General Assembly

How Much Time Will There Be To Read the Pension Bill, Before Voting on the Pension Bill?

By Carroll Andrew Morse | September 27, 2011 |

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…

And Now About the Military Record…

By Justin Katz | September 23, 2011 |

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…

Should Rep. Dan Gordon Be Forced Out?

By Patrick Laverty | September 20, 2011 |

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…

Using the Legislature to Increase Union Leverage

By Justin Katz | September 1, 2011 |

Senator Frank Ciccone, who was a leading voice for legislation to generate some monopoly business for a particular media purchase agent and who makes $161,168 working for the Laborers’ State Council, wants to provide micromanagement-level oversight of quasi-public entities: In a letter that went out to the top administrators of these agencies on Aug. 25,…

Car Tax Shame All Around

By Justin Katz | August 29, 2011 |

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…

The Privilege of One-Party Rule

By Justin Katz | July 26, 2011 |

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”…

Gimme that Old-Tyme Constitutionalism!

By Carroll Andrew Morse | July 6, 2011 |

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…

A Legislature Shouldn’t Be Speaker Plus Advisers

By Justin Katz | July 5, 2011 |

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…

UPDATE: Providence Schools at the Center of the End of the Legislative Session

By Carroll Andrew Morse | June 30, 2011 |

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…

Providence Schools at the Center of the End of the Legislative Session?

By Carroll Andrew Morse | June 30, 2011 |

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…