Supreme Court
No. 2025-223-Appeal.
(PC 23-5833)
(Concurrence begins on Page 23)
Myles Standish Associates, LP, et al. :
v. :
The City of Providence by and through :
the City of Providence Board of
Licenses et al.
NOTICE: This opinion is subject to formal revision
before publication in the Rhode Island Reporter. Readers
are requested to notify the Opinion Analyst, Supreme
Court of Rhode Island, 250 Benefit Street, Providence,
Rhode Island 02903, at Telephone (401) 222-3258 or
Email [email protected], of any typographical
or other formal errors in order that corrections may be
made before the opinion is published.
Supreme Court
No. 2025-223-Appeal.
(PC 23-5833)
(Concurrence begins on Page 23)
Myles Standish Associates, LP, et al. :
v. :
The City of Providence by and through :
the City of Providence Board of
Licenses et al.
Present: Suttell, C.J., Robinson, Lynch Prata, Long, and Flaherty (ret.), JJ.
OPINION
Justice Long, for the Court. Myles Standish Associates, LP (Myles Standish
or plaintiff), appeals from a judgment of the Superior Court in favor of the
defendants, the City of Providence, members of the City of Providence Board of
Licenses (the board), and George Potsidis d/b/a Estiatorio Fili, Inc. (Estiatorio)
(together, appellees), on the parties’ cross-motions for summary judgment. 1 Before
1
The complaint specifically named as defendants the City of Providence, by and through the City of Providence Board of Licenses, by and through its members named in their official capacity, and the City of Providence by and through its licensing department.
-1-this Court, Myles Standish argues that the trial justice misinterpreted the plain text
of article 13, section 4 of the Rhode Island Constitution by concluding that the
General Assembly permissibly enacted Public Laws 2023, chapters 387 and 388,
codified at G.L. 1956 § 3-7-19(d)(63), (§ 3-7-19(d)(63) or the special act) without
local voter approval. For the reasons set forth herein we conclude that the trial
justice erred; the special act is void under article 13, section 4 for failure to obtain
local voter approval. Accordingly, we vacate the judgment of the Superior Court
and remand the case for entry of judgment consistent with this opinion.
Facts and Procedural History
The material facts giving rise to the parties’ cross-motions for summary
judgment are undisputed. In July 2022, Estiatorio applied to the board for a “BV
liquor license for property it owns located at 225 Waterman Street in the City of
Providence * * *.” Myles Standish, along with other property owners within a
200-foot radius of 225 Waterman Street, filed an objection to Estiatorio’s application
There were several additional plaintiffs who participated in this action in the Superior Court along with Myles Standish Associates; however, only Myles Standish appealed the trial justice’s decision on the motion for summary judgment, and it is therefore the sole appellant in this Court. Moreover, we observe from the record that Estiatorio, though not a defendant in this case, has, since the filing of plaintiff’s verified complaint, been listed as an “Interested Part[y].” For clarity, and because their arguments overlap, we refer to the city, the board, and Estiatorio as “appellees.”
-2-pursuant § 3-7-19(a).2 As a result, the board was unable to issue a liquor license to
Estiatorio for the 225 Waterman Street location. Estiatorio then lobbied the General
Assembly for an amendment to § 3-7-19 “so that the Board could issue a license
* * * for Estiatorio’s property at 225 Waterman Street.” The General Assembly
subsequently enacted the special act and thereby overrode the remonstrance3 to
Estiatorio’s license application. The enactment, codified at § 3-7-19(d)(63), reads:
“Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, the board
of licenses of the city of Providence shall, after
application, have the authority to exempt from the
provisions of this section any proposed retailer Class B or
Class BV licenses intended to be located at 225 Waterman
Street, Plat 14, Lot 508 of the applicable city of
Providence tax assessment map.”
2
General Laws 1956 § 3-7-19(a) provides:
“Retailers’ Class B, C, N and I licenses, and any license
provided for in § 3-7-16.8, shall not be issued to authorize
the sale of beverages in any building where the owner of
the greater part of the land within two hundred feet (200′)
of any point of the building files with the body or official
having jurisdiction to grant licenses his or her objection to
the granting of the license, nor in any building within two
hundred feet (200′) of the premises of any public, private,
or parochial school or a place of public worship. In the
city of East Providence, retailer’s Class A licenses shall
not be issued to authorize the sale of beverages in any
building within five hundred feet (500′) of the premises of
any public, private, or parochial school, or a place of
public worship.”
3
Black’s Law Dictionary defines a “remonstrance” as a “presentation of reasons for opposition or grievance,” or a “formal document stating reasons for opposition or grievance.” Black’s Law Dictionary 1553 (12th ed. 2024).
-3-The local voters in the City of Providence, which is a “home rule municipality with
a local-voter-approved home rule charter[,]” never approved § 3-7-19(d)(63).
