JOINT RESOLUTION MAKING AN APPROPRIATION OF $400,000 TO THE COASTAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT COUNCIL (CRMC) FOR FUNDING OF URI'S COASTAL RESOURCES CENTER (CRC) STORMTOOLS, CHAMP ANALYSIS, AND MYCOAST (This resolution would authorize the appropriation of the sum of $400,000 to the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council for the continuation of STORMTOOLS, CHAMP, and MyCoast.)
H6016 is a joint resolution that appropriates $400,000 for fiscal year 2025-2026 to the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC) to continue funding three University of Rhode Island Coastal Resources Center tools: STORMTOOLS, CHAMP, and MyCoast Rhode Island. The resolution describes these as decision-support systems used to help the state prepare for, respond to, and analyze coastal flooding, storm impacts, erosion, and related hazards.
STORMTOOLS provides parcel-level flood prediction information for commercial and residential properties. CHAMP (Coastal Hazards, Analysis, Modeling & Prediction) is intended to help emergency responders and state partners assess damage to critical infrastructure in real time. MyCoast Rhode Island collects crowd-sourced photos and data on flooding and erosion, with expanding capacity to monitor inland flooding as well. The appropriation is framed as support for continued current services rather than a new program or policy change.
The resolution would add a $400,000 general-fund appropriation for CRMC in fiscal year 2025-2026 and authorize the state controller and general treasurer to process payments for that amount. It does not amend regulatory statutes or create new legal duties; instead, it sustains existing state-supported coastal hazard analysis and flood-monitoring services used by emergency managers, communities, regulators, and other public entities. The practical effect is continued state funding for URI-based coastal resilience and hazard prediction tools.
The bill text presents a strongly supportive rationale, emphasizing the importance of the tools to Rhode Island’s ability to cope with storm uncertainty, flooding, and erosion. Because no committee transcript or vote record is provided, there is no documented recorded opposition or debate in the supplied materials. On its face, the resolution appears to be a routine funding measure for widely used public-safety and coastal planning resources.
No specific points of contention are shown in the available record. Potential areas of debate, if raised, would likely concern the level of state spending, whether the tools should be funded through CRMC versus another agency, and the balance between ongoing research/decision-support funding and other budget priorities. However, the provided materials do not identify any member, committee, or stakeholder opposition.