Dear Neighbors:
With the conclusion of the legislative session, I will share my thoughts about the projects I worked on, and the “unfinished business” I would like to continue.
A. My Projects This Past Year
1. RIDOT and RIPTA Funding
I played a leading role in the General Assembly’s decision to add $5 million to the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA) budget, using funds from the budget of the Rhode Island Department of Transportation. Over the past four years, I have worked with advocates and colleagues to change RIPTA’s revenue to sustainable sources within the RIDOT budget (motor fuel tax, registration fees, etc.) replacing the ad hoc one-time funding sources of the past. With that said, there is more work to do, as RIPTA will need additional funds to pay for mandated “Ride Anywhere” and paratransit programs, an issue I would like to continue working on if returned to office in November.
2. RIDOT Performance Audit
I led the Senate effort to incorporate into the General Assembly budget a required performance audit of RIDOT’s maintenance program. As noted in my letters of December 14, January 11 and March 8, the Oversight Committee review of the Washington Bridge closure raised serious concerns about the efficiency of RIDOT’s operations. The “Road Woes” Report from WPRI-TV 12 raised the profile of these concerns further, noting RIDOT’s poor performance compared to other states. If returned to office in November, I would like to extend RIDOT’s audit to its highway and bridge construction program, and to redirect the funding where the audit leads to savings due to greater efficiency.
3. Other Projects
I sponsored the Rhode Island Genetic Information Privacy Act, which will prevent companies such as 23andMe from selling the genetic information it collects from customers without consent. I also sponsored legislation that passed the Senate (but not the House) to eliminate insurance copays for diagnostic and supplemental breast cancer imaging. I was not able to gain passage of legislation to reform the Providence Public Schools, or to commission a model of energy policy to measure consumer costs and greenhouse gas emissions.
B. Looking Ahead
If you return me to office, I will continue working on these projects, as well as others such as the Act On Climate Study Commission and improvements to the State’s education aid funding formula proposed by the Rhode Island Foundation’s Blue Ribbon Commission.
In order to do so, I will file my declaration of candidacy tomorrow (June 22) to begin my re-election campaign. I will receive nomination papers the following Monday (June 29) which I must return with at least 100 signatures to qualify for the ballot. To that end, I would appreciate your help by attending a “signing party” at my house next Tuesday, June 30 to sign my papers. This is not an exclusive process — you can sign the nomination papers of as many candidates for the same office, or different offices, for which you are eligible to vote. My invitation follows: