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H 8169Water Resources

Waters and Navigation - Residential and Commercial Property Acquisition Program Act

A voluntary program to buy properties in flood zones, help owners relocate, and convert the land to nature or parks.

Held for study
Population
Affected
15
Email Legislator
Introduced Feb 27, 2026Committee House Finance

Plain-English Summary

This legislation establishes the "Residential and Commercial Property Acquisition Program Act." It creates a voluntary system for the state and municipalities to buy homes and businesses located in high-risk areas prone to flooding and climate change hazards. The program provides funding to help property owners relocate to safer areas nearby. Once the government purchases these properties, the land must be restored to its natural habitat or used for public outdoor recreation, and no new permanent structures can be built there. It appropriates $500,000 for initial planning and technical assistance.

For younger readers

This new law helps people who live in places that flood a lot or are dangerous because of storms. The government will offer to buy their houses if they want to move to a safer place nearby. After the people move, the government will clean up the land and turn it back into nature or a park for everyone to enjoy. No one will be allowed to build new houses there again. This helps keep families safe and creates more open space for the community to play in.

Who & Where It Applies

Impacted groups
Homeowners in flood zonesCommercial property owners in flood zonesMunicipalitiesDepartment of Environmental ManagementInsurance companies
Impacted communities
All

Constitutional & Fiscal Check

None Likely

Estimated cost
$0.32
Estimated revenue
Amount unknown

Bill Analysis

Both viewpoints
For Progressives
  • Prioritizes climate resilience and environmental justice by helping vulnerable populations move out of high-hazard flood zones while restoring natural habitats.
  • Expands public goods by mandating that acquired land be used for outdoor recreation and public access, rather than private development.
  • Encourages systemic reform in urban planning by requiring community vulnerability assessments that specifically consider social vulnerability and historically marginalized communities.
  • The reliance on voluntary buyouts and insurance premium capture might not generate enough immediate funding to help the poorest residents who cannot afford to wait for complex bureaucratic processes.
  • Recapturing insurance premium discounts to fund the infrastructure bank rather than passing those savings directly to homeowners could be seen as regressive.
  • There is a risk that "safer areas" within municipalities could become gentrified as zoning is revised to accommodate relocated residents, potentially pricing out existing low-income tenants.
For Conservatives
  • Respects property rights by ensuring the program is entirely voluntary, allowing landowners to choose whether or not to sell their property to the state.
  • Promotes fiscal responsibility by potentially reducing the long-term tax burden associated with repeated disaster relief payouts and emergency services in flood-prone areas.
  • Encourages municipalities to revise zoning and development policies to accommodate new housing, potentially reducing regulatory red tape for developers in safer zones.
  • Increases government spending and bureaucracy by creating new planning mandates, regional coordinator positions, and appropriating $500,000 in taxpayer funds.
  • Permanently removes private property from the tax rolls, which shifts the property tax burden to remaining residents to support municipal services.
  • Expands the scope of government influence through the use of "catastrophe bonds" and the involvement of multiple state agencies in local land management.

Votes

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Full Bill Text

Changes to existing Rhode Island law · 101 additions

SECTION 1. Title 46 of the General Laws entitled "WATERS AND NAVIGATION" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following chapter: 46-34-1. Short title. This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Residential and Commercial Property Acquisition Program Act." 46-34-2. Purpose. The purpose of this chapter is to implement a voluntary residential or commercial property acquisition program in high-hazard zones, paired with funding for relocation costs to safer areas within or proximate to the current community. This chapter seeks to restore the acquired land to its natural habitat and use it to enhance community resilience and enhance shoreline or riverine access and outdoor recreation. 46-34-3. Definitions. As used in this chapter:

(1) “Community vulnerability assessment” means a systematic evaluation that identifies and analyzes the exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity of people, built and natural assets, and essential services within a defined community to current and projected climate related and natural hazards including, but not limited to, sea level rise, coastal and riverine flooding, storm surge, extreme precipitation, erosion, heat, and related secondary impacts. The assessment shall:

(i) Use the best available, scientifically-backed, and up-to-date climate, hazard, and socioeconomic data and methods;

(ii) Identify populations, facilities, infrastructure, and natural resources whose impairment would significantly affect public health, safety, welfare, economic activity, cultural resources, or environmental quality;

(iii) Consider social vulnerability, including the disproportionate impacts on overburdened, low income, and historically marginalized communities; and

(iv) Inform the future development, prioritization, and financing of adaptation and mitigation actions, capital investments, land use and zoning changes, and emergency preparedness measures to enhance coastal resilience and reduce future risk.

