The Senate Judiciary committee will meet Thursday to hear two same-sex marriage bills, including one that would legalize same-sex marriage — the Senate version of the bill that passed the House in January. The committee is not planning to vote on the legislation at this meeting, said Greg Pare, director ...
Rhode Island lawmakers introduced legislation Feb. 28 targeted to improve how the state’s public colleges and universities offer academic credit to veterans for specific skills learned during their military service. The Education Assistance for Combat Veterans Act is designed to help veterans finish ...
A new R.I. Department of Education policy that would require high school juniors to receive a grade of partial proficiency or higher on the New England Common Assessment Program to graduate has stirred heated debate, garnering opposition from Mayor Angel Taveras and several student advocacy groups. Under ...
State Sen. Juan Pichardo, D-Providence, recently introduced a joint resolution — which has the legal standing of a normal bill — that would allocate $1.75 million to build homes for veterans. The money would fund up to 69 units, which would house about half of the state’s homeless veterans. Though ...
A bill introduced in the R. I. House of Representatives Feb. 14 would require the state’s gun owners register their firearms with a state licensing authority and pay a $100 registration fee per gun. Gun owners who fail to register their firearms could face up to three years in prison or a $3,000 ...
Providence won the $5 million grand prize in the Bloomberg Philanthropies Mayors Challenge yesterday, according to a press release from Mayor Angel Taveras’ office. The contest — sponsored by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s charitable organization — called for submissions of inventive ideas ...
Kelsey Smith The House Corporations Committee held a hearing Wednesday on the Kelsey Smith Act, a piece of legislation that would require telecommunications companies provide law enforcement officials information about the location of an individual who has been abducted if calls placed to or from the ...
President Christina Paxson signed a petition in February calling for the Rhode Island General Assembly to legalize same-sex marriage. Her signature on the petition marks the first time she has taken a public stance on the issue. Paxson signed onto the Rhode Island Business Leaders for Marriage Equality ...
Rhode Island Superior Court Judge Sarah Taft-Carter voted to uphold last year’s Providence pension reform Monday. Taft-Carter ruled that the pension agreement was “fair, reasonable and adequate,” according to a press release. Providence Mayor Angel Taveras negotiated last year’s reform as ...
The Rhode Island Public Transit Authority recently released two proposed scenarios for sweeping changes to its operations, which will change RIPTA’s 50-plus routes in order to enhance its speed, convenience and ease of use. Services will be redirected from underused lines to routes with higher demand, ...
Cluck!, a new farming and supplies store, will open this month on the West Side after receiving approval from the Providence Zoning Board Feb. 20. The board approved the store’s zoning variance in a 4-1 vote, allowing Cluck! to open at the corner of Broadway and Courtland streets. The store’s ...
The Rhode Island Foundation, the state’s only community nonprofit foundation, announced the establishment of a new department of Strategy and Public Affairs last month. Jessica David, vice president for strategy and public affairs, will preside over the new department, according to a foundation press ...
Two neighborhoods in Providence have been selected to pilot Evidence2Success, a program to improve behavioral and academic outcomes for children and strengthen ties between schools, government agencies and local organizations. Evidence2Success — which was developed by the Annie Casey Foundation, ...
A bill to ban grocery store use of plastic bags statewide was introduced into the General Assembly earlier this month by Rep. Maria Cimini, D-Providence. Plastic bags have already been banned in all the counties of Hawaii and in cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle and nearby Barrington, ...
An article in Gov. Lincoln Chafee’s ’75 P’14 state budget proposal that would grant Rhode Island businesses partial reimbursement for offering paid internships is currently under review in the state’s House and Senate finance committees. Eligible businesses would receive state funding for up ...
Local business owners, chamber of commerce representatives and a spokesperson from Woonsocket-based pharmaceutical company CVS spoke in favor of the lower corporate tax rate and against tax credit reductions proposed in Gov. Lincoln Chafee’s ’75 P’14 budget during a state House Committee on Finance ...
Under 21 clubbin The era of 18-and-older club nights might be coming to an end in Rhode Island — a state lawmaker has introduced legislation that would ban individuals under the age of 21 from attending clubs that serve alcohol. Rep. Joy Hearn, D-Barrington and East Providence, said in a press release ...
More than two-thirds of Rhode Island voters support same-sex marriage legislation, according to a poll conducted by the Taubman Center for Public Policy in February. Approximately 60 percent of respondents said they favor legalizing same-sex marriage, while 26.1 percent said they oppose same-sex marriage ...
Rep. Scott Slater, D-Providence, introduced legislation in the General Assembly that would ban employers in the state from having a box on a job application that asks about the applicant’s criminal history and asking about criminal records in preliminary job interviews. The ‘ban the box’ legislation ...
Legislation proposed in the State Senate in February would expand the state’s temporary disability insurance program to cover workers who need to take time off work to care for family emergencies or a new family member. The legislation, proposed by Sen. Gayle Goldin, D-Providence, would broaden the ...
Solutions by The State News