Following the passage of § 3-7-19(d)(63), Estiatorio reapplied with
defendants for a liquor license for the 225 Waterman Street location. The board held
a hearing on Estiatorio’s license application, at which Myles Standish and other
interested parties appeared through counsel and objected to the board’s granting of
the license. On October 11, 2023, the board granted Estiatorio’s application over
Myles Standish’s objection.
Thereafter, Myles Standish appealed the granting of the license to the Rhode
Island Department of Business Regulation (DBR). Before the DBR, it contended
that § 3-7-19(d)(63) “was ineffective to make an exception from the Remonstrance
prohibition” in § 3-7-19(a) because the General Assembly’s passage of the special
act was not approved by local voters pursuant to article 13, section 4 of the Rhode
Island Constitution, and it also contended that the board “committed other error of
law.” On November 1, 2023, the DBR issued a decision stating that the board
committed other error, stayed the issuance of the liquor license for the 225 Waterman
Street location, and remanded the matter to the board for further proceedings. The
DBR’s decision did not address Myles Standish’s constitutional argument but
instead stated that “a determination of unconstitutionality of a statute is not an issue
that is properly before an administrative agency.”
-4-On November 8, 2023, Myles Standish filed the instant action seeking
declaratory and injunctive relief. The plaintiff challenged the constitutionality of
§ 3-7-19(d)(63), arguing that local voter approval was required because the special
act did “not apply alike to all cities and towns, but instead applie[d] only to the City
of Providence to benefit Estiatorio and its specific property located at 225 Waterman
Street.” In its complaint, Myles Standish stated that article 13, section 4 of the Rhode
Island Constitution “only gives the General Assembly plenary authority to pass
laws” without local voter approval if the legislation applies alike to all cities and
towns. Myles Standish contended that, because § 3-7-19(d)(63) allowed “one
particular municipal board, to wit, the City of Providence Board of Licenses, the
authority to override the Remonstrance prohibition for one particular property, to
wit, 225 Waterman Street in Providence,” it could become effective only “upon
approval by a majority of the qualified electors of the said city or town voting at a
general or special election” in accordance with article 13, section 4 of the Rhode
Island Constitution. Consequently, Myles Standish requested a declaration that
§ 3-7-19(d)(63) was not effective “unless and until it is approved by a majority of
local voters of the City of Providence at either a special or general election.” It also
requested a temporary restraining order and preliminary and permanent injunctive
relief enjoining the board from issuing a liquor license for the 225 Waterman Street
location in reliance on § 3-7-19(d)(63).
-5-On December 6, 2024, Myles Standish filed a motion for summary judgment,
and Estiatorio filed an objection and cross-motion for summary judgment. In its
motion, Myles Standish argued that § 3-7-19(d)(63) violated article 13, section 4 of
the state constitution because it created a “Providence-specific exemption” from
§ 3-7-19(a)’s statewide right of remonstrance without local voter approval. Myles
Standish argued that that exemption was enacted “in relation to the property, affairs
and government” of the City of Providence and, under article 13, section 4, required
local voter approval to become effective. Because local approval had not been
obtained, however, Myles Standish argued that § 3-7-19(d)(63) violated article 13,
section 4 and was void.
In opposition to Myles Standish’s motion, and in support of its cross-motion
for summary judgment, Estiatorio argued that Myles Standish’s complaint required
the Superior Court to assess whether § 3-7-19(d)(63) “concerns a local matter * * *
or a matter within the General Assembly’s reserved powers” over statewide matters.
Estiatorio contended that § 3-7-19(d)(63) concerned a matter within the state’s
reserved powers because, under this Court’s precedent, the state maintains
sovereignty over, among other things, licensing. When the General Assembly passes
a law on a matter of statewide concern, like licensing, Estiatorio argued, “no further
analysis is needed because Section 4 of Article XIII is not implicated.” In
subsequent filings in support of its motion for summary judgment, Estiatorio further
-6-argued that the home rule amendment “only requires local voter approval of statutes
passed by the General Assembly when they infringe on” the property, affairs or
government of a particular city or town, but here § 3-7-19(d)(63) “does not in any
way, shape, or form infringe on” the City of Providence.
After a hearing on the cross-motions for summary judgment, the trial justice
issued a written decision on May 30, 2025. The trial justice concluded that
§ 3-7-19(d)(63) involved licensing which is a matter of statewide concern, and,
therefore, “approval by a majority of the qualified electors of the said city or town
voting at a general or special election” was not required in order for it “to become
effective and constitutional.” (Quoting R.I. Const., art. 13, § 4.)
In arriving at his conclusion, the trial justice relied on this Court’s statement
in Bruckshaw v. Paolino, 557 A.2d 1221 (R.I. 1989), that “the state maintains
sovereignty over the regulation of police affairs, the conduct of business, licensing,
education, and elections” and that “[t]hese matters are of statewide concern and are
therefore the responsibility of the General Assembly.” (Quoting Bruckshaw, 557
A.2d at 1223.) The trial justice further noted that this Court reaffirmed that principle
in Amico’s Incorporated v. Mattos, 789 A.2d 899 (R.I. 2002), and he noted that, in
that case, the Court further stated: “It is only after licensing authority has been
delegated by the Legislature either ‘expressly or by necessary implication’ that local
governing bodies can act.” (Quoting Amico’s Incorporated, 789 A.2d at 904.) He
-7-additionally referenced this Court’s statement in Thompson v. East Greenwich, 512
A.2d 837 (R.I. 1986), that “the power to regulate business[es] through licensing is
an attribute of sovereignty[] and may be exercised by a municipality only upon an
express or implied delegation of this power.” (Quoting Thompson, 512 A.2d at 841.)
