Dear Neighbors:
I hope you took a moment to observe the Juneteenth holiday last Thursday, which this year marked the 160th anniversary of the final abolition of slavery in our country. The General Assembly stayed in recess for the holiday. We returned Friday for a marathon session that concluded at 1:30 Saturday morning with the passage of this year’s budget and consideration of a host of bills. In this week’s letter, I will discuss two highlights, namely the assault weapons bills and the RIPTA budget.
A. The Assault Weapons Bills
This year’s General Assembly considered two versions of legislation to regulate assault weapons (a disputed term that generally includes military style firearms that can fire multiple rounds at a time). The session began with both chambers considering the same bill, which regulated a broader group of weapons, and which prohibited the sale, manufacture or acquisition of assault weapons not previously owned. The House of Representatives passed the bill. The Senate bill was co-sponsored by 24 of the body’s 38 members (including me). It was referred to the Judiciary Committee, whose 10 members were equally divided on this issue. The committee ultimately approved an amended version that narrowed the scope of regulated firearms, and removed the prohibition of possession of newly acquired ones. The Rhode Island Coalition Against Gun Violence criticized the Senate amended bill as being inadequate.
What followed was a civics lesson in legislative procedure. Senator Lauria asked the President to allow the full Senate to vote on the House bill, but that request was denied. Later, she filed a motion to amend the Senate bill to bring it back into conformance with the House version. The motion was ruled out of order. Instead, the only bill on the docket was the amended Senate version. Even though the 24 Senators considered the amended bill inadequate, we voted in favor of the only available choice. Later that night the House of Representatives passed the amended Senate bill. These events demonstrated the importance of leadership decisions to (1) assign members to committees and (2) assign bills to committees. In this case, the consequence of those decisions was to prevent the full Senate from having the opportunity to vote on a bill that almost two thirds of us had co-sponsored.
B. The RIPTA Budget
The Governor’s budget contained a $32.3 million gap for the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA). The General Assembly budget included $14.6 million of additional funding, and RIPTA identified $6.5 million of possible savings and efficiencies, reducing the gap to around $11 million. While this represented progress, the remaining gap promises grim consequences for the thousands of Rhode Islanders who rely upon public transit every day. Last week, the CEO of RIPTA wrote a letter to the House of Representatives warning that, absent additional funding, RIPTA would have to lay off 90 employees to balance budget, causing a 20% reduction in fixed service routes and a loss of 150,000 service hours.
Based on this information, I filed a proposed budget amendment to redirect $10.2 million (of proceeds from the motor fuel tax and various vehicle registration fees) from the Department of Transportation to RIPTA. I explained to my colleagues that this redirection would have only a modest impact on RIDOT’s $800 million budget, but would avert damaging changes to those Rhode Islanders who depend on public transportation. Unfortunately, the Senate did not vote to approve the amendment. We will now have to see how RIPTA manages to balance its budget, and how its cutbacks affect Rhode Islanders.
C. The Legislative Calendar
The principal General Assembly session concluded for the year, but there are two possible reasons for us to return in the fall. If the Governor appoints one or more new judges, the Senate will return to vet the appointment for confirmation. Also, if the federal budget has significant impacts on federally funded State programs, the General Assembly may return to adjust those programs accordingly.
Until then, best wishes for an enjoyable summer.