# Rhode Island S2149: AN ACT RELATING TO TOWNS AND CITIES -- GENERAL POWERS--WARWICK MUNICIPAL COURT . Rhode Island S2149, AN ACT RELATING TO TOWNS AND CITIES -- GENERAL POWERS--WARWICK MUNICIPAL COURT ., is a 2026 Regular Session Senate bill sponsored by Mark P. McKenney (Democratic); status became law, last action 2026-06-11 (Effective without Governor's signature — Chapter 073); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-11-01). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/RI-S2149-2026 - As of: 2026-11-01 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: Rhode Island S2149 - State: Rhode Island - Session: 2026 Regular Session - Title: AN ACT RELATING TO TOWNS AND CITIES -- GENERAL POWERS--WARWICK MUNICIPAL COURT . - Status: became law - Chamber: Senate - Introduced: 2026-01-16 - Last action: 2026-06-11, Effective without Governor's signature — Chapter 073 - Sponsor: Mark P. McKenney (Democratic) - Cosponsors: 2 - Touches household money: yes - Roll calls: 2 (99 yes, 0 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 3 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - Warwick court can order housing fixes: mixed, medium. The city council can authorize the Warwick municipal court to use equity powers in housing cases. The court can stop violations, and order repairs, vacancy, or demolition of unsafe homes. It can compel owners to follow housing and related laws and use state abandoned property tools. This improves s… - Warwick fines capped; no jail time: mixed, medium. For city ordinance violations, the Warwick municipal court can fine up to $500 for each violation. The court no longer sentences people to jail for these municipal violations. The court may order destruction of a vehicle that was impounded under a Warwick ordinance authorized by state law. The cour… - Local court handles zoning and building cases: mixed, low. The Warwick municipal court now hears local zoning, subdivision, minimum housing, housing maintenance, and state building code violations. This puts these cases closer to home. You can appeal a final decision within 5 days and get a new trial. Most cases go to Superior Court. Minimum-housing and ho… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Mark P. McKenney (Democratic), Senate - Cosponsor: Peter A. Appollonio, Jr. (Democratic), Senate - Cosponsor: Matthew L. LaMountain (Democratic), Senate ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2026-06-03 | House | WARWICK MUNICIPAL COURT PASSAGE IN CONCURRENCE | pass | 63 | 0 | | | 2026-03-31 | Senate | RELATING TO TOWNS AND CITIES -- WARWICK MUNICIPAL COURT Passage | pass | 36 | 0 | | ## Actions (16) - 2026-06-11: Effective without Governor's signature — Chapter 073 (Governor) - 2026-06-03: Transmitted to Governor (Governor) - 2026-06-03: House passed in concurrence (House) - 2026-05-29: Placed on the House Consent Calendar (06/03/2026) (House) - 2026-04-07: Committee recommends passage in concurrence - 2026-04-03: Scheduled for consideration (04/07/2026) - 2026-04-01: Referred to House Municipal Government & Housing (House) - 2026-03-31: Senate read and passed (Senate) - 2026-03-27: Placed on Senate Calendar (03/31/2026) (Senate) - 2026-03-26: Committee recommends passage - 2026-03-24: Scheduled for consideration (03/26/2026) - 2026-02-26: Committee recommended measure be held for further study - 2026-02-23: Scheduled for hearing and/or consideration (02/26/2026) - 2026-02-23: Meeting postponed (02/24/2026) - 2026-02-20: Scheduled for hearing and/or consideration - 2026-01-16: Introduced, referred to Senate Judiciary (Senate) ## Bill text - S2149 - As Introduced, 2026-01-16: [HTML](https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText26/SenateText26/S2149.htm), [PDF](https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText26/SenateText26/S2149.pdf) ## Related bills - H8605: JOINT RESOLUTION MAKING AN APPROPRIATION TO PAY CERTAIN CLAIMS . (became law) - H8580: AN ACT RELATING TO THE NORTH TIVERTON FIRE DISTRICT . (became law) - H8586: AN ACT RELATING TO HIGHWAYS -- RHODE ISLAND TURNPIKE AND BRIDGE AUTHORITY . (became law) - H8525: AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION -- LEVY AND ASSESSMENT OF LOCAL TAXES . (became law) - H8506: AN ACT RELATING TO TOWNS AND CITIES -- RELATING TO CENTRAL FALLS PENSION PLAN . (became law) - H8437: AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION -- PROPERTY SUBJECT TO TAXATION . (became law) ## Sources - [S2149 - As Introduced (HTML)](https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText26/SenateText26/S2149.htm) - [S2149 - As Introduced (PDF)](https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText26/SenateText26/S2149.pdf) ## Related - [H8605: JOINT RESOLUTION MAKING AN APPROPRIATION TO PAY CERTAIN CLAIMS .](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/RI-H8605-2026) - [H8580: AN ACT RELATING TO THE NORTH TIVERTON FIRE DISTRICT .](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/RI-H8580-2026) - [H8586: AN ACT RELATING TO HIGHWAYS -- RHODE ISLAND TURNPIKE AND BRIDGE AUTHORITY .](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/RI-H8586-2026) - [H8525: AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION -- LEVY AND ASSESSMENT OF LOCAL TAXES .](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/RI-H8525-2026) - [H8506: AN ACT RELATING TO TOWNS AND CITIES -- RELATING TO CENTRAL FALLS PENSION PLAN .](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/RI-H8506-2026) - [H8437: AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION -- PROPERTY SUBJECT TO TAXATION .](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/RI-H8437-2026) - [Rhode Island bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/rhode-island/bills) - [Rhode Island state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/rhode-island) - [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/RI-S2149-2026 (as of 2026-11-01).