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S 3296Benefit Programs

Public Officers and Employees - Rhode Island Public Employee Pension Revocation and Reduction Act

This bill allows the state to revoke the pensions of public employees who commit certain felonies using their official position.

Signed into law68 Yea0 Nay7 Not voting
Population
Affected
2
Email Legislator
Introduced May 15, 2026Committee Senate Judiciary

Plain-English Summary

This bill amends the Rhode Island Public Employee Pension Revocation and Reduction Act. It adds a new rule stating that if a public official or government employee commits a felony under chapter 37 of title 11 (which covers sexual assault) using the power, privileges, or position of their public office on or after July 1, 2026, it is considered a "crime related to public office or public employment." This classification allows the state to revoke or reduce the pension benefits of that public employee.

For younger readers

When people work for the government for a long time, they get money called a pension when they retire. This bill creates a new rule for those workers. If a government worker uses their job's power to do something very bad and illegal to another person on or after July 1, 2026, they can lose their pension money. It is a way to make sure that people who abuse their power do not get to keep their special retirement money from the government.

Who & Where It Applies

Impacted groups
Public employeesState elected officialsMunicipal elected officialsAppointed government officialsDomestic partners of public employees
Impacted communities
All

Constitutional & Fiscal Check

None Likely. Pension revocation for crimes related to public office is generally upheld, provided due process is followed during the revocation proceedings. Because the law applies prospectively (specifically to crimes committed on or after July 1, 2026), it cleanly avoids Ex Post Facto clause violations.

Estimated cost
None
Estimated revenue
None

Bill Analysis

Both viewpoints
For Progressives
  • Holds public officials accountable for abusing their power to commit severe crimes, aligning with progressive goals of systemic reform and protecting vulnerable individuals from state actors.
  • Promotes social justice by ensuring that taxpayer funds are not used to reward individuals who have committed egregious acts of violence while in a position of public trust.
  • Strengthens the ethical standards of public service, helping to root out abuse in government institutions and maintaining public trust in the state's public services.
  • Stripping pension benefits removes a crucial social safety net for the offender's family or dependents, who may rely on that income and had no part in the crime.
  • Tying retirement benefits to criminal convictions could be seen as excessively punitive, conflicting with progressive ideals of rehabilitation over permanent financial ruin.
  • The delayed implementation date of July 1, 2026, means officials who commit these heinous acts before this date may still retain their pensions, delaying systemic justice.
For Conservatives
  • Protects taxpayer money by ensuring that government funds are not utilized to pay the pensions of corrupt public officials who commit serious felonies.
  • Upholds traditional social values and the rule of law by strictly penalizing heinous crimes committed by those in positions of authority.
  • Enhances accountability for government workers, aligning with conservative principles of limiting government overreach and ensuring bureaucrats are held to strict ethical standards.
  • Could potentially be weaponized by politically motivated prosecutors who might attempt to broadly interpret "using their public office" to unfairly target political opponents.
  • Expands the government's ability to seize or revoke earned financial assets, which may be viewed as an infringement on individual property rights and personal freedom.
  • The arbitrary timeline limiting the penalty to crimes committed on or after July 1, 2026, fails to hold past bad actors accountable, undermining a strict law-and-order stance.

Votes

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Full Bill Text

Changes to existing Rhode Island law · 10 additions · 1 deletion

It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

SECTION 1. Section 36-10.1-2 of the General Laws in Chapter 36-10.1 entitled "Rhode Island Public Employee Pension Revocation and Reduction Act" is hereby amended to read as follows: 36-10.1-2. Definitions.

(a) “Crime related to public office or public employment” shall mean any of the following criminal offenses:

(1) The committing, aiding, or abetting of an embezzlement of public funds;

(2) The committing, aiding, or abetting of any felonious theft by a public officer or employee from his or her employer;

(3) Bribery in connection with employment of a public officer or employee; and

(4) The committing of any felony by a public officer or employee who, willfully and with the intent to defraud the public or the public agency for which the public officer or employee acts, or in which they are employed, of the right to receive the faithful performance of their duty as a public officer or employee, realizes or obtains, or attempts to realize or obtain, a monetary or nonmonetary profit, gain, or advantage for himself or herself or for some other person through the use or attempted use of the power, rights, privileges, duties, or position of his or her public office or employment position; or

(5) The committing on or after July 1, 2026, of any felony under chapter 37 of title 11 by a public officer or employee through the use or attempted use of power, rights, privileges, duties, or position of their public office or employment position.

(b) “Public official” or “public employee” shall mean any current or former state or municipal elected official as defined in § 36-14-2(10), state or municipal appointed official as defined in § 36-14-2(4), and any employee of state or local government, of boards, commissions or agencies as defined in § 36-14-2(8)(i), (ii), who is otherwise entitled to receive or who is receiving retirement benefits under this title, under title 16, under title 45, under title 8, under chapter 30 of title 28, under chapter 43 of title 31, or under chapter 28 of title 42, whether that person is acting on a permanent or temporary basis and whether or not compensated on a full-time or part-time basis. For the purposes of this chapter, all these persons are deemed to be engaged in public employment.

(c) As used in this chapter, the phrase “pleads guilty or nolo contendere” shall not include any plea of nolo contendere which does not constitute a conviction by virtue of § 12-10-12 or 12- 18-3.

(d) For purposes of this chapter, “domestic partner” shall be defined as a person who, prior to the decedent’s death, was in an exclusive, intimate and committed relationship with the decedent, and who certifies by affidavit that their relationship met the following qualifications:

(1) Both partners were at least eighteen (18) years of age and were mentally competent to contract;

(2) Neither partner was married to anyone else;

(3) Partners were not related by blood to a degree which would prohibit marriage in the state of Rhode Island;

(4) Partners resided together and had resided together for at least one year at the time of death; and

(5) Partners were financially interdependent as evidenced by at least two (2) of the following:

(i) Domestic partnership agreement or relationship contract;

(ii) Joint mortgage or joint ownership of primary residence;

(iii) Two (2) of: (A) joint ownership of motor vehicle; (B) joint checking account; (C) joint credit account; (D) joint lease; and/or

(iv) The domestic partner had been designated as a beneficiary for the decedent’s will, retirement contract or life insurance.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.