Relying on these cases, the trial justice concluded that “liquor licenses are
completely subject to the exercise of the state’s police power,” and that therefore
passage of § 3-7-19(d)(63) did not necessitate local voter approval. For those
reasons, he denied Myles Standish’s motion for summary judgment and granted
Estiatorio’s motion for summary judgment. An order to that effect was entered on
June 12, 2025; final judgment entered the same day. Myles Standish filed a notice
of appeal on June 27, 2025, later amending such on July 22, 2025.
Standard of Review
We review de novo a trial justice’s grant of summary judgment and rulings on
questions of law, including constitutional questions. Gushlaw v. Milner, 42 A.3d
1245, 1251 (R.I. 2012); Andrews v. Lombardi, 233 A.3d 1027, 1033 (R.I. 2020).
The question raised on appeal requires us to construe not only the provisions of the
special act, but also the plain language of the home rule amendment as a whole. As
our standard of review in cases implicating constitutional provisions dictates, this
Court’s “chief purpose is to give effect to the intent of the framers.” Riley v. Rhode
Island Department of Environmental Management, 941 A.2d 198, 205 (R.I. 2008)
-8-(quoting In re Advisory Opinion to Governor (Ethics Commission), 612 A.2d 1, 7
(R.I. 1992)). In doing so, we “employ the well-established rule of construction that
when words in the constitution are free of ambiguity, they must be given their plain,
ordinary, and usually accepted meaning.” Id. (quoting City of Pawtucket v.
Sundlun, 662 A.2d 40, 45 (R.I. 1995)). “[E]very clause must be given its due force,”
and “no word or section must be assumed to have been unnecessarily used or
needlessly added * * *.” Id. (quoting In re Advisory Opinion to the Governor, 612
A.2d at 7). “[W]e must ‘presume the language was carefully weighed and its terms
imply a definite meaning.’” Id. (quoting In re Advisory Opinion to the Governor,
612 A.2d at 7).
Analysis
The plaintiff, Myles Standish, presents this Court with a single question on
appeal: whether the special act, which “applies only to the Providence Board of
Licenses and its authority to grant a liquor license to a single address in the City of
Providence,” required local voter approval under article 13, section 4, the home rule
amendment to the Rhode Island Constitution, prior to becoming effective. We
conclude that it did.
When then-Governor Dennis Roberts addressed the 1951 constitutional
convention, called to consider various constitutional amendments, including a home
rule amendment, he explained the importance of written constitutions in our
-9-democratic system of government: “The American people hold dear to the principle
of written constitutions, realizing that it is the basic foundation for government in
this great democracy in which we live.” Proceedings of the Limited Constitutional
Convention of the State of Rhode Island 19 (1951) (Proceedings). Constitutions, he
said, are “the organic law under which our state may live in the future” and “must
be restricted to the establishment of a sound structure, to the definition of official
responsibility and authority, [and] to the assurance of the fundamental rights and
liberties of all the people.” Id. at 20. Referencing the federal constitution as a model
of the “ageless principle of simplicity,” Governor Roberts charged the delegates to
adopt amendments that contain “broad statements of principle concise in expression
with a simplicity that brings clarity of understanding.” Id.
The amendments adopted as part of that 1951 convention heeded Governor
Roberts’s call—in particular the home rule amendment, article 13 of the Rhode
Island Constitution. The home rule amendment to the state constitution codified the
principle that the powers of the General Assembly, however great, are not unlimited.
Prior to its adoption, local governments possessed no inherent right of
self-government. City of Providence v. Moulton, 52 R.I. 236, 243, 160 A. 75, 78
(1932). In June 1951, that changed. As one convention delegate put it, the home
rule amendment granted the voters in each city or town “protect[ion] against any
dictatorial rule.” Proceedings, supra, at 127. Following a limited constitutional
- 10 -convention in 1951, at which the home rule amendment passed with the unanimous
support of the delegates, the citizens of Rhode Island adopted the provision by an
eighty-five percent margin.4 Id. at 131.
Under the home rule amendment, every city and town in the state has the
authority to enact a home rule charter. Bruckshaw, 557 A.2d at 1223. If a charter is
adopted, “the city or town has ‘the right of self government in all local matters’” so
long as its conduct is “not inconsistent with [the state] Constitution and laws enacted
by the general assembly in conformity with the powers reserved to the general
assembly.” Id. (quoting R.I. Const., art. 13, §§ 1, 2).
