Just a week after being appointed the House Finance Committee Chairman, Providence Journal reports that Representative Marvin Abney (D-Dist. 73, Newport, Middletown) has had to correct his latest ethic filings after failing to disclose his wife’s position on the Board of the Newport Housing Authority, an organization that has received/receives grants from the Rhode Island General Assembly.
More: New R.I. House Finance Chairman Corrects Ethics Filing To Include Wife’s Board Position
House Speaker Nicholas A. Mattiello announced on May 3rd the appointment of Representative Abney as chairman of the House Finance Committee after former Representative Ray Gallison resigned amid an investigative probe.
Representative Abney was elected to the House in 2012, and has previously served on the Health, Education and Welfare Committee and the Veterans’ Affairs Committee, in addition to the Finance Committee, where he served on the Education and Human Services Subcommittees this term. The Finance Committee is considered the most influential of the House committees, since it is in charge of developing the state budget as well as other matters that have a financial impact on the state. It is also one of the busiest committees, meeting daily for much of the session.