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H 7927Medical Services

Health and Safety - Electronic Monitoring in Nursing and Assisted Living Facilities

Allows nursing home residents to use the facility's existing internet service for safety cameras without paying extra fees.

Held for study
Population
Affected
12
Email Legislator
Introduced Feb 27, 2026Committee House Health & Human Services

Plain-English Summary

This legislation updates the rules for electronic monitoring (such as "nanny cams") in nursing homes and assisted living facilities. Currently, residents who wish to install a camera in their room must pay for all associated costs, including internet service. This bill mandates that if a facility already provides internet access to its residents, the facility must allow a resident to connect their monitoring device to that internet service without charging them any extra fees. This removes the need for residents to purchase a separate internet plan solely for their safety camera.

For younger readers

Sometimes, people living in nursing homes want to have cameras in their rooms so their families can check on them and make sure they are safe. Usually, these cameras need the internet to work, and the person living there has to pay for it. This new rule says that if the nursing home already lets people use the internet there, the person can use that internet for their camera for free. This helps families save money while keeping their loved ones safe.

Who & Where It Applies

Impacted groups
Nursing home residentsAssisted living residentsNursing and assisted living facility ownersFamilies of residentsInternet Service Providers
Impacted communities
All

Constitutional & Fiscal Check

None Likely

Estimated cost
None
Estimated revenue
None

Bill Analysis

Both viewpoints
For Progressives
  • Reduces the financial burden on elderly and disabled residents, many of whom are on fixed incomes, by eliminating the need to purchase separate internet contracts for safety monitoring.
  • Increases equity in healthcare by ensuring that the ability to monitor the safety and quality of care is not strictly limited to those who can afford private internet subscriptions.
  • Promotes accountability and transparency within care facilities, potentially reducing instances of elder abuse and neglect by making monitoring tools more accessible.
  • May raise concerns regarding the privacy of healthcare workers, who are often low-wage laborers, by facilitating increased surveillance in their workplace without additional protections.
  • Does not mandate that facilities provide internet access, potentially creating a disparity where residents in better-resourced facilities get free monitoring support while those in under-resourced facilities do not.
  • Relies on shared facility networks for video transmission, which could pose data security and privacy risks for residents compared to private, encrypted individual networks.
For Conservatives
  • Empowers families and individuals to take personal responsibility for monitoring the safety and care of their loved ones without excessive bureaucratic or financial hurdles.
  • Increases transparency and market accountability for private care facilities, ensuring that businesses delivering subpar services can be identified by consumers.
  • Protects the most vulnerable citizens from abuse and neglect by removing cost barriers to effective self-monitoring tools.
  • Infringes on the property rights of business owners by mandating they provide free use of their paid bandwidth and infrastructure to clients without compensation.
  • Represents government overreach into private contracts between service providers and residents, dictating terms of service rather than letting the free market decide.
  • Could impose liability and cybersecurity risks on facility owners if the shared network is compromised due to the addition of multiple unsecured third-party devices.

Votes

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Full Bill Text

Changes to existing Rhode Island law · 4 additions

SECTION 1. Section 23-17.29-7 of the General Laws in Chapter 23-17.29 entitled "Electronic Monitoring in Nursing and Assisted Living Facilities" is hereby amended to read as follows: 23-17.29-7. Costs and installation.

(a) A resident or resident representative choosing to conduct electronic monitoring shall do so at the resident’s own expense, including the purchase, installation, maintenance, and removal costs.

(b) Any device used by a resident to conduct authorized electronic monitoring shall meet the following minimum functional requirements:

(1) Include timestamping of all video recordings; and

(2) If movement tracking is a default setting, that the device must be able to switch off this function.

(c) If a resident chooses to place an electronic monitoring device that uses internet technology for visual or audio monitoring, the resident shall be responsible for contracting with an internet service provider except that in the event the facility provides internet access to the residents, then the resident may connect the electronic monitoring device to the facility's internet service for use with said service without incurring extra cost or charges.

(d) All electronic monitoring device installations and supporting services shall be UL- listed.

(e) The electronic monitoring device must be placed in a conspicuously visible location in the room.

(f) A facility shall not charge the resident a fee for the cost of electricity used by an electronic monitoring device.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.