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« June 22, 2007 | Today | June 25, 2007 » June 23, 2007Assembly: What they did, the uncut version / Photos
By early evening, the anticipated introduction of legislation allowing round-the-clock gambling at the state’s two slot parlors on weekends and holiday eves had also evaporated. But in a session that spanned more than 13 hours, lawmakers passed hundreds of bills in their race to adjournment, including a bill to allow people with disabilities, on public boards, to call in their votes by phone and another to ban forced overtime for nurses. Both were headed to the governor’s desk. Previously unseen bills surfaced – and passed - including one that would levy a new tax on the health-care bills paid by private insurers that, depending on who you talk to, could raise the health-insurance rates of the insured to create a new pool of money to help the uninsured. Another surfaced that was aimed at reversing a heavily criticized feature of the new state budget: the sentencing of 17-year-old criminals to the state prison to save money, because the Training School is more expensive. But it failed to pass both chambers. Lawmakers also went home without making any of the major revisions, sought by business owners, in the fire-code requirements adopted in the wake of The Station nightclub fire that killed 100 people. They debated a citizenship-verification bill that appeared the only survivor among a spate of dueling immigration-related bills. Despite House passage, the bills both died when the Senate refused to take them up. Continue reading ... -- By Katherine Gregg, Steve Peoples, Elizabeth Gudrais and Bruce Landis, Journal State House Bureau UNEXPECTED RECESS Three House members who are medical professionals – former municipal firefighters Rene R. Menard and Peter T. Ginaitt, and registered nurse Elizabeth M. Dennigan – rushed to Sullivan’s aid as rescue workers were called. Sullivan soon regained consciousness; House Speaker William J. Murphy explained that Sullivan hadn’t eaten much during the long day. Debate continued. Among the biggest shocks of the night was the House’s passage of Rep. Richard W. Singleton’s so-called Easter Bunny Protection Act, which was introduced in April, heard in early May, and moved to the floor last night without advance posting. Singleton’s bill responded to an incident in which Tiverton Schools Supt. William Rearick prohibited a parents’ group from sponsoring a photo booth featuring the Easter Bunny at a middle-school craft fair in March. A costumed Peter Rabbit appeared instead. The bill would have prohibited cities and towns and their subdivisions from enacting regulations “requiring the alteration of the name or concept of any religious or secular holiday or any religious or secular figure or symbol associated with any such holiday.” The House debated the bill for 30 minutes, then approved it at 11:13 p.m. on a vote of 55 to 12. The Senate, however, never took it up. POLLUTER FEES “It’s a vital piece of legislation,” said House Environment Committee Chairman Peter T. Ginaitt, D-Warwick. The existing law provides for $1,000 per day fines for violations, “an affordable cost” to a major company, Ginaitt said, while the bill would raise that to a maximum of $40,000 per day, a serious penalty even for a big company. And while the House passed the bill near 3:30 a.m., the Senate never took a vote, in effect killing the proposal for the year. There were four Tiverton residents watching incredulously from the front row of the Senate gallery. For the last five years, they have been living in a neighborhood contaminated with coal gasification waste allegedly dumped almost a century ago by the former Fall River Gas Co., which was bought by Southern Union Co. “I am angry,” said Gail Corvello. “How can they let our children be exposed to hazardous chemicals every day for the next six months? That is unconscionable.” The governor’s office said the higher fines in the new bill is “the difference between a feather duster and a Louisville Slugger,” according to the governor’s deputy chief of staff, John R. Pagliarini. Senate President Joseph A. Montalbano largely blamed the bill’s death on the governor for putting the bill in without consulting the Senate. “The Senate never agreed to legal fees,” he said. “They’re trying to justify spending $3.5 million in taxpayer money in legal fees.” The bill also would have required companies guilty of contamination to pay legal fees incurred by the state. But Montalbano wasn’t concerned with the language in the bill. He was upset that the DEM had paid nearly $800,000 to pay a Washington, D.C. law firm, and requested