R.I. Governor Dan McKee vetoes bill requiring energy reports for big buildings
PROVIDENCE — Rhode Island Governor Daniel J. McKee has issued his first veto of the year, rejecting to create an energy-use reporting requirement for large buildings and campuses.
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The group Climate Action RI issued a statement Wednesday, saying it is “deeply disappointed” in McKee’s veto and calling for the General Assembly to reconvene to override the veto.
The group noted the veto comes soon after Climate Action RI endorsed McKee’s main opponent in September’s Democratic primary, former CVS executive Helena Buonanno Foulkes.
“While we cannot know the governor’s motivation for issuing this veto, it is difficult not to question whether politics played a role,” the group said.
In his veto message, McKee said he wants to improve building energy efficiency, but he said the legislation conflicts with a plan he proposed in the state budget that would begin by reporting energy use at state-owned buildings.
“The act imposes new reporting and compliance obligations on private property owners without providing technical assistance or financial support to facilitate compliance,” McKee wrote. “At a time when Rhode Island continues to face housing affordability challenges and businesses are managing rising costs, the act would create new administrative burdens and potential penalties without the resources necessary to support compliance.”
McKee said the legislation would create “a significant unfunded mandate” by requiring the state Office of Energy Resources to identify covered properties, administer a statewide reporting and compliance program, and enforce its requirements — all without additional funding or personnel. He said no state agencies now have an inventory of buildings that would be covered by the legislation.
Also, McKee said the legislation includes reporting deadlines that come before the collection of much of the data needed for the required reports. “These inconsistencies raise practical implementation concerns and further demonstrate the challenges associated with implementing the act within its demanded time frame,” he wrote.
The Building Benchmarking and Reporting Act would require buildings larger than 25,000 square feet to report energy use through automated data collection software provided by the state and Rhode Island Energy. The legislation would require building owners to report information about their energy use and sources using an internet-based tool.
The Senate voted 33-5 for the bill introduced by Senator Meghan E. Kallman, a Pawtucket Democrat, and the House voted 48-15 for the companion bill introduced by Representative Rebecca Kislak, a Providence Democrat.
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Climate Action RI said advocates, legislators, and labor groups have been pushing for policies that would slash carbon emissions while creating jobs and lowering energy costs, and this legislation was a big step in that effort.
“You cannot improve what you do not measure,” Climate Action RI said. “By requiring large buildings to report their energy use, Rhode Island would finally have the information needed to identify opportunities to reduce emissions, lower operating costs, and prepare for future building performance standards. The legislation places no requirements on homeowners or small businesses.”
The group said this legislation stems from a building decarbonization proposal championed by the late Senate President Dominick J. Ruggerio, a North Providence Democrat who died in April 2025. The Senate passed that proposal, but it went nowhere in the House.
So the proposal was split into two measures, with benchmarking the first step. The second phase would set “building performance standards” to cut emissions from the state’s largest buildings.
“Unfortunately, this veto continues a troubling pattern,” Climate Action RI said, noting that earlier this year McKee proposed lower energy costs by $1 billion over five years in large part on rolling back renewable energy targets and programs.
The group said it opposed that plan because clean energy is not the cause of rising electric bills. “In fact, renewable energy is essential to reducing Rhode Island’s dependence on volatile fossil fuel markets while providing long-term price stability and helping meet our growing energy demands,” the group said.
In an interview, Kallman called McKee’s veto “profoundly irresponsible,” saying, “I think it’s shameful.”
The energy reporting program costs nothing, and it’s already being done in Providence, which contains 40 percent of the state’s large buildings, Kallman said. “This is low-hanging, free fruit,” she said.
The veto “demonstrates a lack of understanding of the seriousness of our climate commitments,” Kallman said. “It demonstrates a lack of understanding of the seriousness of the cost of energy — this is an efficiency program. And it demonstrates a lack of concern about future generations — climate is problem that today’s adults need to be solving.”
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