H5493 would create a program requiring large buildings in Rhode Island to measure and report their energy and water use and meet state energy-performance standards. The bill would expand state regulation over large buildings in the name of decarbonization and energy efficiency.
The Rhode Island State House of Representatives passed H5493 on June 20, 2025 by a vote of 48 to 20. We have assigned pluses to the nays because this legislation expands government interference in the economy and advances the Marxist climate-change agenda. Businesses should have the freedom to conduct business without government meddling. The Declaration of Independence states, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." Government interference in entrepreneurship and private business violates those principles.
