AN ACT RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- RHODE ISLAND CLIMATE SUPERFUND ACT OF 2026 (Creates the Rhode Island Climate Superfund Act of 2026.)

H7004

2026 -- H 7004
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LC003571
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STATE OF RHODE ISLAND
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2026
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A N A C T
RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- RHODE ISLAND CLIMATE
SUPERFUND ACT OF 2026

Introduced By:
Representatives Boylan, Handy, Knight, McGaw, Bennett, Potter,
Fogarty, Spears, and Speakman

Date Introduced:
January 07, 2026

Referred To:
House Environment and Natural Resources
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
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SECTION 1. Legislative findings and purpose.
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The general assembly hereby finds and declares the following:
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(1) Climate change caused by the combustion of fossil fuels is an immediate and grave
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threat to the people, environment, natural resources, and economy of the state.
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(2) Rising sea levels and temperatures, extreme weather events, flooding, heat waves,
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droughts, and other climate change effects have harmed or killed countless humans and other living
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organisms.
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(3) Beginning decades ago, major fossil fuel producers engaged in conduct they knew or
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reasonably should have known would cause or contribute to climate-change-related damages,
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including sea level rise, storm intensification, and heat impacts.
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(4) As a state with over four hundred (400) miles of coastline and an economy dependent
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on tourism and marine trades, Rhode Island is especially vulnerable to economic and social harms
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caused by climate change.
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(5) All Rhode Islanders are adversely affected by climate change, but harms fall
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disproportionately on seniors, children, low-income, and minority communities.
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(6) The state and municipalities have developed and implemented plans to counteract,
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mitigate, and prevent the adverse effects of climate change and must continue to do so to protect
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the health and safety of Rhode Islanders.

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(7) The costs of such plans and implementation have fallen and will continue to fall almost
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exclusively on taxpayers.
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(8) The fossil fuel companies whose products caused or contributed to climate-change-
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related damages should bear a fair and proportionate share of the costs necessary to respond to
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those harms, consistent with the well-established “polluter pays” and Superfund principles.
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(9) This Act is a remedial cost-recovery measure that compensates public entities for
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expenditures made necessary by the conduct of responsible fossil fuel companies.
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(10) Fair shares from these corporations can be accurately determined by analyzing the
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amounts of “greenhouse gas emissions,” including, but not limited to, carbon dioxide and methane,
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attributable to their extraction or refining of fossil fuels.
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(11) Chapter 6.3 of title 42 shall assist the state and municipalities in making polluters pay
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and support other private and public efforts to hold them responsible.
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(12) More than seventy percent (70%) of the increase in atmospheric greenhouse gas
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concentrations since the Industrial Revolution has occurred since 1950, with a significant
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acceleration in emissions after the year 2000. By that time, the scientific consensus regarding the
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causes and impacts of climate change was well established, and the data necessary to attribute
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proportional responsibility for greenhouse gas emissions during the covered period is scientifically
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robust.
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SECTION 2. Title 42 of the General Laws entitled "STATE AFFAIRS AND
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GOVERNMENT" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following chapter:
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CHAPTER 6.3
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RHODE ISLAND CLIMATE SUPERFUND ACT OF 2026
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42-6.3.-1. Short title.

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This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Rhode Island Climate Superfund Act
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of 2026”.
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42-6.3-2. Definitions.
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For purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings unless
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the context clearly requires otherwise:
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(1) "Account" means the climate superfund account established pursuant to § 42-6.3-3(e).
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(2) “Accepted attribution methodology” means a transparent, scientific approach used to
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quantify a responsible party’s share of greenhouse gas emissions, that is consistent with
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methodologies recognized by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ("IPCC") of the
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United Nations including using the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Emissions Factors for
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Greenhouse Gas Inventories as applied to the fossil fuel volume data for the purpose of determining

