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S 3292Cities & Towns

Towns and Cities - Subdivision of Land

This bill extends the maximum time municipalities can require maintenance guarantees from developers from one year to two years.

Held for study
Population
Affected
15
Email Legislator
Introduced May 15, 2026Committee Senate Housing & Municipal Government

Plain-English Summary

This bill amends the Rhode Island law regarding the subdivision of land and construction guarantees. Specifically, it extends the maximum time period that a municipality can require a developer to provide a maintenance guarantee for public improvements. Previously, developers could be required to provide a maintenance guarantee for a one-year period after the improvements were completed, inspected, and accepted. Under this bill, the maintenance guarantee period can be extended up to two years, unless there are extenuating circumstances. The guarantee amount remains capped at ten percent of the original cost.

For younger readers

When builders make new neighborhoods, they have to build things for everyone to use, like roads and sidewalks. To make sure these things don't break right away, towns ask the builders to promise to fix them if they break within a certain time. This is called a "maintenance guarantee." This new rule changes the law so that towns can ask builders to make this promise for up to two years instead of just one year.

Who & Where It Applies

Impacted groups
Real estate developersMunicipal governmentsTaxpayersHomebuyersConstruction companies
Impacted communities
All

Constitutional & Fiscal Check

None Likely. This legislation modifies standard municipal regulatory requirements for land subdivision and infrastructure guarantees, which falls well within the state's police powers and does not appear to infringe upon free speech, due process, or protection from unreasonable searches and seizures.

Estimated cost
None
Estimated revenue
None

Bill Analysis

Both viewpoints
For Progressives
  • Holds private developers more accountable by ensuring they remain responsible for the quality and durability of public infrastructure for a longer period of time.
  • Protects local governments and taxpayers from bearing the financial burden of repairing poorly constructed public improvements shortly after completion.
  • Encourages higher quality construction and better environmental safeguards from the start, as developers will seek to avoid paying for repairs over an extended two-year period.
  • Could increase the upfront costs for developers, which might be passed on to homebuyers or renters, potentially exacerbating the affordable housing crisis.
  • May disproportionately burden smaller, community-based developers or non-profit housing organizations who have less capital to tie up in extended maintenance guarantees.
  • The vague language regarding "extenuating circumstances" could lead to uneven enforcement, potentially favoring wealthy developers with legal resources over smaller entities.
For Conservatives
  • Protects taxpayers from bearing the cost of repairing faulty infrastructure by keeping the financial responsibility squarely on the private developers who built it.
  • Empowers local municipal governments with more flexibility and control to set maintenance guarantee periods that best fit their specific community needs.
  • Promotes fiscal responsibility by ensuring public funds are not drained by premature maintenance costs on new subdivision projects.
  • Increases the regulatory burden on private businesses and developers by tying up their capital in maintenance guarantees for double the amount of time.
  • Represents government overreach into private enterprise, potentially discouraging new development and housing construction.
  • The subjective term "extenuating circumstances" gives local bureaucrats arbitrary power to extend or waive requirements, potentially leading to unfair treatment of businesses.

Votes

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Full Bill Text

Changes to existing Rhode Island law · 2 additions · 1 deletion

SECTION 1. Section 45-23-46 of the General Laws in Chapter 45-23 entitled "Subdivision of Land" is hereby amended to read as follows: 45-23-46. General provisions — Construction and/or improvement guarantees.

(a) The local regulations shall require approval of the permitting authority of agreements for the completion of all required public improvements prior to final plan approval in the form of:

(1) Completion of actual construction of all improvements; (2) Improvement guarantees; or (3) Combination thereof.

(b) Where improvements are constructed without a financial guarantee, the work is to be completed prior to final approval. All construction shall be inspected by the appropriate town staff or agents in a timely manner and approved under the direction of the administrative officer and according to local regulations.

(c) Improvement guarantees shall be in an amount and with all necessary conditions to secure for the municipality the actual construction and complete installation of all the required improvements, within the period specified by the permitting authority. The amount shall be based on actual cost estimates for all required public improvements and these estimates shall be reviewed and approved by the permitting authority. The permitting authority may fix the guarantee in a reasonable amount in excess of the estimated costs to anticipate for economic or construction conditions. Local regulations may include provisions for the review and/or upgrade of guarantees.

(d) The security shall be in the forms of financial instruments set forth in local regulations and shall enable the municipality to gain timely access to the secured funds, for cause. The local regulations shall provide at least three (3) acceptable forms of financial security and the approving authority shall not limit the security to one specific form of the acceptable forms set forth in the local regulations.

(e) The local regulations shall establish procedures for the setting of improvement guarantee amounts; for inspections of improvements; for acceptance of improvements by the municipality; and for the release of the improvement guarantees to the applicant. Procedures may include provisions for partial releases of the guarantees as stages of the improvements are completed, inspected, and approved under the coordination of the administrative officer and reported to the permitting authority.

(f) In the cases of developments and subdivisions that are being approved and constructed in phases, the permitting authority shall specify improvement guarantee requirements related to each particular phase.

(g) The permitting authority may also require maintenance guarantees to be provided for a one-year period of up to two (2) years subsequent to completion, inspection, and acceptance of the improvement(s) unless there are extenuating circumstances. Such maintenance guarantee shall not exceed ten percent (10%) of the original guarantee amount, or the original cost of the public improvements if no guarantee was required.

(h) Procedures for the acceptance of required improvements shall stipulate that all improvements, once inspected and approved, shall be accepted by the municipality or other appropriate municipal agency for maintenance and/or part of the municipal system.

(i) The municipality is granted the power to enforce the guarantees by all appropriate legal and equitable remedies.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.