(2) “Council” means the coastal resource management council.

(3) “Department” means the department of environmental management. 46-34-4. Amount of funding. The general assembly shall appropriate the sum of five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) within its 2026-2027 fiscal year budget for technical assistance to municipalities within the Resilient Rhody Infrastructure Fund for the purpose of assisting municipalities in planning for managed retreat. 46-34-5. Eligibility and planning process.

(a) All municipalities are eligible for a first round of funding for technical assistance to undergo the planning process described in subsection (b) of the section.

(b) No more than eight (8) months after the effective date of this chapter, the Rhode Island infrastructure bank, the department and council, shall create a managed retreat planning process for municipalities. The planning process shall align with and build on prior municipal resilience planning and community vulnerability assessments, where available. The Rhode Island infrastructure bank, department and council shall build upon the existing municipal resilience program and community resilience building reports, as well as inter-governmental collaboration and assistance provided by the department’s regional resilience coordinators, to structure and deliver this planning process. The process shall include, but not be limited to:

(1) Creation by the municipality of a community vulnerability assessment if one does not already exist.

(2) Creation by the municipality through a public process, a prioritized list of parcels and/or residential neighborhoods and/or mixed-use areas and a timeframe for voluntary buyouts. Instead of a timeframe, a municipality may condition a voluntary buyout on a storm event of a certain magnitude.

(3) Calculation of cost estimates for the voluntary buyouts of the parcels, relocation assistance and incentives to relocate within the boundaries of the municipality or adjacent municipalities, debris cleanup, restoring each parcel to its natural habitat, and any maintenance thereafter.

(4) Designate a staff member or regional coordinator under the department to work with homeowners and landowners to pre-file paperwork required for federal emergency management agency funding, state funding, and municipal funding, if applicable.

(5) Take ownership of the parcel after a voluntary buyout and may form public-private partnerships to utilize the land, in ways benefitting outdoor recreation and uses that are open to the public; provided that, a state easement is procured for the parcel; and further, provided that, utilization of the land shall align with council special area management plans, if applicable, and provide public parking spaces where appropriate.

(6) Prohibit the construction of permanent structures on the parcel after purchase.

(c) Municipalities who complete the planning process described in subsection (b) of this section, shall become eligible for revolving loan funds, grant funds, and catastrophe bond funds established pursuant § 46-12.2-4.4, and the treasurer’s office.

(d) After the first municipality completes the planning process described in subsection (b) of this section, and annually thereafter, the treasurer shall be authorized to issue, rescind, or re- issue catastrophe bonds in an amount appropriate to cover the cost-estimates provided by the municipalities for voluntary buyouts after a storm event. 46-34-6. Prioritization.

(a) No more than eight (8) months after the effective date of this chapter, the Rhode Island infrastructure bank, the department and council, shall create a funding prioritization process after a public hearing and stakeholder engagement process:

(b) One factor in funding prioritization shall be a municipality’s planning and/or implementation of ongoing revenue streams dedicated to the Resilient Rhody Infrastructure Fund, including, but not limited to, commercial tax increment districts, stormwater districts, sewer districts, transfer of development rights funds, and developer impact fees.

(c) No more than sixteen (16) months after the effective date of this chapter, and dependent on funding availability, the Rhode Island infrastructure bank, the department and council, shall award funding to eligible municipalities, and thereafter, on an annual basis, according to the established prioritization process.

(d) In the event of a storm that triggers the catastrophe bond, the treasurer’s office, Rhode Island infrastructure bank, the department and council, shall award funding to eligible municipalities within one month of receiving the funds from the catastrophe bonds, according to the established prioritization process. 46-34-7. Other authorizations to secure additional funding. The Rhode Island infrastructure bank, the department and council are authorized to apply for federal funding sources and use available funds in the Resilient Rhody Infrastructure Fund as matching funds for federal funding programs in order to fund voluntary buyouts. 46-34-8. Insurance. The department of business regulation is authorized to negotiate insurance premium discounts for parcels whose owners opt into a voluntary buyout. The department of business regulation is also authorized to form an agreement with homeowners and landowners to collect a percentage or whole amount of these insurance premium discounts and put this amount into the Resilient Rhody Infrastructure Fund. 46-34-9. Criteria of awards. The department of housing shall revise their criteria when awarding housing development funds to prioritize municipalities that undergo the planning process described in § 46-34-5(b) and have revised their zoning and development policies to accommodate new housing for residents who have opted into a voluntary buyout.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.