Rhode Island's environment deserves protection from the state government. Photo: EcoPhotography
When it comes to legislative advocacy, CLF isn’t content with playing defense. With an onslaught of terrible policies on the federal level and some awful initiatives closer to home, it can be a major challenge to just beat back attacks on our environment. But this year in Rhode Island, we didn’t just halt some destructive proposals in their tracks – we made some significant strides forward. Here’s what that looked like:
Supporting Public Transit
After some devastating 2025 budget cuts, strengthening Rhode Island Public Transit Authority was a top priority for CLF. Public transportation is better for the environment, better for our health, and better for our budgets. Through our advocacy, the agency picked up an additional $4.2 million in funds, which will help to prevent any further cuts to the services that people rely on. Rhode Islanders deserve a public transit system that’s safe, fast, and reliable.
Improving Sludge Management
Yes, “sludge management” sounds like a snooze, but bear with us. This is actually super important! Wastewater treatment plants produce a lot of toxic sludge, and that polluted mess has to go somewhere – currently, often to communities that already deal with too much dangerous pollution. CLF successfully pushed for a law that gave us a seat on a special commission to manage sludge in the state. We’re going to use that influence to protect the communities that have historically unfairly borne the brunt of this pollution.
Protecting Our Cost-Saving Energy Efficiency Program
Governor McKee’s initial budget proposal slashed Rhode Island’s Energy Efficiency program, despite it saving three residents’ dollars for every dollar spent. Our Energy Efficiency program gives Rhode Islanders opportunities to reduce their energy usage, a win-win for our planet and our wallets. We fought back and made sure that legislators sustained the invaluable program. Attempting to cut this funding was a bald-faced attempt by the governor to look like a cost-cutter during an election year, even though it would have ultimately driven up your utility bills.
Giving Communities Influence Over Key Decisions
CLF backed an “intervenor compensation” bill this year that would have created a fund for community members to get involved in major utility decisions, like how their community is protected from outages or how their monthly costs are determined. The legislation would have provided resources for people to hire lawyers, scientists, or other experts who speak the legal and technical language that decision makers listen to.
Unfortunately, the bill didn’t pass – but we got creative. Our legislative champions, such as the new Speaker of the House, included language in the budget that directs the Public Utilities Commission to propose an intervenor compensation program to be funded in the 2027 budget. This is a critical step in ensuring residents get a real say in decisions that affect their communities.
Blocked Utilities from Owning Power Plants
Legislative advocacy can feel like playing whack-a-mole. At the very end of this session, Rhode Island Energy made a power grab via legislation that would have allowed them to own power plants. This would have upended a 30-year-old policy separating the two systems. Along with partners, we shut down the bill before it made it to a House or Senate vote. Preventing a return to utility ownership of energy generation protects residents from footing the bill for the construction of or guaranteed profits from Rhode Island Energy building a polluting gas power plant.
Boosting Small and Urban Farmers
Smaller, independent, local, and urban farmers are the backbone of a strong, healthy food system. CLF has spent years backing legislation that would give these farmers a tax cut, putting money back in their pockets. After multiple sessions of trying, that legislation has finally passed. It’s a valuable reminder of the importance of sustained, persistent advocacy.
Laying the Groundwork for a Climate Superfund
CLF recently successfully led an effort to pass one of the first “climate superfund” laws in the nation in Vermont. This law will hold the biggest climate polluters responsible for cleaning up the mess they made so those costs don’t land on families and businesses. In the 2025–2026 Rhode Island legislative session, CLF collaborated with partners to draft a strong climate superfund bill that builds on Vermont’s success. The bill didn’t pass this session, but we’re not giving up. We’re prepared to reintroduce the legislation next session and keep fighting until the people who are most responsible for climate change are the ones paying to solve it.
This is just a sampling of the work that CLF did in Rhode Island’s state house this year. But we didn’t make this progress on our own. Hundreds of CLF supporters acted to contact their lawmakers on key environmental priorities. We’re not giving up on making positive change in Rhode Island, and we know you won’t either.
