Politics & Government
This Week at the General Assembly
A weekly round-up of legislative action in the Rhode Island General Assembly.
District Court rearrangement signed into law
Legislation (2011-H 5131aa, 2011-S 0117A) sponsored by House Majority Whip J. Patrick O’Neill (D-Dist. 59, Pawtucket) and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Michael J. McCaffrey (D-Dist. 29, Warwick) to ease overcrowding at the J. Joseph Garrahy Judicial Complex in Providence by rearranging the jurisdictions of Rhode Island’s district courts was signed into law by Gov. Lincoln D. Chafee.
District Court cases from a number of towns in Providence County – Glocester, Lincoln, North Providence, North Smithfield, and Smithfield — will now be moved to the new Gov. Philip W. Noel Judicial Complex in Warwick.
Find out what's happening in Johnstonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Johnston has been bringing cases to the Warwick courthouse since 2007.
Find out what's happening in Johnstonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Legislation to protect Social Security numbers signed into law
It is now illegal for merchants or retailers in Rhode Island to ask for all or any part of a customer’s Social Security number, for any reason. Legislation to expand the Social Security privacy laws by expressly prohibiting the use of or request for any part of an individual’s number has been approved by the General Assembly and signed into law by the governor. The bills (2011-S 0179 / 2011-H 5202) were sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Dominick J. Ruggerio (D-Dist. 4, Providence, North Providence) and Rep. Brian Patrick Kennedy (D-Dist. 38, Hopkinton, Westerly).
Click here to see news release.
Assembly passes renewable energy bills
The General Assembly approved bills to encourage the development of renewable energy in Rhode Island. The package includes legislation (2011-S 0457A, 2011-H 5939A) sponsored by Sen. Maryellen Goodwin (D-Dist. 1, Providence) and Rep. John M. Carnevale (D-Dist. 13, Providence, Johnston) to coordinate Rhode Island’s net-metering law with federal policy; a bill (2011-S 0723Aaa, 2011-H 6104Aaa) sponsored by Sen. Joshua Miller (D-Dist. 28, Cranston, Warwick) and Rep. Deborah Ruggiero (D-Dist. 74, Jamestown, Middletown) to promote small to mid-sized renewable energy projects; and a third bill (2011-S 0721A, 2011-H 6222Aaa) sponsored by Sen. William A. Walaska (D-Dist. 30, Warwick) and Rep. Christopher R. Blazejewski (D-Dist. 2, Providence, East Providence) to reduce delays in renewable energy projects by setting timelines for National Grid to complete engineering studies for connecting projects to the grid. The bills will now be transmitted to the governor.
Click here to see news release.
Bill barring cell phone use by prisoners signed into law
Legislation sponsored by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Michael J. McCaffrey (D-Dist. 29, Warwick) and Rep. Raymond H. Johnston Jr. (D-Dist. 61, Pawtucket) banning prisoners from possessing any portable electronic communication device has been signed into law by the governor. Under the new law (2011-S 0767A, 2011-H 5660A), possession of a cell phone by an Adult Correctional Institutions inmate is a crime punishable by a $5,000 fine, a maximum of five years more in prison, or both.
Bill limiting restraints on pregnant prisoners becomes law
Legislation sponsored by Sen. Rhoda E. Perry (D-Dist. 3, Providence) and Rep. Donna M. Walsh (D-Dist. 36, Charlestown, New Shoreham, South Kingstown, Westerly) to limit physical restraints on pregnant inmates has been signed into law. The Healthy Pregnancies for Incarcerated Women Act (2011-S 0165 A, 2011-H 5257A) calls for the least restrictive restraints necessary in the second or third trimester of pregnancy, and expressly prohibits their use during labor if the prisoner does not pose a serious threat of physical harm or escape.
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