Sen. Sheehan Calls for Actions Against Supreme Court Campaign Spending Decision

Submitted by Chris Boardman on Fri, 2010-03-19 11:12

Sheehan asks Senate backing on resolution criticizing Supreme Court ruling on corporate campaign spending

STATE HOUSE – The U.S. Supreme Court, in mid-January, ruled that the government cannot ban corporate spending in elections. The 5-4 decision lifted restrictions on corporations’ spending on political candidates or issues, effectively eliminating any bars to corporations giving unlimited amounts of money to campaigns.

As a New York Times editorial put it, the court ruling “thrust politics back to the robber-baron era of the 19th century.”

Sen. James C. Sheehan (D-Dist. 36, Narragansett, North Kingstown) announced he will be introducing a Senate Resolution that expresses disappointment with the Supreme Court ruling and that calls on Congress to “enact legislation to strengthen regulations and enhance disclosure of corporate and union election spending.”

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Senators to Meet for Oversight of Global Medicaid Waiver

Submitted by Chris Boardman on Thu, 2010-03-18 15:09

STATE HOUSE – The Senate Health and Human Services Committee and the Senate Finance Committee’s subcommittee on Health and Human Services will meet jointly Monday for the second in a series of hearings on oversight of the state’s global Medicaid waiver.

The hearing is scheduled Monday, March 22, at 3:30 p.m. in Room 313 on the third floor of the State House.

Legislators will be seeking information about what program changes have been or will be made, and any savings that have been achieved. Those scheduled to testify at this hearing are Maureen Maigret of the Community Global Waiver Implementation Task Force in the Executive Office of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Heren of the Alliance for Better Long Term Care, Ann Mulready of the Rhode Island Disability Law Center, Elizabeth Earles of the Rhode Island Council of Community Mental Health Organizations and Linda Katz of the Rhode Island Poverty Institute.

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Assembly Passes Charter School Expansion Bill

Submitted by Chris Boardman on Wed, 2010-03-17 09:01

STATE HOUSE – The General Assembly gave fast-track approval today to a new law expanding charter schools in the state, just in time for a trip to Washington tomorrow by legislative leaders and other state officials to push for Rhode Island’s case to win millions in federal education funding.

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Douglas W. Gablinske and Sen. Louis P. DiPalma, raises the statewide cap on charter schools from 20 to 35, better positioning the state to win approval for its application for $126.6 million in federal Race to the Top funding.

The legislation also calls for half of the charter schools in the state to be reserved for at-risk pupils, and requires charter schools to meet performance standards called for in the Race to the Top expectations.

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Legislators Present Video Promoting Marriage Equality

Submitted by Chris Boardman on Wed, 2010-03-17 08:57

STATE HOUSE – Rep. Arthur Handy and Rep. Frank Ferri hosted a State House event today to debut a new 13-minute DVD featuring five same-sex partners in Rhode Island explaining why they need Rhode Island to allow them to marry.

The DVD, produced by Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) in conjunction with Marriage Equality Rhode Island (MERI), shows couples and their families in their homes, explaining how their daily lives are no different than those of straight couples, and how they want the same safety and security that marriage provides to other families.

The video, “Valuing All Families: Marriage Equality in Rhode Island,” will be distributed to all Rhode Island legislators, and will be played on local access cable. It is posted at www.marriageequalityri.org and www.glad.org and a six-minute version of it is available on Youtube.

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Special RI Commission Endorses Decriminalizing Ounce or Less of Pot

Submitted by Chris Boardman on Tue, 2010-03-16 18:08

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - A special Rhode Island legislative commission has endorsed a proposal to decriminalize the possession of one ounce or less of marijuana.

The commission voted on Tuesday to endorse a report recommending a more lax approach to having small quantities of the drug. The report said the state would save money and avoid unnecessary arrests through the law change.

Though few people are jailed for marijuana possession alone, current state law makes it a misdemeanor punishable by a maximum $500 fine and up to a year behind bars.

Senate spokesman Greg Pare said the commission voted 11-2 to approve the report.

