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S 2626Food & Beverage

Food and Drugs - Sanitation in Food Establishments

This bill creates a fifty-dollar annual fee for food businesses to fund worker training programs and safety courses.

Held for study
Population
Affected
15
Introduced Feb 13, 2026Committee Senate Labor & Gaming

Plain-English Summary

This legislation amends the registration regulations for food businesses in Rhode Island. It establishes a new annual fee of fifty dollars for food service establishments. This fee is collected by the Department of Health but transferred to the Department of Labor and Training to fund a "hospitality training restricted receipt account." The funds are designated for workforce training grants in the hospitality industry, including safety training in multiple languages. Additionally, the bill exempts establishments holding specific Class C liquor licenses from certain standard license fees.

For younger readers

This rule changes how restaurants and places that sell food pay to do business. Every year, these businesses must pay an extra fifty dollars to the state. The state will put this money into a special piggy bank. The money in that piggy bank will be used to teach workers how to do their jobs safely, like learning how to handle food and drinks properly. It also makes sure this money is only used for teaching and not taken for other things.

Who & Where It Applies

Impacted groups
Food service establishmentsRestaurant ownersHospitality workersDepartment of HealthDepartment of Labor and Training
Impacted communities
All

Constitutional & Fiscal Check

None Likely

Estimated cost
Food Service Establishments: $50/yr
Estimated revenue
$50/yr per food service establishment

Bill Analysis

Both viewpoints
For Progressives
  • Establishes dedicated funding for workforce training grants, specifically including programs in multiple languages, which supports a diverse labor force and improves job skills.
  • Protecting the training fund from indirect cost recovery ensures that the full fifty-dollar fee goes directly to services for workers rather than general state overhead.
  • Promotes safety and professional development within the hospitality industry, potentially leading to better working conditions and advancement opportunities for service industry employees.
  • Imposes a flat fifty-dollar fee on all food service establishments regardless of size or revenue, which disproportionately burdens small, independent businesses compared to large corporate chains.
  • Focuses solely on training grants rather than addressing more pressing labor issues such as fair wages, benefits, or collective bargaining rights for hospitality workers.
  • The exemption for Class C liquor license holders from certain fees might be viewed as favoring establishments that serve alcohol over other types of community food businesses.
For Conservatives
  • Eliminates the standard license fee for establishments holding a Class C liquor license, reducing the financial burden on those specific business owners.
  • Directs funds specifically toward workforce training, which aids businesses in maintaining a qualified and safe labor pool without relying on general tax revenue.
  • Utilizes a restricted receipt account structure to ensure the fees collected are used for their stated purpose rather than being absorbed into the general fund for unrelated government spending.
  • Creates a new annual fifty-dollar mandate on food service establishments, increasing the cost of doing business and adding to the overall tax burden on the private sector.
  • Expands government bureaucracy by establishing a state-run training grant program instead of allowing the free market to handle employee training and development.
  • Redistributes private business revenue to the Department of Labor and Training, increasing the size and scope of a government agency.

Votes

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Full Bill Text

Changes to existing Rhode Island law · 10 additions

SECTION 1. Section 21-27-10 of the General Laws in Chapter 21-27 entitled "Sanitation in Food Establishments" is hereby amended to read as follows: 21-27-10. Registration of food businesses.

(a) No person shall operate a food business as defined in § 21-27-1 unless he or she annually registers the business with the state director of health; provided, that food businesses conducted by nonprofit organizations, hospitals, public institutions, farmers markets, roadside farm stands, or any municipality shall be exempt from payment of any required fee. Additionally, no license fee shall be required for an establishment that:

(1) Holds a Class C liquor license pursuant to § 3-7-8; and

(2) Complies with the license limits set forth in § 3-7-8(b).

(b) In order to set the registration renewal dates so that all activities for each establishment can be combined on one registration instead of on several registrations, the registration renewal date shall be set by the department of health. The registration period shall be for twelve (12) months commencing on the registration renewal date. Any renewal registration fee shall be at the full, annual rate regardless of the date of renewal. Any fee for a first-time application shall have the registration fee pro-rated based upon the date of issuance of registration. If the registration renewal date is changed, the department may make an adjustment to the fees of registered establishments, not to exceed the annual registration fee, in order to implement the changes in registration renewal date. Registrations issued under this chapter may be suspended or revoked for cause. Any registration or license shall be posted in a place accessible and prominently visible to an agent of the director.

(c) Registration with the director of health shall be based upon satisfactory compliance with all laws and regulations of the director applicable to the food business for which registration is required.

(d) The director of health is authorized to adopt regulations necessary for the implementation of this chapter.

(e) Classification for registration shall be as follows:

(1) In-state and out-of-state food processors that sell food in Rhode Island (Wholesale)

(2) Food processors (Retail)

(3) Food service establishments:

(i) 50 seats or less

(ii) More than 50 seats

(iii) Mobile food service units

(iv) Industrial caterer or food vending machine commissary

(v) Cultural heritage educational facility

(4) Vending machine sites or location:

(i) Three (3) or less machines

(ii) Four (4) to ten (10) machines

(iii) Eleven (11) or more machines

(5) Retail markets:

(i) 1 to 2 cash registers

(ii) 3 to 5 cash registers

(iii) 6 or more cash registers

(6) Retail food peddler (meat, seafood, dairy, and frozen dessert products)

(7) Food warehouses

(f) In no instance, where an individual food business has more than one activity eligible under this chapter for state registration within a single location, shall the business be required to pay more than a single fee for the one highest classified activity listed in subsection (e) of this section; provided, that, where several separate but identically classified activities are located within the same building and under the management and jurisdiction of one person, one fee shall be required. In each of the instances in this subsection, each activity shall be separately registered.