That delegation of authority to municipal governments over local affairs,
however, did “not completely divest the General Assembly of its authority to
legislate regarding local matters.” Bruckshaw, 557 A.2d at 1223. Instead, section 4
of article 13 provided two methods by which the General Assembly may still enact
legislation related to local matters:
“The general assembly shall have the power to act in
relation to the property, affairs and government of any city
or town by general laws which shall apply alike to all cities
and towns, but which shall not affect the form of
government of any city or town. The general assembly
shall also have the power to act in relation to the property,
affairs and government of a particular city or town
provided that such legislative action shall become
4
The 1986 Constitutional Convention’s overhaul of the Rhode Island Constitution made no substantive changes to the home rule amendment.
- 11 -effective only upon approval by a majority of the qualified
electors of the said city or town voting at a general or
special election * * *.” R.I. Const., art. 13, § 4.
Article 13, section 4 thus “reserves to the Legislature power over cities and towns”
but limits the exercise of that power “to two situations.” In re Advisory Opinion to
the House of Representatives, 628 A.2d 537, 538 (R.I. 1993). In the first situation,
the legislature is freely permitted to act “in relation to the property, affairs, and
government of any home-rule city or town” provided that “such legislation pertains
to all cities and towns alike * * *.” Id. And, in the second, when “an act * * * pertains
to only one home-rule city or town,” the legislature is constrained to obtain “the
approval of a majority of the qualified electors of [a particular] city or town * * *.”
Id. Article 13, section 4 thus strikes and codifies the delicate balance between state
and local authority essential to the preservation of home rule and the reservation of
powers in the General Assembly.
Here, we are confronted with a special act that amends § 3-7-19(a). That
statute states, in relevant part, that any liquor license “provided for in § 3-7-16.8,
shall not be issued to authorize the sale of beverages in any building where the owner
of the greater part of the land within two hundred feet (200′) of any point of the
building files with the body or official having jurisdiction to grant licenses his or her
objection to the granting of the license * * *.” Section 3-7-19(a). Section 3-7-19(a)
thereby sets forth a statewide prohibition on a municipality’s authority to issue a
- 12 -liquor license where neighboring landowners—in any municipality statewide—file
an objection with their municipal licensing official. Nevertheless, during the 2023
legislative session, at Estiatorio’s request, the General Assembly plucked a specific
address, 225 Waterman Street, off of the City of Providence tax assessor’s map and
empowered the board to exempt that property from the objection process described
under subsection (a). See § 3-7-19(d)(63).
In the Superior Court, and before this Court, Myles Standish argues that the
General Assembly’s passage of § 3-7-19(d)(63) created a “Providence-specific
exemption” from the legislature’s generally applicable remonstrance statute,
§ 3-7-19(a). Myles Standish agrees that the General Assembly had the authority to
pass the general remonstrance statute, § 3-7-19(a), as an exercise of its statewide
authority over licensing, but it argues that the “Providence-specific exemption” at
issue did not apply alike to all cities or towns and therefore necessitated local voter
approval before becoming effective. It is undisputed that no such vote took place.
Accordingly, Myles Standish requested that the Superior Court, and ultimately this
Court, determine that the passage of the special act violated section 4 of the home
rule amendment. In order to establish that § 3-7-19(d)(63) violates the state
constitution, Myles Standish bears the burden of proving “beyond a reasonable doubt
that the act violates a specific provision of the state constitution * * *.” Moreau v.
- 13 -Flanders, 15 A.3d 565, 574 (R.I. 2011) (brackets omitted) (quoting Mackie v. State,
936 A.2d 588, 595 (R.I. 2007)).
We conclude that Myles Standish has met its burden, and we therefore hold
that enactment of § 3-7-19(d)(63) in the absence of local voter approval exceeded
the limit that article 13, section 4 places on the “[p]ower of [the] general assembly
over cities and towns.” R.I. Const., art. 13, § 4; see Bruckshaw, 557 A.2d at 1223
(holding that a Providence-specific retirement statute passed by the General
Assembly violated section 4 of article 13 because it was not approved by local
voters).
The plain meaning of article 13, section 4 makes clear that the special act
should not have become effective without local voter approval. See Sundlun, 662
A.2d at 45 (explaining that the words of the constitution “must be given their plain,
ordinary, and usually accepted meaning”). Section 4 of article 13 restricts the
General Assembly from unilaterally enacting a law “relat[ed] to the property, affairs
and government of a particular city or town” in the absence of local voter approval.
R.I. Const., art. 13, § 4. There can be no question that the special act before us today
relates to a particular city because it specifically refers to the “[C]ity of Providence,”
which adopted a home rule charter in 1980. Section 3-7-19(d)(63); Bruckshaw, 557
A.2d at 1222. It relates to the “affairs” of the City of Providence because it requires
a municipal agency—the board—to direct its “professional * * * business” toward
- 14 -the review and adjudication of Estiatorio’s application. The American Heritage
Dictionary of the English Language 28 (5th ed. 2011). And it relates to the
“government” of the City of Providence because it requires an arm of the municipal
administration to dedicate scarce city resources to a review of Estiatorio’s
application—a review that the City of Providence would not otherwise undertake
but for the special act. Finally, it is undisputed that local voter approval was not
obtained before the special act became effective. Under a plain reading of article
13, section 4, Myles Standish has proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the special
act violates an identifiable provision of our constitution, and it is this Court’s duty
to invalidate it. Moreau, 15 A.3d at 574; see Taylor v. Place, 4 R.I. 324, 364 (1856).