The issue now goes to the full Senate.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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Smithfield Bill Introduced to Assess Bryant a Per-student Municipal Services Fee

Submitted by Chris Boardman on Tue, 2010-03-16 11:01

STATE HOUSE – Bryant University does not have its own police or fire departments or rescue services. As it does for residential properties and other non-residential institutions, the Town of Smithfield responds to the campus on various emergency calls. Each call means spending the community’s tax dollars.

“It’s time the university contribute something approaching its fair share to the community for the services the school receives,” said Sen. John J. Tassoni Jr. (D-Dist. 22, Smithfield, North Smithfield). “I have the utmost respect for Bryant as an educational institution and I know Smithfield is happy to have a facility like this in town. But it is not equitable that a property owner that is exempted from paying $1.68 million in taxes should at the same time receive free services.”

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RI Tax Revenue Collections Ahead of Estimates

Submitted by Chris Boardman on Fri, 2010-03-12 17:52

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - Revenue collections are outpacing estimates in Rhode Island so far in the current fiscal year.

Fiscal advisers for the House of Representatives released data this week showing that total tax revenues are nearly 18 percent ahead of estimates. Sales tax revenues, typically seen as an indicator of economic activity, are $16.3 million ahead of projections.

The figures could offer a glimmer of hope for the economy, along with last week's news that the unemployment rate in January had held steady rather than decline further.

Leonard Lardaro, a University of Rhode Island economist, says the numbers are not surprising since the economy could not stay in a "free fall" forever.

The figures are being presented to the House Finance Committee,
which can rewrite the governor's budget proposals.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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This Week at the General Assembly

Submitted by Chris Boardman on Fri, 2010-03-12 17:17

This week at the General Assembly

STATE HOUSE – Here are the highlights from news and events that took place in the General Assembly this week. For more information on any of these items visit http://www.rilin.state.ri.us/News/

§     Senate Agenda: Make it easy to do business in Rhode Island
President of the Senate M. Teresa Paiva Weed, Senate Majority Leader Daniel P. Connors and members of the Senate Task Force on Small Business Growth and Development laid out the Senate’s job creation agenda for the session: Make it easy to do business in Rhode Island. After outlining the agenda to small business owners at the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce, the task force formally adopted a final report that was the result of a six-month study.

§     Gablinske, public safety officials highlight importance of primary seat belt bill

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Senators to Meet for Oversight of Global Medicaid Waiver

Submitted by Chris Boardman on Fri, 2010-03-12 17:12

Senators to meet for oversight of global Medicaid waiver

STATE HOUSE – The Senate Health and Human Services Committee and the Senate Finance Committee’s subcommittee on Health and Human Services will meet jointly Monday for a hearing on oversight of the state’s global Medicaid waiver.

The hearing is scheduled Monday, March 15, at 3:30 p.m. in Room 313 on the third floor of the State House.

Legislators will be seeking information about what program changes have been or will be made, and any savings that have been achieved. Those scheduled to testify are Executive Office of Health and Human Services Director Gary Alexander, Department of Human Services Medicaid Director Elena Nicolella, Department of Elderly Affairs Director Corinne Calise Russo and Department of Mental Health, Retardation, and Hospitals Director Craig Stenning.

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RI DMV Extending Wednesday Closings

Submitted by Chris Boardman on Fri, 2010-03-12 16:22

The Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) today announced the agency will be extending the Wednesday closings to complete extensive cleanup of DMV data and to provide further training for DMV staff and its many interface partners.  The conversion to the new system is expected to occur by the end of June 2010.

To accommodate the extended training schedule, DMV branch locations in Woonsocket, Middletown, Wakefield, RI Mall, and Warren will continue to change their days of operation (see attached sheet for current days and hours of operation).   Road exams will continue to be offered each weekday, including Wednesdays, from the DMV's road test site in Pawtucket, and the DMV safety and emissions garage (Melrose St., Providence) will remain open Monday to Friday.  In addition, the public will be able to process transactions on-line at www.dmv.ri.gov, at local AAA offices, and through the mail.  

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