another $3.5 million, to fight Southern Union. The bill had nothing to do with those legal fees, although Senate Finance Committee Chairman Stephen D. Alves, D-West Warwick, later reiterated Montalbano’s concern. Gary Rose, another Tiverton resident, said he didn’t know what he and his neighbors would do next. “We’re flying by the seat of our pants right now,” he said, shaking his head in disbelief. GAMBLING HOURS As of May, the state’s official revenue estimators were anticipating a total of $256.3 million from video-gambling this year, and $271.1 million in the new state budget year that begins July 1. As to how much round-the-clock gambling on weekends and holidays might add to the state’s coffers, no one seemed to know. However, lawmakers — talking one-on-one with lobbyists for lottery giant GTECH and the Lincoln dog track — came away with the impression the state could raise an additional $17.5 million from Lincoln alone, and “$25 million to $30 million’’ more from the two facilities. Were those numbers pinned to extended weekend and holiday openings only, or to 24-hour, seven-day-a-week operations? No one could say. The new money would have been dedicated to local education aid. Governor Carcieri — the leading opponent of last year’s West Warwick casino proposal — gave the proposal his tacit approval. “If the town of Lincoln and the city of Newport are supportive, I would support that,” Carcieri told reporters after a news conference on Thursday. His director of communications, Steve Kass, cited what he called persuasive “public safety’’ arguments for extending the hours to reduce the rush of patrons out the door and onto the highways at closing time. Along the way, Rep. Sullivan recruited more than 30 co-signers for his bill to allow the 24-hour operations on weekends and the night before federally recognized holidays. But after talking privately with House Speaker William J. Murphy, D-West Warwick, Sullivan said he agreed that “with so much happening on the last day of the session,’’ it would be more responsible to introduce the bill early in next year’s session so the idea gets a “full committee vetting.’’ “We’ve all heard estimates as to what this might mean in terms of additional revenue,” Sullivan said. But, “without a firm grasp of how much revenue this would actually produce, I felt uncomfortable,’’ he said. Added Murphy during a break: “I don’t think I’ll personally have an objection,” but “we don’t have any numbers” and “at this point, this being most likely the last day of the session, we are not going to have time to go in tonight and have the Finance Committee vet the issue.’’
MUNICIPAL AID All together, the package was expected to raise $41 million for cities and towns. By 4 a.m., it was clear that the entire package was dead. The proposals, backed by the House leadership, were aimed at helping communities cope with the state budget finalized Thursday that stripped $19 million in state education aid from the governor’s proposal. Mayors and town administrators gathered at the State House this week to plead for help. It had been obvious early in the night that the package was in trouble. “They all came bombardiering up here because they want more money and they expect us to just start raising taxes to accommodate them?” House Minority Leader Robert A. Watson, R-East Greenwich, said of the mayors during a heated debate that found several Democrats joining the Republicans in attacking the proposed hikes. Among the most controversial was a bill to allow municipally owned water-supply companies, such as the Providence Water Supply Board, to add a “reasonable rate of return” — essentially, a profit — of at least 8 percent to their rates. More than 150,000 water customers would have been affected. But it was heated debate over a less-controversial fire-hydrant bill that set the tone. After nearly an hour of debate on the fire hydrant provision in which the chamber was largely divided, House Majority Leader Gordon Fox reluctantly withdrew that bill. Over the course of the rest of the session, Fox withdrew each tax proposal from the calendar when it was announced. But it wasn’t certain that a proposed tax on cable TV bills was dead until the House adjourned after 4 a.m. without voting on the measure. That had never been placed on the floor calendar, but as the rules had been suspended, it could have been brought up any time. The “video services tax” would have imposed a new 3.5-percent tax on all cable television and direct-broadcast satellite bills to raise a projected $7.68 million to be split among the cities and towns in proportion to their population. House leaders had been working to salvage one piece of the “municipal aid” package that initially included five bills: a hike in the real estate transfer tax from $2 to $3 on every $500 of selling price. But Fox gave up at close to 3 a.m. and moved to send the proposal back to the House Finance Committee. “It’s disappointing,” said Dan Beardsley, head of the Rhode Island League of Cities and Towns, which had pushed the package. “But it’s Friday night. It’s getting warm. It’s the last night of the session. It’s almost to be expected.” ANTI-PRIVATIZATION FIRE CODE The bill would have given business owners tax credits for installing sprinklers or new fire alarms, and would have exempted some theaters from sprinkler requirements if they doubled their exit capacity. It would have mitigated some of the stringent requirements adopted after The Station nightclub fire in West Warwick in 2003, which killed 100 people and injured 200 more. The legislation was the product of months of work by a House oversight commission co-chaired by Rep. Ginaitt and Rep. Joseph A. Trillo, R-Warwick. They were taking last-minute testimony, and crafting amendments in response, through Friday evening. Senate Majority Leader M. Teresa Paiva Weed said the bill simply came over too late for the Senate to consider, given that no senator sat on the commission and there was no Senate companion bill for the measure. But Ginaitt called that “a poor excuse” and said the Senate was welcome to be part of the process in any way they chose from the beginning. Ginaitt said the Senate had let down businesses that were counting on Assembly action. “You can’t even imagine the amount of work that’s gone into this,” he said. HOSPITAL BED TAX The chairman, Alves, said the anticipated $15 million in new revenue would go to reducing the number of Rhode Islanders who are underinsured or have no health insurance, with the method to be chosen by a legislative commission. Matthew Stark, policy chief in the health insurance commissioner’s office, said the money might be used in a number of ways, including allowing discounted insurance rates for employers with low-income employees or to raise the income eligibility level for federally supported health insurance for children. Stark said the 3-percent tax would probably translate into a 1-percent increase in insurance premiums. Blue Cross spokesman Scott A. Fraser left no doubt the cost would be passed on to the insured: “The money’s got to come from somewhere, and that’s our members.” DOMESTIC PARTNER BENEFITS The 54-16 vote came after 30 minutes’ debate, part of which consisted of Rep. Al Gemma, D-Warwick, reading the entire Senate vote into the record, name by name. House Majority Leader Gordon D. Fox, who is gay, spoke in support of the bill. “This is really about trying to be progressive,” he said, adding that his partner would not benefit from it. Fox said he chooses not to seek any benefits for his partner because he does not want to open himself up to criticism. SENTENCING OF 17-YEAR-OLDS The change is expected to save as much as $3.6 million because the cost of housing inmates at the Adult Correctional Institutions is much cheaper than at the Rhode Island Training School. But the plan to send 17-year-olds to adult prison brought a wave of opposition from national as well as local groups, including Human Rights Watch, The Sentencing Project and Rhode Island Kids Count. The Senate approved a bill proposed by the coalition, which would have raised the age of majority back to 18 and capped the number of inhabitants at the training school at 150. (There are more than 200 youths in the Training School now, officials said.) Putting young adults in prison “is not done in a civilized society,” said Sen. Daniel Issa, D-Central Falls. But the youths diverted from the Training School would have gone into community-based programs that also cost the state money, and Costantino, the House Finance chairman, said he wasn’t convinced the proposal could save as much money as advocates said it could. “That bill is not revenue neutral,” he said last night. And ultimately, no House committee ever considered the bill. CORRECTIONS The bills were part of a package aimed at reducing the state’s exploding prison population. Before this year’s legislative session even began, lawmakers were vowing to do something about prison costs, but specific measures did not begin to emerge from committees until the session’s final two weeks. Also on its way to the governor is a bill that would allow judges to waive the routine one-night stay at the Adult Correctional Institutions for people sentenced to serve on home confinement. Other proposals seemed destined for action when they moved through committees last week, but