Committee hears bill to create code and expedited approvals for pallet shelters; advocates urge faster openings

Providence — The House Committee on Municipal Government and Housing on Feb. 4 heard testimony on House Bill 5100, a bill that would create a specialized building- and fire-code category for pallet shelters and allow municipalities to authorize temporary shelter sites on an expedited basis during emergencies.

The bill, introduced by Representative Shekharji, would establish technical requirements for pallet or “save” units — including climate controls, carbon-monoxide and smoke detectors, a locking door, an egress window and fire extinguishers — and allow municipalities to declare a local emergency for up to 180 days and to renew it every 30 days to operate such units. Representative Lombardi presented two companion measures (House Bills 5101 and 5102) that would set minimum standards for licensing emergency shelters and create a committee to recommend shelter-related elements for the state housing plan.

Why it matters: Witnesses told the committee the state is seeing rising homelessness and that older adults are a growing proportion of those without housing. Proponents said zoning and current building and fire-code paths do not fit the shelter units now being used and that the bill would remove a…