S 3040Cities & Towns

Towns and Cities - Actions by and Against Towns

Towns and cities must annually publish a website report listing all lawsuits they are involved in and the associated costs.

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Introduced Mar 5, 2026Committee Senate Judiciary

Plain-English Summary

This legislation mandates that all municipalities in Rhode Island publish a specific report on their official websites regarding civil lawsuits. Within sixty days of the fiscal year's end, towns and cities must disclose a list of legal actions involving the municipality or its officials. The required details include case numbers, descriptions of claims, current status, and legal fees incurred. Upon the conclusion of a case, the municipality must provide a breakdown of all costs, including court fees, expert witness fees, and damages paid. This requirement does not change existing public records laws.

For younger readers

This new rule tells every town and city that they must share a list of their legal battles on their website. Sometimes, people sue towns, or towns sue people. This is called a lawsuit. Once a year, the town has to list these lawsuits so everyone can see them. They must show exactly how much money they spent on lawyers, court costs, and paying people for damages. This helps the people living in the town see how their tax money is being used to handle these arguments in court.

Who & Where It Applies

Impacted groups

MunicipalitiesTaxpayersAttorneysCity ClerksPlaintiffs in civil suits

Impacted communities

All

Constitutional & Fiscal Check

None Likely

Estimated cost

Amount unknown

Estimated revenue

None

Bill Analysis

Both viewpoints

For Progressives

Increases government transparency by requiring towns to publicly disclose lawsuits, including those involving police or official misconduct, allowing communities to better hold their leaders accountable.
Provides taxpayers with clear visibility into how public funds are spent on legal battles, potentially discouraging wasteful spending and encouraging settlement or reform.
Simplifies access to information for citizens and journalists, removing the financial and bureaucratic barriers often associated with filing formal public records requests.
May inadvertently compromise the privacy of individuals suing the municipality for sensitive matters, such as employment discrimination or harassment, by centralizing and broadcasting case details.
Could create an administrative burden for smaller municipalities with limited staff, potentially diverting resources and time away from direct social services and community programs.
Risk of generating public hostility towards necessary government functions by highlighting legal costs without providing the full context or nuance of why the litigation was necessary to protect public interests.

For Conservatives

Promotes fiscal responsibility by forcing municipalities to reveal exactly how much taxpayer money is being consumed by litigation, court costs, and settlements.
Increases accountability for local officials and bureaucrats by making the legal consequences of their decisions and policies immediately visible to the voting public.
Empowers citizens to identify and challenge government inefficiency and waste, ensuring that local governments are better stewards of public funds.
Imposes a new state-mandated regulatory burden on local towns and cities, stripping away local control and forcing them to allocate staff time to bureaucratic reporting.
Could potentially encourage frivolous lawsuits or "ambulance chasing" attorneys by creating a centralized database of settlements and payouts that signals which towns are easy targets.
May unfairly damage the reputation of fiscally conservative town councils by highlighting legal costs that are often the result of meritless suits brought against them by litigious individuals.

Votes

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Full Bill Text

Changes to existing Rhode Island law · 21 additions

SECTION 1. Section 45-15-5 of the General Laws in Chapter 45-15 entitled "Actions by and Against Towns" is hereby amended to read as follows: 45-15-5. Presentment to council of claim or demand against town.

(a) Every person who has any money due him or her from any town or city, or any claim or demand against any town or city, for any matter, cause, or thing whatsoever, shall take the following method to obtain what is due: The person shall present to the town council of the town, or to the city council of the city, a particular account of that person’s claim, debt, damages, or demand, and how incurred or contracted; which being done, in case just and due satisfaction is not made to him or her by the town or city treasurer of the town or city within forty (40) days after the presentment of the claim, debt, damages, or demand, the person may commence his or her action against the treasurer for the recovery of the complaint.

(b) Within sixty (60) days of the close of their fiscal year, every municipality shall be required to disclose on their official website the following information:

(1) A list of civil actions filed in state or federal court during the year, or which concluded during the year, in which the municipality, or any official or employee of the municipality, sued or was sued in their official capacity;

(2) The case number for each civil action and the court in which it was filed;

(3) A short description of the legal claims asserted in the case;

(4) The current status of the case;

(5) The amount of legal fees incurred and/or paid by the municipality related to the civil action; and

(6) Upon conclusion of the civil action, a breakdown of all costs and expenses in the following categories:

(i) Court costs;

(ii) Legal fees;

(iii) Expert witness fees;

(iv) Compensatory and punitive damages; and

(v) Any other costs, fees or expenses incurred.

(c) Nothing contained in subsection (b) of this section shall be construed to affect the availability of records pursuant to chapter 2 of title 38 ("access to public records").

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.