Establishes a two-year pilot program, from January 2027 to December 2028, to incorporate equity impact statements into the legislative process for both the House and Senate chamber.

Plain-English Summary: Rhode Island Equity Impact Statement Pilot Program

This bill would create a two-year trial program in Rhode Island's General Assembly, running from January 2027 through December 2028, that would require "equity impact statements" to be included as part of the lawmaking process in both the House and Senate. An equity impact statement is essentially a written analysis that examines how a proposed law might affect different groups of people differently — for example, based on race, income, gender, or other characteristics. Think of it as a way of asking, "Who benefits from this bill, and who might be burdened by it?"

The pilot program would apply to the legislative process itself, meaning lawmakers and their staff would need to produce or consider these impact analyses when evaluating proposed bills. The goal appears to be giving legislators better information about the potential real-world effects of their decisions on various communities before voting on new laws.

This bill would primarily affect how Rhode Island's state government operates internally — specifically lawmakers, legislative staff, and the committees that review bills. It could indirectly affect all Rhode Island residents by potentially changing how laws are evaluated before they pass. Because it is structured as a two-year pilot, it would allow the state to test the approach and assess whether it's useful before deciding to make it permanent.

The bill was recently introduced and referred to the House State Government & Elections Committee, which has recommended holding it for further study — meaning it has not yet advanced in the legislative process.