S 2264Emergency Management

Military Affairs and Defense - Emergency Management

This bill requires towns to operate 24-hour warming and cooling centers for the homeless during extreme weather conditions.

Introduced36 Yea0 Nay2 Not voting

Population
Affected

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Introduced Jan 23, 2026Committee Senate Housing & Municipal Government

Plain-English Summary

This legislation mandates that Rhode Island cities and towns establish and operate warming and cooling centers for at-risk individuals, particularly the homeless, during extreme weather events. The Director of the Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency will declare alerts based on specific temperature thresholds set by the National Weather Service (e.g., 36°F or lower, or high heat indices). During these alerts, municipalities with significant homeless populations must operate these centers 24 hours a day. The bill also requires that these centers provide essential amenities such as blankets, cots, and meals when open for extended periods.

For younger readers

This law helps keep people safe when the weather is very bad. Sometimes it gets freezing cold or dangerously hot outside, which is scary for people who do not have homes to go to. This law says that when the weather gets too cold or too hot, towns must open special safe places called "warming centers" or "cooling centers." These places will stay open all day and all night. They will give people blankets, beds to sleep on, and food so they can stay safe and healthy until the weather gets better.

Who & Where It Applies

Impacted groups

Homeless individualsMunicipal emergency management officesNonprofit social service organizationsLocal taxpayersVolunteer organizations

Impacted communities

All

Constitutional & Fiscal Check

None Likely

Estimated cost

Amount unknown

Estimated revenue

None

Bill Analysis

Both viewpoints

For Progressives

Ensures the safety and survival of unhoused neighbors by mandating that shelters remain open twenty-four hours a day during extreme weather, filling a critical gap in current services.
Requires the provision of humane necessities such as meals, cots, and blankets, shifting the standard of care from simple warehousing to providing actual comfort and dignity.
Centralizes the alert system through the state Emergency Management Agency, ensuring that vulnerable populations in all participating municipalities receive consistent access to life-saving resources.
Fails to address the root causes of homelessness, functioning as a temporary emergency measure rather than investing in permanent housing solutions or systemic poverty reduction.
Sets the temperature threshold for warming centers at thirty-six degrees, potentially leaving people exposed to hypothermia risks when temperatures are in the high thirties or forties and raining.
Relies on police and public safety infrastructure to carry out plans, which may deter undocumented individuals or those with negative law enforcement experiences from seeking shelter.

For Conservatives

Encourages the use of volunteer organizations to operate centers, promoting civil society involvement and private charity rather than relying exclusively on government employees.
Permits smaller municipalities to collaborate on regional centers, fostering fiscal efficiency and preventing the duplication of services in areas with lower homeless populations.
Maintains public order and safety by providing a designated location for vagrants during extreme weather, potentially reducing strain on hospital emergency rooms and first responders.
Imposes a significant unfunded mandate on local municipalities, forcing taxpayers to bear the costs of twenty-four-hour staffing, utilities, and supplies without guaranteed state reimbursement.
Overrides local control by dictating specific operational hours and temperature triggers to town councils, removing their ability to assess their own community's specific needs and budget constraints.
May act as a magnet that attracts homeless populations from other areas to specific towns that provide these mandated services, potentially increasing the long-term burden on those communities.

Votes

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Full Bill Text

Changes to existing Rhode Island law · 100 additions

SECTION 1. Chapter 30-15 of the General Laws entitled "Emergency Management" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following sections: 30-15-46. Warming center alert.

(a) As used in this section:

(1) "At-risk individual" means an individual living outdoors, on the streets, in the parks, or in poorly insulated settings, and who is at risk for weather-related exposure and possible death.

(2) "Director" means the director of the emergency management agency ("agency").

(3) "Local governing body" means the city or town councils of the state's cities and towns.

(b) Plan for issuance of warming center alert. Cities and towns through their office of emergency management or other appropriate office, agency or department, shall establish a plan for issuing a warming center alert to municipalities, social services agencies, and nonprofit organizations that provide services to at-risk individuals and/or are located within the city or town's borders. Upon the designation of a warming center alert, the director shall coordinate with the cities and towns to provide information regarding available services. This coordination shall include, but not be limited to, postings on the Rhode Island emergency management agency's webpage, postings on local media, social media channels, and United Way's 211. The agency or appropriate office or department, shall coordinate with municipal emergency management coordinators in municipalities with a documented homeless population of at least ten (10), as noted in the most recent report on sheltered and unsheltered people provided by the annual Point In Time Count, in developing consistent warming center alert plans throughout the cities or towns that provide for emergency warming centers during implementation of a warming center alert plan and be expected to implement the plan during the period of November 1, through April 15. This plan may be carried out by public safety, municipal employees, or designated volunteer organizations. Volunteer- organized warming center efforts shall receive cooperation and logistical support from the director, but shall operate autonomously; provided that, they operate in response to an alert and pursuant to the warming center alert plan.

