Providence, RI – At tonight’s city council meeting, councilors unanimously passed juvenile hearing board reforms that will fundamentally transform how the justice system treats young people by creating a clearer, fairer path to diversion for Providence youth.

The Juvenile Hearing Board (JHB), Providence’s community-based alternative to Family Court for eligible young people, connects youth with accountability, support services, and non-carceral responses to non-violent crimes. Instead of pushing children unnecessarily into the traditional court system, the JHB provides real opportunities to make amends, learn from mistakes, and move forward.

“Tonight’s vote answered a fundamental question for city government: what do we owe our children?” said Councilor Miguel Sanchez (Ward 6). “We owe them fairness, opportunity, consistency, forgiveness, and help. Every young person deserves a real chance to get on the right path—not to be pushed unnecessarily into the endless cycle known as the school-to-prison pipeline. The Juvenile Hearing Board can change a kid’s life, and under this ordinance, so many more Providence youth will have access to that chance, regardless of timing, luck, or which officer happens to be on duty.”

Under the current system, when an eligible young person is arrested, referral to the Juvenile Hearing Board is entirely at the discretion of the detective on duty. Over the course of three years, officers only referred 108 of the 508 young people eligible for the JHB to the Board. Additionally, not a single referral occurred during the evening shift, suggesting a child’s access to diversion was based not on the nature of their actions, but on circumstantial factors outside the child’s control. The new reforms will ensure fuller and more appropriate use of the JHB by making referrals automatic for eligible youth arrested for most first or second nonviolent offenses.

“Investment in schools, renovation of our parks, and reform of the Juvenile Hearing Board are all a part of the same system that wants to give our kids happy, healthy, safe childhoods while also setting them up for successful adulthoods,” said Luisa Sarante, the Juvenile Hearing Board Coordinator. “The JHB is there to make sure that setbacks don’t result in ruined childhoods or adulthoods that fail before they’ve even begun. These reforms mean more second chances, more opportunities to grow and learn from mistakes, and a more compassionate and socially responsible Providence.”

The ordinance will now be transmitted to Mayor Brett Smiley for his signature and will go into effect in 90 days.

Councilors also considered for the first time both an ordinance that would reduce exploitation of 8 Law in Providence and an ordinance that would remove a cost barrier to affordable housing development and construction in Providence.

The first ordinance, the Providence 8 Law Qualifications, establishes local rules for how Providence grants the 8% tax treatment within the city. According to sponsors, the 8 Law ordinance would end misuse of a low-income tax treatment by wealthy developers, who often use it for market rate or luxury properties. 

In April 2024, the City Council passed by a 13-2 vote an 8 Law ordinance that would have applied the low-income tax treatment only to the restricted units themselves. The ordinance was then vetoed by Mayor Brett Smiley. Rather than just applying to individual units, the new version considered tonight sets affordability thresholds that work with other low-income housing programs. Working closely with affordable housing developers, the sponsors put forth an ordinance that aligns eligibility with the federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit and other affordability programs, while ensuring that tax treatment is only used for properties with meaningful low-income housing.

Councilors also considered the BUILD Act, which would eliminate taxation during the construction period of affordable housing development, in a move that sponsors say will reduce a barrier to increasing the supply of affordable housing in Providence.

Currently, 8 Law only goes into effect upon the occupancy of rental units since the tax treatment is determined by rental income. In between the start of construction and occupancy, properties are taxed at the regular rate.

The BUILD Act will change that by providing a two-year tax stabilization period for eligible affordable development projects before tenants move in and are taxed at 8% of scheduled rental income. By removing the tax burden from the start, the BUILD Act would clear a difficult barrier to the construction of more affordable housing, especially the deeply affordable housing needed by the lowest income households.

Both the 8 Law ordinance and the BUILD Act require a second passage before becoming law.

Last week, the Working Group on Providence City Council’s Role in PPSD Governance concluded its work with an agreement among city leaders to advance an ordinance modernizing procurement procedures for the Providence Public School District (PPSD).

The ordinance, which Councilor Jill S. Davidson (Ward 2) introduced at tonight’s meeting, would establish a tiered procurement framework for PPSD following the district’s return to local control. Currently, purchases above $10,000 for supplies and $20,000 for construction are required to go before the Board of Contract and Supply (BOCS). Under the new system, routine purchases, which constitute the vast majority of procurement activity, would be handled by the schools themselves, and only multi-year, sole-source, or $500K+ contracts would be subject to City review.

Councilors voted in favor of the ordinance for the first time this evening. Per Sec. 1007 (c) of the Providence Home Rule Charter, this ordinance requires a two-thirds vote to become law. A public hearing will be held on the proposal on July 13th at 5:30 p.m. in the City Council Chamber before it returns to the full City Council for a final vote.

Finally, councilors passed a resolution to change the name of the street that is home to Rhode Island’s School for the Deaf from Corliss Park to Jeanie Lippitt Circle. The request for the name change, which honors Lippitt’s role in inspiring advocacy for Deaf and hard-of-hearing education, came from students at the school, whose thorough research and presentation to Councilwoman Shelley Peterson (Ward 14) and other local leaders led to the name change.

“I’m so proud of these students,” said Councilwoman Peterson. “They recognized a problem – that their school’s address was too often confused with nearby Corliss Park – and came up with a solution that was both practical and meaningful.”

The next regular City Council meeting will convene on July 16, 2026.