What Will (and Won’t) Get Accomplished in RI General Assembly in 2016
Tuesday, May 17, 2016
The 2016 Rhode Island General Assembly session is entering its final weeks. What will and won’t get accomplished this year?
From the controversial RhodeWorks truck toll legislation approved earlier in the session to the recent introduction of ethics reform legislation, the Assembly has tackled a number of hot button issues and still has to go through continued budget deliberations — as lawmakers seeking reelection are well aware of the ramifications of votes come November.
SLIDES: What’s Been Approved, What’s Likely, and What’s Not Likely - BELOW
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST“I am focusing my attention on the passage of a budget that will continue to support job creation and assist the business community and other sectors of our state’s economy,” said Speaker of the House Nicholas Mattiello on Monday. "Last year, the House passed an historic and unanimous budget in record time because of our care and deliberation and focus on jobs and the economy. We will do the same this year by continuing to look at further tax relief and other tax reductions for Rhode Island’s middle class.”
House Deputy Minority Leader Patricia Morgan said that the state’s structural deficiencies would be hard to overcome in her opinion, however.
“I keep referring to our economy as the Charlie Brown Christmas tree,” said Morgan. “It’s starved, the roots are bad, and the Governor has proposed all these beautiful ornaments. Rebuilding RI! Let’s pay companies to come here! Let’s repay kids’ student loans! Meanwhile, what we need is for the tree to be healthy, but that would take political effort and capital to get it done. We don’t want to keep paying companies to come here. Anytime you give something to someone — and when you have to take it back, they’re not going to be happy. It takes a lot of effort"
Republicans, Taxpayer Groups
The House Judiciary Committee is holding a hearing on the recently introduced ethics reform legislation, that has the backing of House and Senate Democratic leadership (as well as former Common Cause Director Phil West), but some critics are not happy with the carve-out of oversight of the General Assembly during campaign time.
“I have high hopes for the restoration of Ethics oversight over the General Assembly. The RI GOP is hoping for a version that isn't watered down as presented last week,” said RI GOP Chair Brandon Bell. “On the proposed 2/3 vote of Ethics Commission to adopt a new ethics regulation, only in RI would it be easier to impose new burdensome regulations on businesses (simple majority) than to strengthen the ethics code governing public officials.”
“On the proposed black out period, the Ethics Commission should not be prohibited from doing its job during the campaign season,” said Bell. “They should be able to initiated complaints and the law currently prohibits members of the public from the filing of frivolous complaints.”
Taxpayer advocacy group OSTPA outlined their priorities, and acknowledged those they said they did not see happening.
“OSTPA would like to see a strong, good-government agenda move forward by the end of this legislative session, including real ethics reform, elimination of the legislative grant program, the governor’s line item veto, legislation that addresses Medicaid and EBT fraud and, if it’s not too much to ask, legislator term limits,” said Pam Gencarella with OSTPA. “Although we don’t see it happening, we would like to see the toll legislation reversed and support for funding bridge repair through spending reprioritization, most notably, beginning with the savings from elimination of the legislative grants.”
The Rhode Island Center for Freedom and Prosperity was not optimistic on the session's outlook when reached on Monday.
"Although we would love to see some of our initiatives pass through, such as the Bright Today school choice scholarship program, the likelihood is that this session will be like most sessions... leaving us hoping that some of the worst legislation does not pass," said Justin Katz with the Center. "In those terms, we're hoping that legislation to expand renewable energy mandates, stifle innovation by imposing regulations on ride-sharing services, and usurping the rights of employers by forcing them into arduous systems for employee payments."
Progressive Dems Bolstered
The state’s Progressive Democrats, bolstered by a win by Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders over Hillary Clinton in the Democratic Presidential primary last month, said they hoped they had the momentum to counter the more conservative faction of the party in Rhode Island.
“The elimination of the proposed estate tax cut in the budget -- which would have been yet another giveaway to millionaires — would be a major win for the progressive movement,” said Sam Bell with the Progressive Democrats. “With the defeat of the stadium deal, Bernie's huge win, and a strong slate of primary challengers, this is shaping up to be a comeback year for true Democrats in Rhode Island. I believe that momentum has resulted in a budget that is more ideologically moderate than last year’s.”
Related Slideshow: What Will (and Won’t) Get Accomplished in RI General Assembly in 2016
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