ultimately, lawmakers dropped proposals to increase the amount of time prisoners can get subtracted from their sentences for good behavior; release people who are incarcerated because they lack the money to pay court fines; and dismiss probation violations if people are not convicted of the criminal charge that constituted the violation. SEPARATION OF POWERS Common Cause of Rhode Island, the Conservation Law Foundation and Save the Bay unsuccessfully fought the resolution. The resolution’s supporters say the state Constitution gives the Assembly special responsibility for environmental matters, and therefore the CRMC should continue to include legislative appointees and lawmakers themselves. IMMIGRATION The American Civil Liberties Union had opposed the bill. So had several advocacy groups for immigrants, which said the bill encouraged discrimination against all immigrants, legal or illegal. Rep. Joseph S. Almeida, who voted against the bill, called supporting it “a vote against poor people, a vote against ethnic folks, and definitely a vote against human rights.” Rep. Elizabeth M. Dennigan, D-East Providence, stood up to oppose the bill, saying the database is full of errors and so ineffective it’s about to be phased out. The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Jon D. Brien, D-Woonsocket, said Dennigan was citing old information and that many problems with the database have been corrected. He also noted that more than 10 other states already mandated employers’ participation. House Majority Whip Peter F. Kilmartin, D-Pawtucket, said the Assembly should pass the bill to avoid a situation here like the one that recently occurred in New Bedford, Mass. On March 6, federal agents raided a factory there and detained 361 people accused of being in the United States illegally. The workers told of working conditions that included locked emergency exits, working without heat in the winter, and a $20 fine if they were one minute late for work. “These people are being used,” said Kilmartin, D-Pawtucket. He added: “This bill is not anti-immigration. It is anti-illegal immigration.” Rep. Richard W. Singleton, R-Cumberland, introduced many immigration-related bills throughout the session, but got none through. Singleton called Brien’s bill “a start.” HEALTH INSURANCE Costantino’s plan frees insurers from most of the mandates that govern health insurance, the idea being that they’ll be able to offer cheaper plans if they aren’t required to provide such comprehensive coverage. The American Cancer Society, the March of Dimes, the American Diabetes Association and AARP all opposed the bill on the grounds that it would leave people with less coverage than they need. They said people would forego diagnostic tests if the tests aren’t covered, and would struggle to pay high deductibles while still paying insurance premiums. The criticisms prompted Sen. Leo R. Blais, R-Coventry, to accuse the groups of “ignoring the reality” that many sick people are already uninsured and some coverage is better than none. “How can you be against making health insurance more affordable for people in this state?” Blais asked during a Health and Human Services Committee hearing. The bill challenges insurers to offer a premium equal to 7.5 percent of the average state wage, or $240 a month, for an individual plan. It does not spell out for them how to get there. The new plans aim to attract employers that do not currently offer health benefits. They will be open only to employers that have not offered coverage in at least a year. Also on its way to the governor is a bill that sets criteria for the state health insurance commissioner’s review of requests by Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island to compensate its board members. Health Insurance Commissioner Christopher F. Koller denied the insurer’s 2005 request to begin compensating its board. PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY CAMPAIGN FINANCE Rep. Thomas C. Slater, D-Providence, wanted to excuse everyone from mandatory online filing, saying the requirement was too onerous for candidates and officials who did not own computers or were not computer literate. Rep. Edith H. Ajello, D-Providence, fought Slater’s proposal, saying it would diminish the public’s ability to get information about who pays for campaigns and how candidates spend their money. Ajello said she is satisfied with the compromise because it makes the Board of Elections responsible for putting the information online, in the searchable database, within a day for candidates below the threshold. The board’s executive director, Robert Kando, has said the board doesn’t have enough staff to comply.