(g) Fees for registration of the above classifications shall be as set forth in § 23-1-54.

(h) The department shall also annually charge food service establishments, an additional fee of fifty dollars ($50.00) per year, which shall be transferred to the department of labor and training and shall be deposited into the hospitality training restricted receipt account, which shall be exempt from the indirect cost recovery provisions of § 35-4-27. Subject to appropriation by the general assembly, these funds shall be used to provide hospitality industry workforce training grants including, but not limited to, certified food and alcohol safety training programs offered in multiple languages.

SECTION 2. Section 35-4-27 of the General Laws in Chapter 35-4 entitled "State Funds" is hereby amended to read as follows: 35-4-27. Indirect cost recoveries on restricted receipt accounts. Indirect cost recoveries of fifteen percent (15%) of cash receipts shall be transferred from all restricted receipt accounts, to be recorded as general revenues in the general fund. However, there shall be no transfer from cash receipts with restrictions received exclusively: (1) From contributions from nonprofit charitable organizations; (2) From the assessment of indirect cost- recovery rates on federal grant funds; or (3) Through transfers from state agencies to the department of administration for the payment of debt service. These indirect cost recoveries shall be applied to all accounts, unless prohibited by federal law or regulation, court order, or court settlement. The following restricted receipt accounts shall not be subject to the provisions of this section: Executive Office of Health and Human Services HIV Care Grant Drug Rebates Health System Transformation Project Rhode Island Statewide Opioid Abatement Account HCBS Support-ARPA HCBS Admin Support-ARPA Department of Human Services Organ Transplant Fund Veterans’ home — Restricted account Veterans’ home — Resident benefits Pharmaceutical Rebates Account Demand Side Management Grants Veteran’s Cemetery Memorial Fund Donations — New Veterans’ Home Construction Commodity Supplemental Food Program-Claims Department of Health Pandemic medications and equipment account Miscellaneous Donations/Grants from Non-Profits State Loan Repayment Match Healthcare Information Technology Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals Eleanor Slater non-Medicaid third-party payor account Hospital Medicare Part D Receipts RICLAS Group Home Operations Group Home Facility Improvement Fund Commission on the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Emergency and public communication access account Department of Environmental Management National heritage revolving fund Environmental response fund II Underground storage tanks registration fees De Coppet Estate Fund Rhode Island Historical Preservation and Heritage Commission Historic preservation revolving loan fund Historic Preservation loan fund — Interest revenue Department of Public Safety E-911 Uniform Emergency Telephone System Forfeited property — Retained Forfeitures — Federal Forfeited property — Gambling Donation — Polygraph and Law Enforcement Training Rhode Island State Firefighter’s League Training Account Fire Academy Training Fees Account Attorney General Forfeiture of property Federal forfeitures Attorney General multi-state account Forfeited property — Gambling Department of Administration Health Insurance Market Integrity Fund RI Health Benefits Exchange Information Technology restricted receipt account Restore and replacement — Insurance coverage Convention Center Authority rental payments Investment Receipts — TANS OPEB System Restricted Receipt Account Grants Management Administration Office of Energy Resources OER Reconciliation Funding RGGI Executive Climate Change Coordinating Council Projects Electric Vehicle Charging Stations Operating and Maintenance Account Clean Transportation Programs Department of Housing Housing Resources and Homelessness Restricted Receipt Account Housing Production Fund Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Fund Department of Revenue Car Rental Tax/Surcharge-Warwick Share DMV Modernization Project Jobs Tax Credit Redemption Fund Legislature Audit of federal assisted programs Department of Children, Youth and Families Children’s Trust Accounts — SSI Military Staff RI Military Family Relief Fund RI National Guard Counterdrug Program Treasury Admin. Expenses — State Retirement System Retirement — Treasury Investment Options Defined Contribution — Administration - RR Violent Crimes Compensation — Refunds Treasury Research Fellowship Business Regulation Banking Division Reimbursement Account Office of the Health Insurance Commissioner Reimbursement Account Securities Division Reimbursement Account Commercial Licensing and Racing and Athletics Division Reimbursement Account Insurance Division Reimbursement Account Historic Preservation Tax Credit Account Rhode Island Cannabis Control Commission Marijuana Trust Fund Social Equity Assistance Fund Judiciary Arbitration Fund Restricted Receipt Account Third-Party Grants RI Judiciary Technology Surcharge Account Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Statewide Student Transportation Services Account School for the Deaf Fee-for-Service Account School for the Deaf — School Breakfast and Lunch Program Davies Career and Technical School Local Education Aid Account Davies — National School Breakfast & Lunch Program School Construction Services Office of the Postsecondary Commissioner Tuition Savings Program Fund Higher Education and Industry Center IGT STEM Scholarships Department of Labor and Training Job Development Fund Contractor Training Restricted Receipt Account Hospitality Training Restricted Receipt Account Workers’ Compensation Administrative Account Rhode Island Council on the Arts Governors’ Portrait Donation Fund Statewide records management system account

SECTION 3. This act shall take effect on January 1, 2027