‑day management, and must have professional experience/education in economic development and management as determined by the Secretary and board.
    • The board appoints a secretary and other officers/staff and may delegate appointment and compensation authority to the executive director (or, after appointment of the Secretary, to the COO and their subordinates).
  • Personnel restrictions
    • The provided text truncates at subsection (f) (“No full-time employee shall, during the period of the employee'...”), so additional employee-related restrictions or provisions in the remainder of the statute were not provided.

Who is affected

  • The Governor (as ex officio board chair), gubernatorial appointees, small business owners, labor and higher‑education representatives, minority business representatives, municipal leaders in specific federal‑land project situations, the Secretary of Commerce, the corporation’s COO and staff, and stakeholders in economic development decisions (businesses, municipalities, workforce entities).
  • Indirectly affects economic development project approvals and the operation of the Commerce Corporation.

Procedural status and timeline (selected)

  • Feb 12, 2025: Introduced and referred to House State Government & Elections (per bill text).
  • Mar 7, 2025: Scheduled for hearing/consideration (hearing on Mar 13).
  • Mar 13, 2025: Committee recommended measure be held for further study.
  • Mar 14, 2025: Bill filed (record shows March 14 as an introduced/filed date).
  • Apr 7, 2025: Read first time; referred to Human Services.

Current status: As of 03/13/2025 the committee recommended the measure be held for further study.

Notes

  • The statutory excerpt supplied truncates partway through subsection (f); the summary covers provisions present in the supplied text.
  • Some internal dates in the bill text (e.g., references to 2005 and staggered appointments beginning in 2011) are legacy provisions that appear carried forward; those historic scheduling elements remain in the statute as presented.

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

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