General Assembly
It’s always appropriate to call for a greater sense of shame among Rhode Island’s politicians, but Ed Achorn was a little too specific in his column, last week: The politicians of Rhode Island would be ashamed of themselves, had they not lost the capacity for feeling shame long ago. Their determination to balance their enormous…
Throughout the legislative session just ended, the Providence Journal has been checking in with four freshman legislators, one of them being North Kingstown Republican Doreen Costa. This snippet, from the end-of-session iteration, points to one of Rhode Island’s major political problems, and the consequence of indomitable one-party rule: Lesson number two: Don’t “question or argue”…
The passage of the state budget, followed by a flurry of bills passed and not passed in the last week of the 2011 Rhode Island General Assembly session, were clear demonstrations of the value and the wisdom of two foundational principles of American constitutional governance. 1. The Division of Powers, more commonly referred to as…
We’re all rightly pleased that binding arbitration for teachers didn’t make it into law, but there’s something in the Rhode Island Statewide Coalition’s post-victory press release that taps into a disconcerting aspect of the process: “We commend Speaker Fox for giving this legislation the burial it deserves in the final hours of the session but…
Earlier today, Providence Mayor Angel Tavares came out in favor of an amended version of the 195 Commission bill being considered in the RI House of Representatives. This evening, the 195 bill passed, first the House Finance committee, then the full House. The Senate vote is still pending. On the very next floor vote following…
At 10:22 this morning, notice was posted of a bill (S1062) to be heard by the House Finance Committee at noon today which would grant “the chief executive officer of any municipality having an appointed school committee” most of the same contract-negotiating powers that are held by elected school committees. Some pure speculation on my…
As indicated earlier in the evening, the House version of the binding arbitration bill has been held for further study…House Bill No.5961 BY McCauley, Savage, Blazejewski, Lally, Carnevale ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS — SCHOOL EMPLOYEE ARBITRATION {LC2213/1} 03/22/2011 Introduced, referred to House Labor 03/29/2011 Scheduled for hearing and/or consideration 03/29/2011…
This is the current language in Rhode Island law on the right of public school teachers to strike…“Certified School Teachers’ Arbitration”, 28-9.3-1(b) It is declared to be the public policy of this state to accord to certified public school teachers the right to organize, to be represented, to negotiate professionally, and to bargain on a…
An op-ed from Common Cause Rhode Island Executive Director John Marion raises one of those issues that is apt to make the average Rhode Islander wonder why things don’t work that way already: The key to solving this [hiring] problem [in the General Assembly] is to put in place sound human-resources practices — in this…
Everybody’s telling us to call our legislators. An email from the Rhode Island Statewide Coalition (RISC): THE WORST SCENARIO IS NOW UPON US, AS RISC HAS WARNED. IF THERE WERE EVER A TIME TO PICK UP YOUR PHONE OR EMAIL YOUR LEGISLATOR, IT IS NOW! THE LABOR UNIONS HAVE STRUCK A DEAL WITH HOUSE AND…
