Establishes a restricted receipt account for the benefit of the Rhode Island public transit authority, funded by sales taxes collected from ride-share companies, which said sales taxes would be exempt from indirect cost recovery provisions.

Plain-English Summary

This bill would create a dedicated fund — called a "restricted receipt account" — specifically for the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA), which is the agency that runs the state's public bus system. The money in this fund would come from sales taxes that are already collected from ride-share companies, such as Uber and Lyft, when people use their services in Rhode Island. Instead of that tax revenue going into the state's general budget pool, it would be set aside exclusively for RIPTA.

The bill also specifies that this dedicated fund would be exempt from "indirect cost recovery," which is a process where the state government takes a portion of designated funds to cover general administrative overhead costs. By exempting this account from that practice, the bill ensures that the full amount of ride-share sales tax revenue directed to RIPTA would actually reach the transit authority, rather than a portion being diverted to cover state administrative expenses.

The people most directly affected would be Rhode Islanders who rely on public transit, since RIPTA would receive a more stable and protected source of funding. Ride-share users and companies like Uber and Lyft would not face any new taxes under this bill — it simply redirects existing taxes that are already being collected. The bill has been referred to the Senate Finance Committee, and a hearing was postponed in April 2026, meaning it is still in the early stages of the legislative process.