APPOINTMENTS Kerins, who lobbied in the past for the Narragansett Indians casino drive and this year for the Waste Management Association of Rhode Island and the Fraternal Order of Police, would replace the soon-to-retire Joseph Baffoni. Starting pay for the job is $98,670. With longevity bonuses, Baffoni makes $113,470. Kerins’ pay could not be determined. The full Senate approved Governor Carcieri’s nomination of Gary D. Alexander as director of the state Department of Human Services, a post that pays $138,000 a year. Carcieri nominated Alexander on a permanent basis last week. “I am confident that Gary will be able to provide the Department of Human Services with strong leadership in challenging times,” Carcieri said through spokesman Jeff Neal. All of Carcieri’s department heads required reconfirmation at the start of his second term. But not all have fared as well as Alexander. Department of Administration Director Beverly Najarian’s confirmation hearing was indefinitely postponed, and Carcieri withdrew the nomination of another facing defeat, Labor Director Adelita Orefice. Both can continue indefinitely until they or a replacement is confirmed. -- By Katherine Gregg, Steve Peoples, Elizabeth Gudrais and Bruce Landis, Journal State House Bureau kgregg@projo.com / (401) 277-7078 Posted by Andrea Panciera at 8:54 AM | Comment Assembly: What they did, at a glanceThe General Assembly finished its legislative work for the year overnight, in a marathon session ending at 4:04 a.m. Here's a quick look at major action taken over that one session spanning more than 13 hours: VETOES OVERRIDDEN Medical use of marijuana $7-billion state budget PASSED Eliminate mandatory minimum sentences for drug convictions Allow Sunday auto sales Prohibit nurses and certified nurse aides from being forced by their employers to work overtime Limit the ability of companies providing homeowners insurance to institute excessive deductibles on coastal properties Prohibit Newport from using zoning to block more slot machines at Newport Grand Ask the state Supreme Court whether separation of powers applies to the Coastal Resources Management Council Prevent judges from getting pension credit for time spent on unpaid leave Eliminate the in-state residency requirements that applied to some state employees Allow youths to preregister to vote at age 16, with registration automatic at 18 Pull state pension investments out of firms that do business with the Sudanese government Require birth certificates for stillborn babies Remove threat that a charitable contribution here will cost the donor residency in a more tax-friendly state Prohibit “human trafficking’’ Place time limits on building permits Allow a board of five Central Falls residents, appointed by the mayor, to run the federal Donald W. Wyatt Detention Facility directly. FAILED Move up the date of the presidential primary Freeze Newport Grand’s slice of the video lottery terminal revenue pie five additional years Relax fire-code requirements to ease the burden on businesses Finance a $41-million municipal aid package with tax and rate hikes on cable TV, real estate transfers, water and fire alarms Raise the fine on polluters from $1,000 to $40,000 a day Force lawmakers to pay part of the premium cost for their health insurance -- By Katherine Gregg, Steve Peoples, Elizabeth Gudrais and Bruce Landis, Journal State House Bureau Posted by Andrea Panciera at 7:57 AM | Comment Assembly: Wrapped up for the year at 4:04 a.m.PROVIDENCE — Despite pressure from municipal leaders and unions to add money to the local-aid pot, lawmakers squelched a $41-million package of eleventh-hour tax-and-fee increases before closing up shop for the year at 4:04 a.m. By early evening, the anticipated introduction of legislation allowing round-the-clock gambling at the state’s two slot parlors on weekends and holiday eves had also evaporated. But in a session that spanned more than 13 hours, lawmakers passed hundreds of bills in their race to adjournment, including a bill to allow people with disabilities, on public boards, to call in their votes by phone and another to ban forced overtime for nurses. Both were headed to the governor’s desk. Previously unseen bills surfaced – and passed - including one that would levy a new tax on the health-care bills paid by private insurers that, depending on who you talk to, could raise the health-insurance rates of the insured to create a new pool of money to help the uninsured. Another surfaced that was aimed at reversing a heavily criticized feature of the new state budget: the sentencing of 17-year-old criminals to the state prison to save money, because the Training School is more expensive. But it failed to pass both chambers. Lawmakers also went home without making any of the major revisions, sought by business owners, in the fire-code requirements adopted in the wake of The Station nightclub fire that killed 100 people. They debated a citizenship-verification bill that appeared the only survivor among a spate of dueling immigration-related bills. Despite House passage, the bills both died when the Senate refused to take them up. More to come ... -- By Katherine Gregg, Steve Peoples, Elizabeth Gudrais and Bruce Landis, Journal State House Bureau
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