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S 2263Agriculture

State Affairs and Government - Farmland Preservation Act

This bill exempts farms from paying for water and sewer line extensions unless the land is developed or sold.

Introduced37 Yea0 Nay1 Not voting
Population
Affected
15
Email Legislator
Introduced Jan 23, 2026Committee Senate Housing & Municipal Government

Plain-English Summary

This legislation amends the "Farmland Preservation Act" to protect agricultural operations from being charged certain fees when water or sewer utility lines are extended past their property. It specifically defines "connection fees" and prohibits assessing these fees on farms existing as of July 1, 2026, for water utilities. It also states that farms can only be charged for sewer extensions if the owner requests the service. Importantly, if the farmland is ever developed or sold to a non-agricultural entity, the owner must pay the assessments that were previously waived, removing a prior twenty-year time limit on this repayment requirement.

For younger readers

Sometimes, cities build water or sewer pipes right past a farm. This bill says that farmers do not have to pay for these new pipes unless they ask to use them. This helps farmers save money so they can keep growing food. However, if the farmer ever decides to sell the land to someone who isn't a farmer, or if they decide to build houses on the land, they will have to pay the money they owed for the pipes. This rule helps make sure the land stays as a farm for a long time.

Who & Where It Applies

Impacted groups
Agricultural Operation OwnersMunicipal Water and Sewer DepartmentsReal Estate DevelopersUtility RatepayersQuasi-municipal Corporations
Impacted communities
All

Constitutional & Fiscal Check

None Likely

Estimated cost
Amount unknown
Estimated revenue
None

Bill Analysis

Both viewpoints
For Progressives
  • Strengthens environmental protection by disincentivizing the development of open spaces and farmland into residential or commercial real estate through the removal of the twenty-year expiration on assessment repayments.
  • Supports local food systems and small agricultural businesses by protecting them from unexpected and potentially crippling infrastructure costs.
  • Prevents the costs of urban sprawl and gentrification from being passed on to long-standing community members and farmers who did not request new utility developments.
  • Reduces potential revenue for municipal water and sewer authorities, which could shift the cost burden of infrastructure maintenance to other residential ratepayers.
  • Could be viewed as a subsidy for private landowners, allowing them to benefit from increased property value due to nearby utilities without contributing to the cost until a sale occurs.
  • May complicate or delay necessary infrastructure expansion for affordable housing projects if utility companies cannot recover costs from large landholders along the route.
For Conservatives
  • Protects private property owners and businesses from government overreach by ensuring they are not forced to pay for services they did not request and do not use.
  • Supports the financial viability of the agricultural industry, preserving traditional farming economies against pressure from municipal expansion.
  • Codifies specific definitions for fees to prevent local governments from creating "hidden taxes" or circumventing laws through creative labeling of assessments.
  • Removes the twenty-year sunset clause, effectively placing a perpetual financial encumbrance on the property that penalizes the owner if they ever choose to sell to a developer.
  • Interferes with the free market by artificially manipulating the costs associated with developing land, potentially lowering the resale value of private property.
  • Creates a complex regulatory environment for utility companies and developers, potentially discouraging private investment in infrastructure improvements.

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.