H 8014Agriculture

State Affairs and Government - Farmland Preservation Act

This bill exempts farms from certain water and sewer utility extension fees unless the land is developed or sold.

Held for study

Population
Affected

Introduced Feb 27, 2026Committee House Municipal Government & Housing

Plain-English Summary

This legislation amends the Farmland Preservation Act to protect agricultural operations from certain utility costs. It prohibits municipalities and public corporations from charging "connection fees" (including impact fees) to farms for water utility extensions that pass by their property, provided the farm exists as of July 1, 2026. It also stipulates that sewer utility charges can only be levied if the owner requests the extension. However, if the land is developed or sold to a non-agricultural entity, these protections become void, and the assessments must be paid. The bill removes a previous twenty-year time limit on this repayment obligation.

For younger readers

Imagine a farmer has a big field. Sometimes the town builds water or sewer pipes that go right past the field. This new rule says the town cannot make the farmer pay extra fees for those pipes just because they are there. The farmer only pays if they ask to use the sewer pipes. However, if the farmer decides to stop farming and builds houses or sells the land to someone who isn't a farmer, then they have to pay those fees back. This helps farmers keep their land for farming without paying extra bills.

Who & Where It Applies

Impacted groups

FarmersAgricultural LandownersMunicipalitiesWater Utility CompaniesSewer Utility Companies

Impacted communities

All

Constitutional & Fiscal Check

None Likely

Estimated cost

Amount unknown

Estimated revenue

None

Bill Analysis

Both viewpoints

For Progressives

Encourages the preservation of green spaces and local food systems by reducing the financial pressure on farmers to sell their land for development.
Promotes environmental sustainability by disincentivizing suburban sprawl and the associated carbon footprint of new residential developments on agricultural land.
Supports small business owners and rural communities by preventing large, unexpected infrastructure costs that could bankrupt family farms.
Reduces potential revenue for municipalities and public utilities, which could strain budgets for other essential public services and social safety nets.
Shifts the financial burden of infrastructure maintenance and expansion onto other ratepayers, potentially increasing costs for non-farming residents and low-income households.
Provides financial benefits to landowners without attaching requirements for fair labor practices or wages for the agricultural workers employed on the property.

For Conservatives

Protects private property owners from government overreach by preventing municipalities from charging fees for services the landowner did not request.
Lowers the cost of doing business for the agricultural sector, allowing farmers to operate more freely without burdensome government overhead.
Preserves traditional rural heritage and land usage against the pressures of urbanization and government-driven infrastructure expansion.
Interferes with the free market by creating special carve-outs and subsidies for a specific industry rather than treating all property owners equally.
Undermines local control by dictating how municipalities and local utilities can manage their assessments and revenue streams.
Could result in higher costs for other businesses and taxpayers who must make up the difference for the infrastructure investments.

Votes

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Full Bill Text

Changes to existing Rhode Island law · 15 additions · 3 deletions

SECTION 1. Section 42-82-16 of the General Laws in Chapter 42-82 entitled "Farmland Preservation Act" is hereby amended to read as follows: 42-82-16. Charges for utility extension.

(a) No city, town, quasi-municipal corporation, or public corporation may assess the owner of an agricultural operation having frontage on a public roadway for the extension of water and sewer utilities past the property. (b)"Connection fees", for purposes of this section, mean any impact fee or connection fee or any other fee designed to circumvent the prohibition contained in this section. "Connection fee" shall not include any administrative, overhead, or equipment fee or the construction costs related to extension of or connection to a water main.

(c) No city, town, quasi-municipal corporation or public corporation shall assess the owner of an agricultural operation as defined in § 2-23-4, or agricultural land as defined in § 42-82-2, in existence as of July 1, 2026 and having frontage on a public roadway, a connection fee for the extension of water utilities past the property. The protection afforded by this section shall be null and void and the assessments made if the owner of the agricultural operation develops or sells to other than a qualifying agricultural operation the property or farmland. ~~(b)~~(d) The owner of the agricultural operation may only be charged for the extension of sewer utilities if the owner has requested the utility extension. The agricultural operation may tie into any sewer utility extension made past that property for the normal cost of tie-in and no cost for the infrastructure improvement except for its base usable charge. The protection afforded by this section shall be null and void and the assessments made if the owner of the agricultural operation develops or sells to other than a qualifying agricultural operation the property or farmland ~~within~~ ~~twenty (20) years of the date the utility extensions were operational~~.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.