With a vacancy emerging at the President’s office at Rhode Island College, top State House aides have told GoLocalProv that State Senate President Teresa Paiva Weed is a leading candidate to replace ousted President Nancy Carriuolo, in a move reminiscent of Billy Bulger's assumption of the Presidency of the University of Massachusetts.
Paiva Weed, who pushed through the legislation to collapse the two then-separate education boards into the all-powerful Board of Education, has an interest and a track record in education. But, such a move directly from the Senate Chamber to the Presidency of RIC may not be legal.
“I do not believe that a sitting member of the Assembly could take a position as president of a Rhode Island state college or university because of the Ethics Commission's revolving door ban,” said John Marion with Common Cause Rhode Island. “That sort of scenario is exactly why the revolving door exists, to prevent elected officials from taking advantage of their office to gain the upper leg in state employment.”
Greg Pare, spokesperson for Paiva Weed, said he “could not comment on rumors” on Sunday.
RIC’s current President Dr. Nancy Carriuolo announced her resignation in December, and will vacate the position following commencement in May. Carriuolo had served as RIC President since 2008, and had previously been Deputy Commissioner and Chief Academic Officer at the then-Rhode Island Office of Higher Education.
The Council on Postsecondary Education said it planned to begin search efforts for a new president starting in the new year, and noted that there will be an opportunity for the RIC community to offer their input in the search process — and that there are plans to schedule a forum on campus when students and faculty return for the spring semester.
Revolving Door
Paiva Weed, who is a retired lawyer, was first elected to the Rhode Island Senate in 1992, was named Chair of the Judiciary Committee in 1997, and was selected as Senate Majority Leader in 2004. Paiva Weed was elected Senate President in 2008, make her the first woman to hold the post in the history of the state.
If Paiva Weed were to make a move to RIC, the parallels to Bulger, who was the long serving President of the Massachusetts Senate before becoming President of the University of Massachusetts, would be unavoidable. Bulger was ultimately forced to resign from the position after refused to testify in a 2003 Congressional hearing regarding his brother James "Whitey" Bulger, Jr.
Historian and former Common Cause Executive Directer H. Philip West Jr. spoke to the “revolving door” statutes in Rhode Island — and times when it had been thwarted.
“I don’t think a state legislator could 'seek or accept' a position as president of a state college within a year,” said West. “Here’s a quick sketch of the history of both the Ethics Commission’s 1991 revolving door ban on state legislators taking state positions and of the law passed by the legislature in 1992:"
In November 1991, the Rhode Island Ethics Commission adopted the Revolving Door prohibition, 36-14-5007, which barred members of the General Assembly from seeking or accepting any “full time state employment, not held at the time of the member’s election, while serving in the General Assembly and for a period of one (1) year after leaving legislative office…”
In July 1992, the General Assembly enacted and Governor Sundlun signed the Revolving Door Law, 36-14-5 (n) and (o), which barred state elected officials and senior staff from seeking or accepting state employment for one year after leaving their appointive or elective posts. Both of these statutory provisions were carefully crafted to allow service as “senior policy-making, discretionary, or confidential positions,” or as department directors that would last only while a governor remained in office. Both included explicit permission for the Ethics Commission to authorize exceptions “where such exception would not create an appearance of impropriety.”
In November 1993, the Rhode Island Supreme Court unanimously upheld both the Ethics Commission’s regulation and the subsequent law enacted by the General Assembly. The justices emphasized the fact that these revolving door rules properly address “the imbroglio of public officials who use their present positions and contacts as unfair bargaining tactics in gaining future employment with the state or a municipality.”
Clearly, any of the colleges are “state agencies” under 36-14-2(8)(i). Any applicant would need to go to the commission for an advisory opinion, as outlined under 36-15-5(n)(4). You remember that the commission gave permission for Richard Licht and Tim Williamson to seek judicial positions. I doubt, however, that they would agree to a legislator moving directly to the RIC presidency.
Marion noted another recent example of an elected official who took a position with a public university — and the scrutiny it received.