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the amount of covered greenhouse gas emissions attributable to any entity from the fossil fuel
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production of that entity.
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(3) "Climate change response work" means the planning, design, construction, operation,
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maintenance, repair, or improvement of projects necessary to protect people, property, natural
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resources, public health, and the state’s economy from the impacts of climate change, including sea
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level rise, flooding, storm surge, extreme heat, drought, erosion, and other climate-driven hazards.
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Climate change response work includes, but is not limited to:
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(i) Coastal and flood protection and resilience projects;
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(ii) Stormwater management, drainage, and water infrastructure upgrades;
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(iii) Heat mitigation, air quality improvement, emergency preparedness, and other hazard-
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protection measures that safeguard public health;
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(iv) Resilient transportation, housing, and community infrastructure;
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(v) Energy system resilience, including grid modernization and distributed energy
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resources;
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(vi) Ecosystem, agricultural, forest, watershed, and fisheries restoration or protection
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projects; and
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(vii) Hazard mitigation planning, modeling, monitoring, and early warning systems.
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(4) "Cost recovery demand” means a charge asserted against a responsible party for cost
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recovery payments under the program for payment to the fund.
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(5) "Covered greenhouse gas emissions" means the total quantity of greenhouse gasses
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attributable to a responsible party’s extraction or refining of fossil fuels during the covered period,
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expressed in metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent.
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(6) "Covered period" means the period that began January 1, 2000, to December 31, 2025.
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(7) "Department" or “DEM” means the department of environmental management.
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(8) "Director" means director of the department of environmental management (DEM).
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(9) "Fossil fuel” means coal, petroleum products, bitumen, oil sands, heavy oil,
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conventional and unconventional oil, shale oil, natural gas liquids, condensates, and related fossil
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fuels and fuel gasses, including methane, natural gas, liquefied natural gas, and manufactured fuel
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gasses.
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(10) "Greenhouse gas" means any substance that causes or contributes to climate change
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including, but not limited to, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons,
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perfluorocarbons and sulfur hexafluoride.
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(11) "Program" means the climate superfund cost recovery program established by this
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chapter.

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(12) "Qualifying expenditure" means funds authorized by the DEM to be used to pay for
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climate change response work.
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(13) "Responsible party" means any entity (or successor in interest to such entity described
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in this subsection), which, during any part of the covered period, engaged in the trade or business
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of extracting or refining fossil fuel or refining crude oil and is determined by the department to be
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responsible for more than one billion (1,000,000,000) tons of covered greenhouse gas emissions.
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The term responsible party shall not include any person who lacks sufficient connection with the
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state to satisfy the nexus requirements of the United States Constitution.
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42-6.3-3. Implementation.
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(a) Administrative authority.
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To implement, enforce, and administer the provisions of this chapter, the department may:
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(1) Appoint or engage necessary staff, including full-time equivalent positions and
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contracted services, consistent with applicable state personnel and procurement laws; and
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(2) Adopt rules and regulations pursuant to chapter 35 of title 42 (“administrative
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procedures”) to implement, enforce, and administer the provisions of this chapter.
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(b) Expenditure inventory and report.
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Within twelve (12) months of the effective date of this chapter, the department shall
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identify climate change response work eligible for cost recovery under this chapter undertaken by
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the state and municipalities or needed in the future and their corresponding expenditures, and
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provide its report to the public on the department's website.
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(c) Proportional liability calculations and demands.
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(1) Within eighteen (18) months of the effective date of this chapter, the department shall
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determine proportional amounts owed by responsible parties for climate change response work
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during the covered period using accepted attribution methodology and issue cost recovery demands
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to responsible parties.
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(2) The department may adjust the cost recovery demand amount of a responsible party
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who refined petroleum products or who is a successor in interest to an entity that refines petroleum
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products if the responsible party establishes to the satisfaction of the department that:
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(i) A portion of the cost recovery demand amount was attributable to the refining of crude
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oil extracted by another responsible party; and
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(ii) The crude oil extracted by the other entity was accounted for when the department
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determined the cost recovery demand amount for the other entity or a successor in interest of the
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other entity
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(d) Information requests.

