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Senate passes hotels bill after amendment; advocates warn ‘offensive’ language remains too vague
Summary
The Rhode Island Senate passed SB 22-71, which removes a sunset provision for hotel regulations and adopted a floor amendment removing the word 'demeaning.' Opponents warned the remaining 'offensive' standard is vague and could be used to eject vulnerable guests, including people experiencing homelessness.
The Rhode Island Senate on May 2 passed SB 22-71, a businesses-and-professions bill affecting hotel operators, after adopting a floor amendment that removes the word "demeaning" from a provision about grounds for ejection. Sponsor Senator Chacon moved the bill and explained it "removes the sunset on the provision" enacted last year and offered a narrow amendment changing punctuation and deleting a word on page 3, line 3.
The bill drew floor opposition from Senator Bell, who said she "rise[s] in opposition to this legislation," acknowledging that the…
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