Small Business

This bill requires licensed alcohol retailers to provide drink lids to customers upon request to help prevent drink spiking. The law mandates that businesses post a specific notice informing patrons about the availability of lids and instructs them to ask staff for details. Retailers may charge a reasonable fee for the lids based on wholesale costs, though they are also allowed to offer them for free. For the first violation of this requirement, including failure to post the notice, the penalty is limited to a warning from the regulatory department.

This bill creates the Rhode Island Center for Employee Ownership (RICEO) to help small businesses transition to employee-owned models where workers hold shares in their companies. The center will operate under the existing Business Development Center and provide technical assistance, referrals, and guidance to business owners and employees interested in employee ownership structures. A new advisory committee with representatives from state agencies, labor groups, and business organizations will oversee the center's work and promote awareness of employee ownership as a solution to small business succession challenges. The legislation aims to support Rhode Island's small business community by offering resources that help retain businesses locally while creating new ownership opportunities for workers.

This bill allows caterers with a Class P license to purchase alcoholic beverages from either retail or wholesale stores in Rhode Island, expanding their sourcing options beyond previous restrictions. It requires caterers to follow specific service rules, including ID checks for under-30 guests, limiting drinks to two at a time, prohibiting shots, and serving only during five-hour event windows. Caterers may also leave alcohol at an event host's residence if under their continuous control during the event. Violations carry $500 fines and risk license revocation.

Requires agencies preparing economic impact statements for small businesses contain findings that the anticipated compliance costs of a proposed rule scale proportionally with the business size, and do not impose fixed costs that favor larger businesses.

Allows a brewery to sell, deliver, and distribute its own malt beverages directly to retailers without using a wholesaler. The holder of a license for a brewery may also have 1 additional location for the retail sale of alcohol.