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Aquidneck Island’s Legislators Sponsor Dozens of Bills in First Two Weeks of 2016 General Assembly

January 17, 2016

Rhode_Island_State_House_2 — Rhode Island State House

The 2016 Rhode Island General Assembly kicked off the new year and the new session on Tuesday, January 15th. Aquidneck Island’s seven State Representatives have been quite busy introducing dozens of bills that range form topics such as charter schools, cell phone use, animals and more.

Here’s what our State Representatives have done in the first two weeks of the 2016 General Assembly, followed by 20 bills to watch.

Representative Lauren Carson (District 75, Newport) sponsored 9 bills, 3 of them she was the prime sponsor.
Representative Deborah Ruggiero (District 74, Jamestown and Middletown) sponsored 10 bills, 5 of them she was the prime sponsor.
Representative Marvin Abney (District 73, Newport and Middletown) sponsored 15 bills, 1 of them he was the prime sponsor.
Representative Daniel Reilly (District 72, Middletown and Portsmouth) sponsored 13 bills, 3 of them he was the primary sponsor.
Representative Dennis Canario (District 71, Portsmouth, Little Compton and Tiverton) sponsored 15 bills, 2 of them he was the primary sponsor.
Representative John Edwards (District 70, Portsmouth and Tiverton) sponsored 21 bills, 14 of them he was the primary sponsor.
Representative Raymond Gallison (District 69, Portsmouth and Bristol) sponsored 8 bills, 2 of them he was the primary sponsor.

20 BILLS TO WATCH

House Bill No. 7119

BY Lancia, Malik, Azzinaro, Reilly, Costa

ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO PUBLIC PROPERTY AND WORKS (Creates a veteran’s preference in the issuance of state contracts.)

{LC3512/1}

01/13/2016 Introduced, referred to House Finance
House Bill No. 7144

BY Costa, Nardolillo, Trillo, Giarrusso, Reilly

ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES – ESTABLISHING MANDATORY MINIMUM SENTENCE FOR ILLEGAL REENTRY INTO THE UNITED STATES (Prohibits any alien from entering or attempting to enter the state of Rhode Island after unlawfully reentering the United States after prior removal.)

{LC3079/1}

01/13/2016 Introduced, referred to House Judiciary
House Bill No. 7192

BY Morgan, Roberts, Price, Reilly, Filippi

ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO PUBLIC FINANCE — BRIDGE REPAIRS (Establishes a bridge works restricted receipt account to fund the maintenance and repair of bridges located within the state with various source of funding.)

{LC3599/1}

01/14/2016 Introduced, referred to House Finance
House Bill No. 7010

BY Ruggiero, Shekarchi, Kennedy, Blazejewski, Abney

ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION – SALES AND — USE TAXES – LIABILITY AND COMPUTATION (Provides a sales/use tax holiday on August 6, 2016, only subject to renewal/continuation by the general assembly for future years thereafter.)

{LC3340/1}

01/06/2016 Introduced, referred to House Finance
House Bill No. 7106

BY Hearn, Ruggiero, Marcello, Malik, Fogarty

ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO EDUCATION – TEACHERS’ RETIREMENT (Imposes a yearly earnings limitation on retired teachers serving as substitute teachers.)

{LC3397/1}

01/08/2016 Introduced, referred to House Finance
House Bill No. 7115

BY Blazejewski, Ruggiero, Barros, Morin, Diaz

ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO HUMAN SERVICES-CHILD CARE ASSISTANCE (Increases the income eligibility limit for the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) to 200% of the federal poverty level (from 180%).)

{LC3750/1}

01/13/2016 Introduced, referred to House Finance
House Bill No. 7008

BY Blazejewski, Johnston, Solomon, Coughlin, Abney

ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO HIGHWAYS – SIDEWALKS (Requires the director of the department of transportation to complete snow removal on state sidewalks and walkways within twenty-four (24) hours after the end of a snowstorm.)

{LC3349/1}

01/06/2016 Introduced, referred to House Finance
House Bill No. 7067

BY Barros, Coughlin, Blazejewski, Johnston, Abney

ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO EDUCATION — MUNICIPAL FUNDING OF CHARTER SCHOOLS (Eliminates a city or town’s financial obligations to pay for their students enrollment in charter schools..)

