General Assembly
I attended last night’s hearing of the Rhode Island House of Representatives Municipal Government Committee on House Bill H7098, which would change the way that vehicles are valued for purposes of assessing the state’s car tax. Municipal Government Committee Chairman Jon Brien (D-Woonsocket) gaveled the meeting to order, took the roll, and asked Rep. Joseph…
Two stories in the Providence Journal lately have me lamenting more of the same in Rhode Island. More of lack of strong leadership and more disregard for the people and the spirit of law. Last Thursday, they reported that Senators Paiva-Weed, Ruggerio and Goodwin were invited to the Senate Presidents Forum in Key West. The…
Just when I started to think that maybe Speaker Gordon Fox gets it. Maybe he is going to lead in the right direction. Some recent examples included his decision to put bills to a House floor vote when they’re ready, not at the last minute. Or his decision to contact the US Justice Department and…
Today is the first Tuesday in January, which means by the state’s constitution, the General Assembly is back in session. While I’m not sure why they need to meet every year in a state the size of Rhode Island (in Texas they meet every odd numbered year) it sure helps bloggers to come up with…
In Sunday’s Nesi’s Notes, Ted has a story about Speaker of the House, Gordon Fox trying to make what would actually be a major change in how the House operates. Fox is looking to change an old practice of holding the vast majority of the bills for a floor vote until the final days of…
There are two major takeaways from the Providence Journal’s poll of RI legislators on the matter of in-state tuition for illegal immigrants: 55% of senators and 37% of representatives were willing to go on the record opposing it even though there is no vote currently before them. 24% of senators and 41% of representatives didn’t…
Have you spotted the line of argument that members of the General Assembly have devised for explaining why legislators who benefit from public-sector pensions are free to vote to changes to the system? Here’s retired NEA member and recently elected representative from East Providence (whose pension comes in at $54,512, annually): Echoed Duffy Messier: “Everyone…
At the John Loughlin fundraiser held in East Providence on Sunday evening, I was able to ask several of the sitting legislators in attendance about the highly anticipated special legislative session on pension reform. In particular, I asked House Minority Leader Brian Newberry and Senators Frank Maher and Nick Kettle about how much time they…
It looks like the next domino is falling for Rep. Dan Gordon (R, Portsmouth, Tiverton, Little Compton): Military service records for a Rhode Island lawmaker who has said he sustained combat injuries in the 1991 Gulf War do not list a Purple Heart award or any Middle East deployments. State Rep. Daniel Gordon’s Marine Corps…
Dan Gordon is the embattled RI State Representative from District 71, representing Portsmouth, Tiverton and Little Compton now facing calls for his resignation. According to the Providence Journal, he will “absolutely not” step down. That would seem there are only a couple other options to forcibly remove him from office. There was previously some mention…