Our conclusion is supported by our prior decision in McCarthy v. Johnson,
574 A.2d 1229 (R.I. 1990), which also concerned a challenge to the constitutionality
of acts of the General Assembly that related to a particular city. McCarthy, 574 A.2d
at 1229-30. There, the plaintiff filed a personal injury action against the City of
Newport but failed to provide the city with timely notice of her claim as required
under G.L. 1956 § 45-15-9 and sought damages in excess of the statutory tort cap
provided in G.L. 1956 § 9-31-3. Id. Cognizant of these procedural defects to her
claim, the plaintiff “turned to the General Assembly for relief,” and it delivered. Id.
at 1230. The General Assembly passed an act that authorized the plaintiff’s suit
against the city within three years and increased the tort liability cap to $500,000 for
- 15 -her claim only. Id. at 1229. The General Assembly then passed a second act which
amended the prior act to grant the plaintiff extra time in which to provide the city
with notice of her claim. Id. at 1230. The city subsequently challenged both acts as
a violation of the state and federal constitutions. Id.
This Court invalided both acts as derogations from the requirements contained
in article 13, section 4. See McCarthy, 574 A.2d at 1230. The Court held that the
two acts were “not general acts applicable to all towns and cities” but instead they
“directly affect[ed] a single community * * * by raising the potential liability
exposure for injuries sustained by this plaintiff.” Id. at 1231. The Court therefore
held that the acts would affect “the property, affairs and government” of the City of
Newport because residents of that community—and only residents of that
community—would be forced to expend revenue to address, and potentially satisfy
a judgment on, the plaintiff’s claim. Id.
The Court reached that conclusion notwithstanding the plaintiff’s argument
that the acts were passed as an exercise of the General Assembly’s sovereign
authority over the courts. McCarthy, 574 A.2d at 1232. This Court unanimously
concluded that, even though it could not “be disputed that the General Assembly has
power to confer jurisdiction upon the courts * * * [this] case [does not] involve[] a
question of jurisdiction. Rather, it involves the validity of legislation directed at a
single home-rule community which benefits a single party.” Id. (emphases added).
- 16 -And “[w]here, as in this case, the legislation affects a single home-rule community,
the General Assembly’s authority is limited by the terms of article XIII, section 4, of
the State Constitution.” Id. (emphasis added).
Likewise, in In re Advisory Opinion to the House of Representatives, 628 A.2d
537 (R.I. 1993), this Court opined unanimously that certain proposed legislation
would violate article 13, section 4 and the provisions of the Town of Lincoln’s home
rule charter if it (1) approved new voting districts located within the Town of
Lincoln, and (2) removed current office holders from various city committees in only
the Town of Lincoln. Advisory Opinion, 628 A.2d at 539. In reaching that
conclusion, this Court determined that the reapportionment of local voting districts
was a matter of municipal rather than statewide concern, notwithstanding its
recognition of “the sovereignty of the State in matters of elections, which power is
not surrendered by a home-rule charter.” Id. at 539. This Court explained that, given
the local nature of Lincoln’s reapportionment plan, were the General Assembly to
act in relation to the plan, such act “could become effective only upon a subsequent
submission of the scheme to the local voters.” Id.
It is our opinion that § 3-7-19(d)(63) operates identically to the legislation at
issue in each of those cases. As in McCarthy, it is “directed at a single home-rule
community [and] benefits a single party,” and, as in the Advisory Opinion case, it
deals with a particularly local matter, notwithstanding that we recognize the
- 17 -sovereignty of the state in matters of statewide concern. McCarthy, 574 A.2d at
1232; Advisory Opinion, 628 A.2d at 539. That the special act became effective
without local voter approval cements its unconstitutionality.
After carefully considering the plain text of the home rule amendment and this
Court’s prior caselaw, we are persuaded that Myles Standish has satisfied its burden
of proving that § 3-7-19(d)(63) “violates an identifiable aspect of the” state
constitution. Sundlun, 662 A.2d at 60 (quoting Kennedy v. State, 654 A.2d 708, 712
(R.I. 1995)). Article 13, section 4’s local voter approval provision is a textual
limitation on the power of the General Assembly to enact laws related to the
“property, affairs and government” of a home-rule community. R.I. Const., art. 13,
§ 4; Sundlun, 662 A.2d at 44 (“The power of the General Assembly is, therefore,
plenary and unlimited, save for the textual limitations to that power that are specified
in the * * * State constitution[].”). Section 3-7-19(d)(63) relates to the affairs and
government of the City of Providence but was enacted and became effective without
local voter approval. Accordingly, it violates the state constitution and is void.
