H 7573Roads & Highways

Highways - Construction and Maintenance of State Roads

Towns can contract with the state to fix local state roads, get reimbursed, and receive liability protection.

Held for study

Population
Affected

Introduced Feb 6, 2026Committee House State Government & Elections

Plain-English Summary

This legislation grants Rhode Island municipalities the authority to enter into contracts with the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) to perform minor and routine maintenance on state highways located within their town or city limits. If a municipality completes this work according to the standards agreed upon in the contract, the bill protects the municipality from liability claims related to that work. Furthermore, the bill mandates that the state reimburse the municipality for the maintenance work, provided it meets the required standards.

For younger readers

Sometimes, the big roads that go through a town are actually owned by the state government, not the town. This new rule allows a town to make a deal with the state to fix small problems, like potholes, on those big roads. If the town fixes the road exactly how the state wants, the state will pay the town back for the work. Also, if the town follows the rules perfectly, they won't get in trouble or have to pay money if someone gets hurt on that road later.

Who & Where It Applies

Impacted groups

MunicipalitiesRhode Island Department of TransportationDriversTaxpayersPersonal Injury Attorneys

Impacted communities

All

Constitutional & Fiscal Check

None Likely

Estimated cost

Amount unknown

Estimated revenue

None

Bill Analysis

Both viewpoints

For Progressives

Empowers local governments to address immediate community infrastructure needs, such as potholes on state roads, ensuring safer travel for residents without waiting for state-level bureaucratic delays.
Ensures that municipalities are fairly reimbursed for their labor and resources, preventing the diversion of local funds that support other vital social services and community programs.
Promotes cooperation between state and local entities to maintain public assets, potentially leading to more responsive governance and better upkeep of shared public spaces.
Could create infrastructure inequality, where wealthier municipalities have the administrative capacity to fix state roads quickly, while poorer communities must wait for the state, exacerbating the divide between affluent and disadvantaged areas.
The liability shield for municipalities might complicate the legal process for individuals injured due to road defects, potentially making it harder for victims to seek full justice or compensation.
May encourage the state to offload maintenance responsibilities onto local governments, potentially leading to a fragmentation of labor standards or a reduction in the centralized state workforce.

For Conservatives

Promotes local control and decentralization by allowing individual municipalities to manage road maintenance within their borders, reducing reliance on a large, slow-moving state bureaucracy.
Provides specific liability protections for municipalities, reducing the burden of frivolous lawsuits and protecting local taxpayers from paying out costly legal settlements.
Increases efficiency by allowing repairs to be handled by the government entity closest to the problem, ensuring tax dollars are spent on tangible results rather than state administrative overhead.
Increases government spending by mandating state reimbursements to towns, potentially leading to higher taxes or less oversight on how funds are utilized by local officials.
Creates a complex system of shared responsibility that could blur the lines of accountability, making it harder for voters to know which level of government is truly responsible for infrastructure failures.
Might expand the size and scope of local government operations, encouraging municipalities to grow their public works departments rather than relying on private sector solutions.

Votes

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Full Bill Text

Changes to existing Rhode Island law · 15 additions

SECTION 1. Chapter 24-8 of the General Laws entitled "Construction and Maintenance of State Roads" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following section: 24-8-46. Municipal work and reimbursement on certain state highways.

(a) A municipality and the Rhode Island department of transportation (the “department”) shall have the power to enter into a contract (“contract”) for the municipality to perform minor and routine maintenance work ("project work") on the roadway and shoulders of any state highway located within the municipal boundaries of the municipality.

(b) Each municipality which completes the project work described in subsection (a) of this section pursuant to a contract authorized by this section, shall be relieved from any tort liability arising after completion of such work, if the completed project work conforms to the standards of the contract as agreed to by the department.

(c) Each municipality shall be entitled to receive payment or reimbursement from the department, in accordance with the contract, if the completed project work conforms to the standards of the contract as agreed to by the department.

(d) Nothing contained in this section shall impar, suspend, contract, enlarge, extend, or affect in any manner the powers and duties of the department including, but not limited to, those contained in the provisions of chapter 13 of title 42 (“department of transportation”).

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.