“There was a very high profile case in Indiana where the sitting governor was appointed the president of Purdue University, which is a state school,” said Marion. “If you Google “Mitch Daniels and Purdue” you'll see broad editorial condemnation of the move.”
Former Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels was appointed as the President of Purdue while still in office in 2012; he began his tenure at the university in January 2013.
Related Slideshow: Winners and Losers in Raimondo’s FY17 Budget Proposal
An $80 million appropriation for construction and renovation, including of $9.1 million for the school building authority.
A $40 million general obligation bond to renovate and modernize school facilities with a focus on immediate health and safety, and investing in STEAM learning spaces.
A requirement that all schools post their actual budget online.
The Governor continues to address the pressing needs of the state’s children and the condition of the schools they attend in her FY17 budget proposal; the public could have the opportunity to follow-suit by approving the general obligation bond in November — or not.
While the Governor delved little into structural healthcare issues in her budget address on Tuesday (she did propose a multi-million dollar comprehensive strategy to address the opioid overdose epidemic which includes medication assisted treatments at the prisons, and $187,000 to combat lead poisoning), the Rhode Island Hospital Association immediately lauded the budget following its introduction, and addressed that while it is facing some reductions, that it "applauds" this years budget after landing on the "loser" list last year.
“The Hospital Association of Rhode Island applauds Governor Raimondo’s commitment to strengthening our state’s health care system,” said Michael R. Souza, president, Hospital Association of Rhode Island. “Although hospitals will face reductions in the proposed budget, we look forward to working with the General Assembly and Administration to implement lasting solutions that provide us the resources and tools necessary to transform the health care delivery system. Hospitals will continue to invest in innovation, technology, and a high-quality workforce with the continued support of our State partners.”
Proponents of affordable housing opportunities in the state notched a preliminary victory by landing a spot in the Governor's’s budget. Now they need to make it through the General Assembly — and garner approval from voters in November.
Said the Housing Network of RI following Raimondo's budget address:
The Housing Network of Rhode Island and its membership of sixteen nonprofit affordable housing developers wish to thank Governor Raimondo for recognizing the importance of state investment in housing opportunities for low and moderate income Rhode Islanders. As we all work together to reinvigorate the state’s economy, affordable housing development plays a critical role in our state’s recovery plan. Governor Raimondo’s inclusion of an affordable housing bond in her FY 17 budget will not only stimulate the creation of new housing and boost economic growth by creating jobs in the construction, retail and service industries, but will also bring substantial additional outside financial resources into our state.
Data shows that many Rhode Island households continue to struggle to find housing options that are affordable to them. According to HousingWorks RI, two in every five Rhode Island households are cost burdened, spending more than thirty percent of their income on housing. Governor Raimondo’s inclusion of an affordable housing bond recognizes this need and is a notable step towards addressing a major need of working class Rhode Islanders. We commend Governor Raimondo’s efforts and are grateful for her leadership on such an important issue.
Raimondo continues to try to stave off the “brain drain” in Rhode Island by supporting incentives to keep recent college grads in the state.
In her FY17 budget proposal, the Governor upped the Wavemaker Fellowship to $5 million to increase the loan forgiveness program, and through the Ocean State Grad Grant looks continue funding through RI Housing to provide recent college graduates with up to $7,000 in down payment assistance on a first home.
Good for employees, not so much for business owners. The Governor has proposed raising the state’s minimum wage to $10.10, making good on her campaign promise to do so (albeit one year later that planned).
The business community including the National Federation of Independent Business, who said that “any increase in the minimum wage will impact job create at small businesses for younger, less experience workers," continues to push back on the issue. The same arguments were made last year when the state raised the minimum wage to $9.60; watch and see if any new approaches are taken by employers during the session related to the issue.
First blush win for the state — the state gets more revenue ($7.1 million) by increasing the cigarette tax twenty-five cents from $3.75 to $4.00. The price per pack would still be less than neighboring Massachusetts ($9.78 in RI vs $10.18 if it goes through — it’s now currently $9.49 in RI). More Rhode Islanders might be deterred from smoking with the increased cost.