Nevertheless, Estiatorio argues before this Court, as it did before the trial
justice, that “when the General Assembly passes a law involving a statewide concern
such as licensing * * * Section 4 of Article XIII is not implicated.” The appellees’
argument is not supported by our caselaw and we reject it for at least three reasons.
First, although this Court has held that the General Assembly retains sovereign
- 18 -authority to enact laws in the area of licensing, Marro v. General Treasurer of City
of Cranston, 108 R.I. 192, 195, 196 n.5, 273 A.2d 660, 662 & n.5 (1971) (describing
“exclusive and undiminished” power of the General Assembly on matters of
statewide concern, including licensing), we have never held that that sovereign
authority entitles the General Assembly to overlook the requirements of the state
constitution when acting pursuant to that authority. We have instead recognized that
“[t]he power of the General Assembly is * * * plenary and unlimited, save for the
textual limitations to that power that are specified” in the state constitution. See
Sundlun, 662 A.2d at 44. Indeed, this Court’s holding in McCarthy makes clear that,
even when acting within an area where the General Assembly retains authority, if
the General Assembly seeks to act in relation to “a single home-rule community” in
order to benefit “a single party * * * the General Assembly’s authority is limited by
the terms of article XIII, section 4, of the State Constitution.” McCarthy, 574 A.2d
at 1232. Accordingly, the reliance by Estiatorio and the trial justice on our prior
pronouncements that licensing is a statewide concern fails to fully give effect to the
intent of the framers of the home rule amendment who sought to cabin the power of
the General Assembly when acting in relation to a particular city or town. Riley, 941
A.2d at 205 (explaining this Court’s obligation when interpreting the state
constitution to give effect to the intent of the framers).
- 19 -Second, the admittedly oft-repeated statement that licensing is a statewide
concern, upon which appellees rely, emerged from a distinguishable line of cases
that primarily concerned challenges to the validity of municipal licensing ordinances
under article 13, section 2 of the Rhode Island Constitution. See Newport Amusement
Company v. Maher, 92 R.I. 51, 54-57, 166 A.2d 216, 217-19 (1960) (invalidating a
municipal ordinance as in excess of the power delegated to municipalities under
section 2); State v. Krzak, 97 R.I. 156, 160, 196 A.2d 417, 419-21 (1964) (same);
Nugent v. City of East Providence, 103 R.I. 518, 526, 238 A.2d 758, 762-63 (1968).
Article 13, section 2 of the Rhode Island Constitution defines and constrains the
powers of Rhode Island cities and towns that adopt a charter:
“Every city and town shall have the power at any time to
adopt a charter, amend its charter, enact and amend local
laws relating to its property, affairs and government not
inconsistent with this Constitution and laws enacted by the
general assembly in conformity with the powers reserved
to the general assembly.” R.I. Const., art. 13, § 2.
Thus, when the home rule amendment conferred upon municipalities the right of
self-government, article 13, section 2 limited the exercise of local power to the
enactment of “local laws,” and any ordinance which infringed on a statewide
concern—such as licensing—exceeded that delegation of authority. See, e.g.,
Newport Amusement Company, 92 R.I. at 54-57, 166 A.2d at 217-19 (invalidating a
Newport ordinance that required payment of a fee for applicants seeking to obtain a
license to operate a jukebox because to regulate occupations and businesses by
- 20 -imposing a licensing fee “is an attribute of sovereignty” and “not an incident of
municipal administration”).
Article 13, section 2 and the cases interpreting it have little practical effect on
our understanding of the limits on the process by which the General Assembly enacts
or amends laws, however. Instead, article 13, section 4 is the instructive provision
for the scope of that power. See Bruckshaw, 557 A.2d at 1223. And, as the plain
language of that provision makes clear, when the General Assembly seeks to enact
a law that applies to all cities and towns equally, it is free to do so. But where, as
here, the General Assembly seeks to enact a law related to the property, affairs and
government of a specific home rule municipality, local voter approval is required.
R.I. Const., art. 13, § 4; see Marro, 108 R.I. at 195, 273 A.2d at 662.
Third, even accepting the fact that the General Assembly possesses plenary
authority to enact licensing laws that apply statewide, we are not persuaded that
§ 3-7-19(d)(63) is a licensing statute subject to that plenary authority. Rather, it is a
special act related to a particular city that benefits a single party. See McCarthy, 574
A.2d at 1232. In cases where we have articulated the General Assembly’s statewide
authority over licensing, we have been confronted with municipal ordinances that
conflict with core attributes of the General Assembly’s statewide licensing power.
For example, in Newport Amusement Company, we invalidated a Newport ordinance
that imposed a fee payable to the city in order to obtain a license to operate a jukebox.
