Rhode Island House

Bills Introduced to the Rhode Island House by Committee, February 15-16

By Carroll Andrew Morse | March 3, 2011 |

Corporations Committee Environment and Natural Resources Committee Finance Committee Health, Education, and Welfare Municipal Government Committee Labor

Bills Introduced to the Rhode Island House (Judiciary Committee), February 15-16

By Carroll Andrew Morse | March 3, 2011 |

A large number of bills were submitted into the Rhode Island House and referred to the Judiciary Committee, the week before the spring recess. A few of the highlights are above the fold, the complete set is below. Significant Rewrites with Statewide Impact H5347 Constitutional amendment for voter initiative and referendum. H5405 The sentence for…

When the the Rules Don’t Work to the Teachers’ Union Advantage, Obviously the Rules Must Immediately Be Changed

By Carroll Andrew Morse | March 2, 2011 |

In yesterday’s Projo, Linda Borg reported that Providence Teachers Union President Steve Smith wants Mayor Angel Tavares to reconsider his decision to formally dismiss all of the teachers in the Providence School System…The Providence Teachers Union president offered the School Board another option Monday night: send out letters that include the possibility of layoffs and…

Bills Introduced to the Rhode Island House (Municipal Government Committee), February 8-10

By Carroll Andrew Morse | February 14, 2011 |

Targeted Changes with Statewide Impact H5300Repeals the requirement that municipalities and other state agencies report disability parking enforcement to the “the governor’s commission on disabilities”. H5301Municipalities and water districts can use non-licensed plumbers to replace water meters. (There is a heavy Newport presence in the sponsorship.) H5302Changes regulations on notification of property tax rate changes.…

Bills Introduced to the Rhode Island House (Health, Education and Welfare Committee), February 8-10

By Carroll Andrew Morse | February 14, 2011 |

Targeted Changes with Statewide Impact H5284From the official description: This act would authorize and direct the state building code standards committee to update the state building code so as to be consistent with the revisions to the Americans with Disabilities Act. H5285Raises the limits on how much health-care providers and hospitals can spend on equipment…

Bills Introduced to the Rhode Island House (Labor Committee), February 8-10

By Carroll Andrew Morse | February 14, 2011 |

Significant Rewrites with Statewide Impact H5295 From the official description: “This act would authorize the department of corrections to enter into agreements with other state and federal agencies in order to allow inmates to provide labor on conservation projects and would establish a correctional facility garden for inmates to develop gardening skills and provide fresh…

Bills Introduced to the Rhode Island House (Judiciary Committee), February 8-10

By Carroll Andrew Morse | February 14, 2011 |

Significant Rewrites with Statewide Impact H5287Changes various exemptions to the “Hazardous Waste Cleanup” law. H5289Would require sellers of electronic equipment and/or power tools to be licensed by the Attorney General. H5308Privileges communications between public-safety personnel and their “critical incident stress management team or peer-support members”. H5311From the official description: “This act would repeal all Class…

Bills Introduced to the Rhode Island House (Corporations Committee), February 8-10

By Carroll Andrew Morse | February 14, 2011 |

Significant Rewrites with Statewide Impact H5275Requires that health insurance cover autism spectrum disorders. H5276Charges the RI Health Commissioner with using his powers to promote “patient centered medical homes”. H5279Authorizes a corporate entity called a “low-profit limited liability company”. H5305Establishes various administrative procedures regarding health-care provider contracts and rate negotiations. Targeted Changes with Statewide Impact H5274Aggregate…

Bills Introduced to the Rhode Island House (Finance Committee), February 8-10

By Carroll Andrew Morse | February 14, 2011 |

Starting with this set of posts, I will post the bills introduced to the legislature each week in separate postings, according to the initial committees that a bill gets referred to. This will help make the the posts more readable (with the exception of one committee, which I will mention in the near future…) The…

Bills Introduced to the Rhode Island House (Criminal and Civil Offense Focus), January 25 – February 3

By Carroll Andrew Morse | February 7, 2011 |

Significant Rewrites with Statewide Impact H5125Defines crimes of assault, battery and manslaughter against an unborn child. (Same as H5029?) H5129Changes registration and notification requirements for sexual offenders. H5132From the official description: “This act would require the collection of DNA samples for any person arrested for a crime of violence [and] expand the list of crimes…