The National Federation of Independent Business, however, said the proposed increase in the cigarette tax will hurt small convenience stores. When CVS stopped selling cigarettes, those smaller stores undoubtedly saw the windfall. Can they absorb a small tax increase?
Medical Marijuana Caregivers - and State of Rhode Island
The RIDOH and DBR along with the State Police are calling for medical marijuana caregivers and cultivators to now pay an annual fee for a tag on every medical marijuana plant. The state entities claim that “under current law, the caregiver market lacks accountability and oversight” as opposed to compassion centers. The state agencies say that the tags amount to just 2 percent of the value of the marijuana produced.
The Governor and the General Assembly however need to address an underlying issue that has plagued them since the implementation of the medical marijuana — which is that the oversight committee as mandated by law has never once met. The state should be included on the “loser” list for failing to adhere to the mandate as required by law, as they would have the input from stakeholder and empirical evidence to what is working — or not — in the current law. Instead, the state is clamping down with zero input from the community.
“Governor Raimondo’s proposed budget does not provide for the substantial increase needed for home care agencies to comply with new federal and state mandates, the increased cost for delivering healthcare services in the home, the barriers that Rhode Islanders face when accessing home care, and the ability for home care agencies to retain direct care workers.”, said Nicholas Oliver, Executive Director of the Rhode Island Partnership for Home Care.
While the Governor proposed a seven-percent increase for Medicaid home and community-based long-term services and supports, including personal care attendant services provided by contracted home care agencies, the Governor also proposed another increase in the state’s minimum wage from $9.60 per hour to $10.10 per hour, a 50 cent increase. Because the current average home care aide starting wage is $10.50 per hour, the proposed increase, earmarked toward direct care worker wages, increases the wage to a minimum $11.00 per hour, but without financial support for compliance to the employer mandate for health insurance coverage under the Affordable Care Act for home care agency employees and compliance with the U.S. Department of Labor overtime and travel rules impacting home care. Oliver added, “The Governor’s proposed increase is nothing more than an inflation adjustment that otherwise establishes a ninth consecutive year of frozen rates. This budget proposal does not reflect in writing what the Governor has publicly stated in the past year, such as the need to rebalance long-term care, the need to shift funding toward home and community-based healthcare services over nursing homes, and her interest to establish a comparable wage for home care workers to their counterparts throughout the healthcare sector.”
Governor Gina Raimondo's budget proposal raised some eyebrows in Republican (and Libertarian) circles for the expansive role of the state government in market-based conditions.
Justin Katz with the free-market Center for Freedom and Prosperity offered the following budget release.
After budget addresses from progressive governors, free-market commentators frequently refer to the budget's focus on special interests, but Governor Raimondo's fiscal year 2017 budget is a stunningly special-interest budget. Nearly every item is directly targeted toward a particular narrow group of recipients. It's the kind of budget a chief executive puts forward when she doesn't trust the people of her state to make their own decisions. For example, despite a projected increase of $85 million in income and sales taxes, next year, the governor offers offers no broadbased tax reductions. In fact, she wants to add nearly $250 million in debt to the $300 million she wants to incur without voter approval for her RhodeWork's program.
In short, this budget doubles down on the strategy of remaking Rhode Island in the governor's image. If you fit her vision for the state, there's money for you. If you're one of the existing special interests, in Rhode Island, you'll like what you're getting. But if you're a regular Rhode Island chasing your own dreams according to your own lights and supporting your own responsibilities, you'll find yourself holding the bill, and without subsidies.
It comes as no surprise that the Governor remains committed to pushing through her newly revised RhodeWorks plan — which includes truck tolls — to address the state’s infrastructure needs. On Tuesday, Raimdondo said the state needs to “stop playing the politics of procrastination” with fixing the state’s bridges and roads.
Pay-go proponents — as well as public-private partnership ones — will have a short window to contest the Governor’s new plan to have a $300 million Garvee bond in order to support the program, which is on the fast track for consideration at the General Assembly with the Speaker’s stated goal of sealing the deal before the body breaks for February vacation.
Expect the opposition to remain heated in these coming weeks, however.
