Published on Friday, May 08, 2026
PROVIDENCE, RI – The Rhode Island State Senate this week passed two key pieces of Lt. Governor Sabina Matos’s 2026 legislative agenda which will help the state fight back against food inflation, protect local communities from corporate lawfare, and keep open the doors of beloved community-owned businesses.
“We need our laws to not only protect our small and local businesses but to fight back against the many ways in which our national economy is rigged towards big corporations. These bills put power back in the hands of local business owners and the communities who they serve,” said Lieutenant Governor Sabina Matos. “I am enormously grateful to Majority Leader Ciccone and Senators DiPalma, Murray, and Thompson for sponsoring this legislation and to Senate President Lawson and the Senate staff for moving on these bills during a busy legislative session."
On Tuesday, May 5th, the Senate unanimously passed S 2644, sponsored by Senators Melissa Murray and Brian Thompson of Woonsocket. S 2644, part of Lt. Governor Matos’s Fair Price Grocery Agenda, ends the practice of "scorched-earth" restrictive covenants, a legal instrument by which big box supermarket chains block competitors from operating at certain properties.
Under these deed covenants, international superstore chains can restrict the sale of fresh food and groceries in Rhode Island communities, even at properties they do not own, and can retain the right to pursue damages and injunctive relief against a competing grocery store for up to 30 years. These covenants prohibit competition, limit consumer choice, contribute to food deserts, and depress the surrounding economy. Research by the Lieutenant Governor's office has uncovered scorched-earth covenants on properties across the state, from Westerly to Woonsocket.
On Thursday, May 7th, the Senate unanimously passed S 2922, sponsored by Majority Leader Frank Ciccone and Senator Louis DiPalma. S 2922 creates a Rhode Island Center for Employee Ownership. The Center for Employee Ownership will provide technical support to business owners transitioning to employee ownership, to employees seeking to buy an existing business, and to new enterprises considering a worker-ownership model. Over 20 other states, including Massachusetts and Connecticut, have Centers for Employee Ownership.
Establishing a Center for Employee Ownership is critical to preparing for the coming “silver tsunami” of retiring business owners. Over half of all small business owners in the Ocean State are at or approaching retirement age. Nationwide, retirement is the fastest-growing reason for small business closures. A Center for Employee Ownership will help those business owners create a succession plan while ensuring that businesses stay in the hands of the employees who built them, rather than closing down or being bought out.
““I am proud to have put forward legislation that has brought together both our business community and grassroots organizers in support of small, locally-owned business,” continued Lt. Governor Matos. “My thanks to the many community groups, business owners, and individuals who sent in letters of support to help make this possible.”
Both bills now move to the Rhode Island House, where their companions are sponsored by Rep. Stephen Casey (H 8106) and Rep. Grace Diaz (H 7570) respectively.
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