- 21 -Newport Amusement Company, 92 R.I. at 54-55, 166 A.2d at 217-18. We concluded
that the ordinance exceeded the scope of municipal authority because to regulate
occupations and businesses by imposing a licensing fee “is an attribute of
sovereignty” and “not an incident of municipal administration * * *.” Id. at 56, 166
A.2d at 218. Similarly, in Nugent, we invalidated a city council resolution related
to the regulation and licensing of television antennas because even if the resolution
targeted utilities using city streets, the reserved powers of the legislature “to regulate
and control by licensing the conduct of business within the state is an exercise of the
police power.” Nugent, 103 R.I. at 520-21, 526, 238 A.2d at 760, 762-63.
By contrast, § 3-7-19(d)(63) does not relate to “an attribute of sovereignty,”
Newport Amusement Company, 92 R.I. at 56, 166 A.2d at 218, the ability of the
General Assembly to “control by licensing the conduct of business within the state,”
Nugent, 103 R.I. at 526, 238 A.2d at 763, or any other core licensing power. Instead,
as appellees candidly admit, it merely authorizes the board to review Estiatorio’s
application and determine whether to exempt the property located at 225 Waterman
Street from the remonstrance filed pursuant to § 3-7-19(a). Section 3-7-19(d)(63).
The special act is thus, at most, a procedural statute that lifts one potential barrier to
the ability of Estiatorio to obtain a BV liquor license, but does not actually award
the BV liquor license, nor does it concern a core “attribute of sovereignty,” like the
charging of a fee, or the ability to “control by licensing the conduct of business in
- 22 -the state.” Newport Amusement Company, 92 R.I. at 56, 166 A.2d at 218; Nugent,
103 R.I. at 526, 238 A.2d at 763. Much of the final decision making as to the license
itself remains with the board, which is tasked, under the special act, to complete its
review of Estiatorio’s application. We therefore conclude that the special act is not
a licensing statute and thus not subject to our recognition of the General Assembly’s
plenary authority over licensing.
Because the General Assembly enacted § 3-7-19(d)(63)—a law related to the
affairs and government of the City of Providence—in the absence of local voter
approval, we hold that the special act is void under article 13, section 4 of the Rhode
Island Constitution.
Conclusion
For the reasons stated herein, we vacate the judgment of the Superior Court
and remand the matter for entry of judgment in favor of the plaintiff.
Justice Robinson, concurring. I unreservedly join the opinion of the Court
and its judgment remanding this matter for entry of judgment in favor of the plaintiff.
However, I am also writing this brief concurring opinion in order to express some
supplementary observations of my own concerning this important case without
substantively disagreeing with any portion of the Court’s opinion.
- 23 -While the Court has primarily based its comprehensive opinion on the clear
provisions of article 13, section 4 of the Rhode Island Constitution,1 I am convinced
that the same result could be reached by focusing exclusively on a unanimous
decision of this Court that in my opinion constitutes directly controlling precedent—
namely, McCarthy v. Johnson, 574 A.2d 1229 (R.I. 1990).2
In that opinion, Justice Shea, writing for the Court, held that the General
Assembly had violated article 13, section 4 of the Rhode Island Constitution when
it enacted “legislation directed at a single home-rule community which benefits a
single party.” McCarthy, 574 A.2d at 1232. I am convinced that the appellees have
not succeeded in demonstrating that the McCarthy opinion is not squarely “on point”
with respect to the instant case. Absent the overruling of that case, which has not
1
Article 13 of the Rhode Island Constitution is often referred to as “the Home Rule Amendment.” See McCarthy v. Johnson, 574 A.2d 1229, 1230 (R.I. 1990). 2
For the purposes of this concurring opinion, it is not necessary to explain in detail the facts of the McCarthy case. Suffice it to say, that at issue in that case was the constitutionality of two acts of the General Assembly (85-H6525 and 87-H6883) that purported to relieve one Michelle McCarthy of two existing statutory criteria with which she was not in compliance and accordingly was barred from bringing suit against the City of Newport in connection with injuries that she had sustained in that city. This Court held both acts to have been unconstitutional under article 13, section 4 because they were neither legislation applicable to all cities and towns nor had they been approved by a majority of the qualified electors of Newport. See McCarthy, 574 A.2d at 1229-32.
- 24 -occurred, it continues to be “good law.” That being so, it follows as the night the
day that plaintiff should prevail in the instant case. 3
It is my view that Myles Standish was deprived of its right of remonstrance 4
by virtue of highly specific ad hoc legislation that I believe cannot be reconciled
with directly controlling precedent. See McCarthy, 574 A.2d at 1231-32; see also In
re Advisory Opinion to the House of Representatives, 628 A.2d 537, 538-40 (R.I.
1993). The amendment at issue in this case (G.L. 1956 § 3-7-19(d)(63)) is extremely
3
This Court’s subsequent decision in In re Advisory Opinion to the House of Representatives, 628 A.2d 537 (R.I. 1993), is consistent with the holding in McCarthy and is directly supportive of the Court’s holding in the instant case. However, in view of the special status of advisory opinions in our jurisprudence, I have thought it best to give primary attention to the facts of McCarthy and this Court’s opinion regarding same.
