1. H5365: Eliminates the sales, meals and beverage, and use tax in Rhode Island, beginning on October 1, 2013. (H Finance; Tue, Jun 11)

2. H5575/S0346: Joins Rhode Island to an interstate compact where the RI legislature would disregard the choice for President made by Rhode Island voters and allocate RI’s electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote instead. (H Judiciary; Tue, Jun 11 & S Judiciary; Tue, Jun 11) Note that the hearings on the House and Senate versions of this bill are simultaneous; this bill has suddenly been placed on the fast-track.

3. H6210/S0989: Prohibits tolls on the Sakonnet, Mount Hope and Jamestown Bridges, fixes the toll on the Newport Bridge at its current rate, transfers 23 other bridges to the control of the Rhode Island Bridge and Turnpike Authority, creates a “bridge maintenance fund” for maintaining the bridges, and pays for the fund with an increase in vehicle inspection fees, surplus motor vehicle insurance premium tax revenue, and several other sources. (H Finance; Tue, Jun 11 & S Finance; Thu, Jun 13)

4. H6063/H6067/H6069/H6070/H6071: The House’s “economic development package”, including creation of a Secretary of Commerce within the Governor’s office (while the Economic Development Corporation continues to exist, but is renamed the “Rhode Island Commerce Corporation”), establishment of the Secretary of Commerce as the head of the still existing but renamed Economic Development Corporation, and charging the Economic Development Corporation (did I mention that under the House plan, the EDC will still exist, but be renamed as the “Rhode Island Commerce Corporation” ) with providing “a concierge-level of call service” for helping businesses with permitting and regulatory requirements. (S Commerce; Tue, Jun 11)

5. H6131: Creates “parent choice scholarship awards” that will follow the child to “a public school outside of the resident school district, a charter school, magnet school, alternative school or a private school that provides education to elementary and/or secondary students”; students from families with incomes up to “three times the income standard used to qualify for a reduced price lunch under the national free or reduced price lunch program” are eligible for various levels of scholarship awards. (H Finance; Tue, Jun 11)

6. H5917: Writes in-state tuition at public colleges and universities for illegal immigrants into law. (H Finance; Tue, Jun 11)

7. H5930 applies the annual property tax-cap currently applied to municipalities to fire districts (H Finance; Tue, Jun 11), while S0611 applies the annual property tax-cap currently applied to municipalities to fire districts and, in the event that a fire-district is liquidated, requires the containing municipality to automatically assume fire-protection responsibility including management and costs. (S Finance; Tue, Jun 11)

8. H5475: Requires the children of recipients of public cash and medical assistance to maintain a 80% school attendance rate as a condition for receiving aid. (H Finance; Tue, Jun 11)

9. S0979: Major rewrite of casino gaming laws, regulations, and crimes. (S Judiciary; Tue, Jun 11)

10. S0776/H5689: Assesses a 15% penalty on unemployment payments received because of fraud. (H Judiciary; Tue, Jun 11 & S Labor; Wed, Jun 12)

11. S0942: Requires “all persons, brokers, entities and professionals receiving compensation in connection with the sale or brokerage of [a] tax credit” to be disclosed by means of a certified statement “prior to the sale or brokering of any tax credit issued by, or on behalf of the state”. (S Finance; Wed, Jun 12)

12. H5612: Joins Rhode Island to the “International Emergency Management Assistance Compact” (S Special Legislation and Veterans Affairs; Wed, Jun 12). Two interesting sections of the compact are…

• Article IV, which reads “Any party jurisdiction requested to render mutual aid or conduct exercises and training for mutual aid shall undertake to respond as soon as possible, except that it is understood that the jurisdiction rendering aid may withhold or recall resources to the extent necessary to provide reasonable protection for that jurisdiction”, and
• Article III section (a)(7), which requires member jurisdictions to “provide, to the extent authorized by law, for temporary suspension of any statutes or ordinances, over which the province or state has jurisdiction, that impede the implementation of the responsibilities described in this subsection”.

13. S0992: Special exemption for the Providence Redevelopment Agency, allowing it “to construct new buildings for commercial or industrial uses contemplated by its redevelopment plan” that are otherwise not permitted. (S Judiciary; Tue, Jun 11)

14. S0323/H5265: Extends the lifetime of any currently-active Department of Environmental Management permit until June 30, 2015, regardless of current expiration date. (H Environment and Natural Resources; Thu, Jun 13 & S Housing and Municipal Government; Thu, Jun 13) This would be the second extension given, meaning that some permits that had originally been set to expire prior to 2011 may be extended to 2015.

15. S0214: “Any state or local agency must demonstrate extreme need and the lack of any viable alternative before exercising a right of eminent domain over any land which is protected with a conservation restriction or preservation restriction”. (S Judiciary; Tue, Jun 11)

16. S0619: Bans government agencies from obtaining location information from a telecommunications company, as part of child support collection. (H Judiciary; Tue, Jun 11)

17. H5711: Mandates that all higher education institutions in Rhode Island honor suitable “military training, experience, correspondence courses and occupations, and adopt a policy for applying those credits to veterans. (H Veterans’ Affairs; Thu, Jun 13)

18. S0940: Two-tiered property tax classification for the Hopkins Hill Fire Distrct. (S Finance; Tue, Jun 11)

19. S0840: Allows antitrust lawsuits by persons or public bodies “who have not dealt directly” with the party being sued. (S Judiciary; Tue, Jun 11)

20. H6153: Gives the Rhode Island workers’ compensation court the power to determine employee versus independent contractor status when such status is in dispute. (H Labor; Tue, Jun 11)

21. H5626: Requires employees of the state board of education and their family members to consent to public disclosure of any tuition waivers they receive. (H Finance; Tue, Jun 11)

22. S0309/H5454: “Notwithstanding any general or public law to the contrary, the [Public Utilities Commission] and the division shall have no jurisdiction or authority over wireless service”. (H Corporations; Tue, Jun 11 & S Commerce; Tue, Jun 11)

23. Under Rhode Island’s current “municipal fiscal stabilization law”, after a budget commission or a receiver turns control back to a town/city’s elected government, the mayor is required to appoint a finance officer to help him or her oversee municipal finances for the following five years. S0984 would change this, so that the Director of the Department of Revenue would appoint the financial helper — and so that the state, instead of the municipality, would pay for the financial helper. (S Finance; Wed, Jun 12) Sponsored by a combination of Senators from East Providence and Woonsocket.

24. S0280: Repeals the 2% medical imaging surcharge. (S Finance; Tue, Jun 11)

25. H6061: Charges the Department of Labor and Training with reporting on options for dealing with seasonality in unemployment. (H Labor; Wed, Jun 12)

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Unsure where to rank: H6030/S0809: Creates a 9-member board, including several “cabinet” heads or their designees, to decide on criteria to let businesses advertise their products as “Made in Rhode Island” and to study ways to increase the production and demand of locally produced goods and services. (S Commerce; Tue, Jun 11 & H Small Business; Thu, Jun 13)

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Inobvious Priorities: H5445 >> Licensing of music therapists; S0261 >> New regulations for collection, recycling and reuse of discarded mattresses.

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Local Impact: Bristol, Burrillville, Central Falls, Coventry, Cranston, Cumberland 2, East Greenwich 2, East Providence, Jamestown, Pawtucket, Smithfield, Tiverton, Warren, Warwick, West Warwick 2.