Requires the state to reimburse the Exeter fire and rescue departments for seventy-five percent (75%) of the cost of any call made to state property

Plain-English Summary

This bill would require the State of Rhode Island to pay back the Town of Exeter for 75% of the costs incurred whenever the Exeter fire department or rescue department responds to an emergency call on state-owned property. In other words, if Exeter's firefighters or EMTs are called out to a state facility, the state would be responsible for covering three-quarters of whatever that response costs.

The main reason behind this type of legislation is that state-owned properties — such as parks, facilities, or other government-owned land — do not pay local property taxes, which is typically how towns fund their fire and rescue services. When emergencies happen on those properties, local taxpayers and the town's emergency services bear the financial burden of responding, even though the property belongs to the state. This bill aims to offset that cost by having the state share in the expense.

This bill primarily affects the Town of Exeter and its local taxpayers, who currently absorb the full cost of emergency responses to state property. It would also affect the Rhode Island state budget, which would need to fund these reimbursements. The bill has been referred to the House Finance Committee, which will review its potential cost to the state before it moves further through the legislative process.