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(1) The department may require from any responsible party any information or records
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needed to administer or enforce this chapter, and responsible parties shall produce all requested
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materials in a timely manner.
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(2) Information may be withheld only if protected by law. The responsible party bears the
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full burden of proving such protection and shall, at the time of response, identify each withheld
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portion, cite the legal basis, and briefly explain the claim. Unsubstantiated claims shall require full
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production.
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(e) Climate superfund account.
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A climate superfund account shall be established within the office of the general treasurer.
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The department shall accept and collect payments from responsible parties and deposit them into
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the established account and shall ensure that funds only be used for qualified expenditures under
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this program.
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(f) Reimbursements
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The DEM shall distribute funds to municipalities, tribal governments, and community
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organizations to reimburse eligible climate change response costs under a transparent and equitable
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allocation system.
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(g) Coordination.
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The DEM shall coordinate with the attorney general, department of health, and the office
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of energy resources to ensure equitable implementation and enforcement.
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(h) Other remedies preserved.
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Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to supersede or diminish any other remedies
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available to any person or government entity under common law or statute.
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(i) Emergency regulations.
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The department may prescribe, adopt, and enforce emergency regulations as necessary to
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implement, administer, and enforce its duties under this chapter.
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42-6.3-4. Liability of responsible parties.
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(a) Aggregated entities.
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When two (2) or more entities may be treated as a single entity under 26 U.S.C. §§ 52(a),
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52(b), 414(m), 414(o), or 1563 (without regard to 26 U.S.C. § 52(c)), they shall share joint and
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several liability and be treated as a single entity for the purposes of identifying responsible parties.
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(b) Payment deadline.
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Except as provided in subsection (c)(1), a responsible party shall pay the amount demanded
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in full within six (6) months after issuance of the cost recovery demand.
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(c) Installment payments.

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(1) The director may implement an installment plan, but no adjustments shall be allowed
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if the amount demanded is less than one-tenth of one percent (0.1%) of the average total profits of
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a responsible party over the past five (5) years.
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(2) Reasonable interest shall be charged on delayed payments.
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(3) The unpaid balance of all installments becomes immediately due if:
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(i) A responsible party fails to pay an installment on time;
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(ii) A responsible party ceases to do business; or
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(iii) Substantially all assets are sold, in which case the buyer assumes liability.
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(d) Administrative hearings and appeals.
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A responsible party may request reconsideration within thirty (30) days and may appeal a
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final decision to the superior court within twenty (20) days.
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42-6.3-5. Enforcement.
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(a) Authority.
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The department and the office of the attorney general shall have concurrent authority to
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enforce this chapter, pursue violations, and recover all costs, penalties, and other relief as provided
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by law.
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(b) Penalties for late payment.
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The department may collect penalties for late payment. The late penalty shall accrue daily
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at ten percent (10%) per annum on the unpaid amount.
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(c) Preservation of rights.
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This chapter does not preempt any rights or remedies of the state, units of local government,
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tribal governments, or individuals or groups under common law or any federal or state law.
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(d) No preemption of other climate laws.
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This chapter does not preempt or supersede any state law or local ordinance regarding
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greenhouse gasses that:
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(1) Limits or enforces emissions standards;
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(2) Monitors, reports, or keeps records of emissions;
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(3) Collects revenue through fees or levies; or
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(4) Conducts or supports investigations.
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42-6.3-6. Severability.
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If any part of this chapter is adjudged invalid, such judgment shall not affect the remainder
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of the provisions of this chapter, which shall continue in full force and effect.

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SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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EXPLANATION
BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
OF
A N A C T
RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- RHODE ISLAND CLIMATE
SUPERFUND ACT OF 2026
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This act would create a Rhode Island Climate Superfund and direct the department of
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environmental management (DEM) to assess, pursue cost recovery demands, and charge a

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responsible party for climate change response work. This charge would include, but would not be
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limited to, maintenance, repair, or improvement of projects necessary to protect people, property,
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natural resources, public health, and the State’s economy from the impacts of climate change. This
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act would also authorize the creation of a climate superfund account.
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This act would take effect upon passage.
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