{LC3426/1}

01/07/2016 Introduced, referred to House Finance
House Bill No. 7114

BY Barros, Abney, Tobon, Coughlin, Solomon

ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION — PERSONAL INCOME TAX (Increases the Rhode Island earned income credit from twelve and one-half percent (12.5%) to fifteen and one-half percent (15.5%).)

{LC3430/1}

01/13/2016 Introduced, referred to House Finance
House Bill No. 7194

BY Casey, Abney, Azzinaro, Lancia, Malik

ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION – PROPERTY SUBJECT TO TAXATION-VETERANS’ EXEMPTIONS (Gives cities and towns the option of entirely exempting the homestead of a disabled veteran or their surviving spouse from taxation.)

{LC3595/1}

01/14/2016 Introduced, referred to House Municipal Government
House Bill No. 7155

BY Nardolillo, Diaz, Jacquard, Canario, Shekarchi

ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO MOTOR AND OTHER MOTOR VEHICLES — EQUIPMENT AND ACCESSORIES GENERALLY (Requires that all new school buses purchased or leased for use in the state be equipped with seat belt assemblies for each passenger and operator seat.)

{LC3564/1}

01/14/2016 Introduced, referred to House H.E.W.
House Bill No. 7161

BY Filippi, Canario, Gallison

ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO INSURANCE (Requires insurance policies to provide coverage for the use of telecommunication services rendered to subscribers who reside on islands located within the state that are not connected to the mainland by any bridge or other structure.)

{LC3417/1}

01/14/2016 Introduced, referred to House Corporations
House Bill No. 7184

BY Edwards, Costa, Canario, Solomon

ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION – SALES AND — USE TAXES – LIABILITY AND COMPUTATION (Repeals the sales tax on pet care services.)

{LC3696/1}

01/14/2016 Introduced, referred to House Finance
House Bill No. 7061

BY Solomon, Edwards, Palangio, Williams, Serpa

ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO ANIMALS AND ANIMAL HUSBANDRY – DOGS (Requires that the sheltering and nourishment of dogs conform to the industry standards established by the Tufts Animal Care and Conditions Scale regarding outside sheltering, proper nourishment, sanitary conditions, and physical condition.)

{LC3447/1}
House Resolution No. 7170

BY McLaughlin, Azzinaro, Costantino, Edwards, Hull

ENTITLED, HO– USE RESOLUTION RECOGNIZING THE FETUS AS A HUMAN LIFE UPON THE EXISTENCE OF A HEARTBEAT

{LC3043/1}

01/14/2016 Introduced, referred to House Judiciary
House Bill No. 7206

BY Edwards, Azzinaro, Corvese, McLaughlin, Lancia

ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES — FETAL PROTECTION ACT (Establishes the Fetal Protection Act, establishing certain actions to unborn children as crimes.)

{LC3689/1}

01/15/2016 Introduced, referred to House Judiciary
House Bill No. 7108

BY Morin, Casey, Maldonado, Phillips, Carson

ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO EDUCATION – LOW AND MODERATE INCOME HOUSING (Increases education aid to a community based on community’s meeting and surpassing minimum low and moderate income housing requirements.)

{LC3572/1}

01/08/2016 Introduced, referred to House Finance
House Bill No. 7168

BY Fogarty, Tanzi, Carson, Hull, Johnston

ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO MOTOR AND OTHER VEHICLES — MOBILE TELEPHONE — USE (Prohibits the use of a non-hands-free personal wireless communication device while operating a motor vehicle with certain public or safety personnel and emergency situations.)

{LC3737/1}

01/14/2016 Introduced, referred to House Judiciary
House Bill No. 7199

BY Regunberg, Carson, Ajello, Handy, Almeida

ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES — WEAPONS (Criminalizes the manufacture, import, possession, purchase, sale or transfer of any ammunition feeding device capable of accepting more than ten (10) rounds.)

{LC3670/1}

01/15/2016 Introduced, referred to House Judiciary
House Bill No. 7210

BY Carson, O’Brien, Shekarchi, Winfield, McEntee

ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION – PERSONAL INCOME TAX (Exempts military pension income from personal income tax.)

{LC3663/1}

01/15/2016 Introduced, referred to House Finance