This Court in Advisory Opinion, held that “[w]hen an act of the Legislature pertains to only one home-rule city or town, the approval of a majority of the qualified electors of that city or town in a general or special election is necessary.” Advisory Opinion, 628 A.2d at 538. This Court acknowledged that “the sovereignty of the State in matters of elections” is not a power surrendered by a home-rule charter. Id. at 539 (citing McCarthy, 574 A.2d at 1229). However, the matter of reapportionment (which was at issue in the Advisory Opinion case) does not relate to the procedural aspects of local elections and therefore falls “directly under the characterization of matters that are to be resolved on a local level pursuant to a home-rule charter.” Id. (emphasis added).
4
While I decline to use the word “sacred” to characterize the right of remonstrance, it is nevertheless a right of very great importance that has been accorded to the small number of individuals (a statutorily defined group of the immediate neighbors of a proposed development) who might have reason to object to the advent of a particular new liquor-serving establishment in their immediate vicinity.
- 25 -narrow and benefits just one commercial establishment that wishes to be located in
one particular place in the City of Providence. In my view, upholding the
constitutionality of that amendment would be inconsistent with the “right of
self-government” granted by the Home Rule Amendment to our Constitution. See
McCarthy, 574 A.2d at 1231 (“The effect of adoption of a home-rule charter is that
the city has the right of self-government in all local matters so long as the charter is
not inconsistent with [the] Constitution and laws enacted by the general assembly in
conformity with the powers reserved to the general assembly.”) (emphasis added)
(internal quotation marks omitted).5
In their attempt to distinguish this Court’s decision in McCarthy, the
appellees, in unequivocal language, asserted that the amendment at issue
(§ 3-7-19(d)(63)) “does not in any way, shape, or form infringe on the property,
affairs or government of the City of Providence.” In my view, however, the “affairs”
of the City of Providence are adversely affected when citizens, who are the very
5
I would also note that the instant case is readily distinguishable from K&W Automotive, LLC v. Town of Barrington, 224 A.3d 833 (R.I. 2020). K&W Automotive dealt with a town’s legislating on a matter of statewide concern. See K&W Automotive, LLC, 224 A.3d at 839. In contrast, the case at bar involves the General Assembly having looked down from its non-local vantage point in order to legislate on a narrow matter of purely local concern—namely, where one particular liquor-serving establishment may be located. See generally State ex rel. City of Providence v. Auger, 44 A.3d 1218, 1231 (R.I. 2012).
- 26 -reason for the existence of said City, are deprived of their statutory right of
remonstrance by an ad hoc enactment that favors one particular liquor-serving
establishment against the wishes of remonstrants whom the appellees have chosen
to characterize as “a handful of corporate and individual property owners * * *.” It
should go without saying, however, that the statutory right of remonstrance was
designed to provide protection to such a “handful” of landowners—just as it would
at some point provide protection to Estiatorio if it were to find itself in a situation
comparable to that of the present plaintiff.
The more I have thought about this case, the more I have come to realize that,
in a very real sense, it is actually more about the location of one particular
liquor-serving establishment than about the licensing of businesses in the broad
sense of that term. I agree that the establishment of standards governing licensing
in general (and the sale of liquor in particular) is a matter of statewide concern, but
I adamantly believe that the quite subsidiary issue of precisely where a particular
liquor-serving establishment might be located is a matter that should be subject to
approval at the local level. 6
6
See Terrence P. Haas, Constitutional Home Rule in Rhode Island, 11 Roger Williams L. Rev. 677, 713-14 (2006) (“[T]he court is quite likely to find that regulation of agriculture to prevent pollution of waterways is an area that cannot be effectively regulated without statewide uniformity, while the court is unlikely to find that effective regulation of parking on municipal streets requires a uniform statewide policy.”).
- 27 -I conclude by simply expressing my view that, even though powerful
arguments have been advanced as to both sides of the question, the decision reached
by this Court in this very challenging case is consistent with the intent of the drafters
of the Home Rule Amendment.
- 28 -STATE OF RHODE ISLAND
SUPREME COURT – CLERK’S OFFICE
Licht Judicial Complex
250 Benefit Street
Providence, RI 02903
OPINION COVER SHEET
Myles Standish Associates, LP, et al. v. The City of
Title of Case Providence by and through the City of Providence
Board of Licenses et al.
No. 2025-223-Appeal.
Case Number
(PC 23-5833)
Date Opinion Filed July 29, 2026
Suttell, C.J., Robinson, Lynch Prata, Long, and
Justices
Flaherty (ret.), JJ.
Written By Associate Justice Melissa A. Long
Source of Appeal Providence County Superior Court
Judicial Officer from Lower Court Associate Justice Brian P. Stern
For Plaintiff:
Peter F. Skwirz, Esq.
Attorney(s) on Appeal For Defendants:
Louis DeSimone, Esq.
Joseph A. Keough, Jr.
SU-CMS-02A (revised November 2022)