Creates a civil cause of action for any municipality that incurs extraordinary emergency response costs arising from a mass casualty event may bring a civil action in the superior court to recover such costs from a private property owner.

Plain-English Summary

This bill would give Rhode Island cities and towns a new legal tool to recover costs when they have to respond to a large-scale emergency, sometimes called a "mass casualty event." Specifically, if a municipality spends an unusually high amount of money on emergency response — such as deploying police, fire, or medical services — because of an event that happened on private property, the city or town could sue the private property owner in Superior Court to get that money back.

The bill affects two main groups: local governments and private property owners. For municipalities, it creates a financial safety net, allowing them to recoup extraordinary expenses that go beyond typical emergency response costs. For private property owners, it introduces potential financial liability if a mass casualty event occurs on their property and the local government determines the response costs were exceptionally high. The bill does not define exactly what qualifies as "extraordinary" costs or a "mass casualty event," which could be important details to clarify as the legislation moves forward.

Currently, the bill has been referred to the House Judiciary Committee and was recommended to be held for further study, meaning lawmakers want more time to examine it before deciding whether to move it forward. It has not yet become law. As written, the bill raises questions about what circumstances would trigger liability and whether a property owner would need to have done something wrong, or simply owned the location where an event occurred, in order to be held financially responsible.