(c) The director shall declare a warming center alert after evaluating weather forecasts and advisories produced by the National Weather Service that predict the following weather conditions in the city or town within twenty-four (24) to forty-eight (48) hours:

(1) Temperatures will reach thirty-six degrees Fahrenheit (36o F) or lower; or

(2) The National Weather Service wind chill temperature will be thirty-six degrees Fahrenheit (36o F) or less for a period of two (2) hours or more.

(d) The director, or designee, shall review weather forecasts from the National Weather Service on a regular and consistent basis to determine when a warming center alert is warranted.

(e) Warming center requirements-warning centers. During any warming center alert, municipalities, through their respective emergency management offices, shall:

(1) Arrange for shelters which shall be open seven (7) days a week and twenty-four (24) hours each day.

(2) Provide for notice and updates on the city or town webpage and available social media outlets, and United Way's 211, about the availability of resources including, but not limited to, shelters, warming centers and/or community-based centers that are available to provide support or shelter.

(3) When the shelter or warming center is open for twenty-four (24) hours or more, provide provisions for individuals' comfort including, but not limited to, blankets, cots, mats, meals and beverages.

(f) Any municipality receiving state or federal funding to operate a shelter or warming center shall be required to keep the shelter or warming center open and accessible every day for twenty-four (24) hours each day during a declared alert period.

(g) Any municipality not identified as "hot spot" for people experiencing homelessness according to the most recent report on sheltered and unsheltered people by the Point-In-Time Count, the city or town may collaborate with neighboring municipalities to combine resources and operate a regional warming center which would satisfy the requirements of this section. 30-15-47. Cooling center alert.

(a) As used in this section: (1)"At-risk individual" means an individual living outdoors, on the streets, in the parks or in poorly insulated settings, and who is at risk for weather-related exposure and possible death.

(2) "Director" means the director of the emergency management agency ("agency").

(3) "Local governing body" means the city or town councils of the state's cities and towns.

(b) Plan for issuance of cooling center alert. The cities and towns through their office of emergency management or other appropriate office, agency, or department, shall establish a plan for issuing a cooling center alert to municipalities, social service agencies, and nonprofit organizations that provide services to at-risk individuals and/or are located within the city or town borders. Upon the designation of a cooling center alert the director shall coordinate with the cities and towns to provide information regarding available services. This coordination shall include, but not be limited to, postings on the Rhode Island emergency management agency's webpage, postings on local media, social media channels, and United Way's 211. The agency or appropriate office, or department, shall coordinate with municipal emergency management coordinators in municipalities with a documented homeless population of at least ten (10), as noted in the most recent report on sheltered and unsheltered people by the annual Point In Time Count, in developing consistent cooling center alert plans throughout the city or town that provide for emergency cooling centers during implementation of a cooling center alert plan. This plan may be carried out by designated volunteer organizations. Volunteer-organized cooling center efforts shall receive cooperation and logistical support from the director, but shall operate autonomously; provided that, they operate in response to an alert and pursuant to the cooling center alert plan.

(c) The director shall declare a cooling center alert after evaluating weather forecasts and advisories produced by the National Weather Service that predicts the following:

(1) The heat index is forecast to reach a daily high temperature of ninety-five degrees Fahrenheit (95o F) to ninety-nine degrees Fahrenheit (99o F) for at least two (2) consecutive days; or

(2) The daily high temperature is forecast to reach a high of at least one hundred degrees Fahrenheit (100o F), or the heat index is forecast to reach a daily high temperature of at least one hundred degrees Fahrenheit (100o F) for any length of time.

(d) Review of weather forecasts. The director, or designee, shall review weather forecasts from the National Weather Service on a regular and consistent basis to determine when a cooling center alert is warranted.

(e) Cooling center requirements-cooling centers. During any cooling center alert, municipalities through their respective emergency management offices shall:

(1) Arrange for cooling centers which shall be open seven (7) days a week and twenty-four

(24) hours each day.

(2) Provide for updates on the city or town webpage and available social media outlets, and United Way's 211, about the availability of resources including, but not limited to, shelters, cooling centers and/or community-based centers that are available to provide support or shelter.

(3) When the shelter or cooling center is open for twenty-four (24) hours or more, provide provisions for individuals' comfort including, but not limited to, blankets, cots, mats, meals and beverages.

(f) Any municipality receiving state or federal funding to operate a shelter or cooling center, shall be required to keep the shelter or cooling center open and accessible seven (7) days a week for twenty-four (24) hours each day during a declared alert period.

(g) Any municipality not identified as "hot spot" for people experiencing homelessness according to the most recent report on sheltered and unsheltered people by the Point-In-Time Count, may collaborate with neighboring municipalities to combine resources and operate a regional cooling center which would satisfy the requirements of this section.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.