1. S0968: A new set of regulations related to the state’s educational assessment program (S Education; Wed, Jun 5).  The bill states that the department of education…

• [S]hall provide notice to all parents of students who are juniors and seniors who “have yet to meet the state assessment requirement for graduation, all teachers and all administrators regarding the high school graduation standards and the process those students must adhere to if they do not meet the proficiency standard of the state assessment”,
• “[S]hall provide school districts with guidance as to the appropriate, effective and efficient supports that students may be given if they fail to meet the proficiency standard of the state assessment” (which shall be “more support from the school district than solely taking practice exams”,
• “[S]hall develop the state math assessment in other languages”, and
• (Along with local school committees) is “encouraged to engage local higher education institutions…to provide students with volunteer assistance including, but not limited to, tutoring”.

2. H5365: Eliminates the sales, meals and beverage, and use tax in Rhode Island, beginning on October 1, 2013. (H Finance; Tue, Jun 4)

3. S0718: Renames the Economic Development Corporation as the Commerce Corporation, adds the chairperson of the governor’s workforce development board to the board of the renamed EDC  (as the one member who can’t be removed by the Governor), enumerates “role[s] and responsibilities of board members”, requires the board to establish rules and guidelines for loan and loan guarantee programs, and requires an audit be conducted every three years. (S Commerce; Tue, Jun 4)

This is different from the EDC reform bill passed by the House; on the surface it doesn’t appear as if there is agreement between the two chambers on this matter.

Also, if Senate Republicans believe that the EDC should be repealed, as several House Republicans do, they should make use of the Frank Ciccone rule to bring EDC repeal up as a floor amendment, and get a roll-call vote on record, if this or any other EDC related bill reaches the floor.

3A. Two other bills impacting government involvement in commerce, S0734 and S0730 (S Finance; Thu, Jun 6).

4. S0828: Allows the General Treasurer to withhold non-education state aid from communities that do not make their full, actuarially determined pension fund payments in a given year. (S Finance; Tue, Jun 4)

5. H6161: Sets the term of office for all municipal elected officials at four years “unless the governing body of a municipality votes not to follow”. (H Judiciary; Tue, Jun 4)

6. S0903: Allows various state government departments “to share information among themselves for the effective administration and function of their departments including, but not limited to, program integrity efforts”. (S Finance; Tue, Jun 4) I may need to create a separate category of “do other states have as much trouble with stuff like this, or is this just a Rhode Island problem”?

7. H6160: Strips the town clerk of Exeter (where there is no police chief) from being able to issue concealed carry firearms permits. (H Judiciary; Tue, Jun 4) This bill being heard relatively late in the session is a possible sign that the broader “gun control” bills introduced in the House aren’t expected to pass.

8. H5930: Applies the annual property-tax increase cap, currently applied to municipalities, to fire districts. (H Finance; Tue, Jun 4)

9. H6174: A bill titled the “Model Fair Consumer Contracts Act” stating “no consumer contract involving a consumer transaction shall possess a clause which prohibits a consumer from pursuing a claim as a class action”. (H Corporations; Tue, Jun 4) I’m not sure whose “Model Act” this is, but “Public Citizen” has lobbied for it in the past. By the way, Public Citizen has a section on their website, explaining how their 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) “are part of the same overall organization”, which I guess must be alright when “Tea Party” or “Patriot” is not in your name.

10. H5465: Repeals the section of the law creating a workers’ compensation investigations unit within the state police. (H Finance; Tue, Jun 4)

11. S0284: “Upon request of a law enforcement agency, a wireless telecommunications carrier shall provide device location information concerning the telecommunications device of the user to the requesting law enforcement agency in order to respond to a call for emergency services or in an emergency situation that involves the risk of death or serious physical injury to any person and requires disclosure without delay of information relating to the emergency”. (H Corporations; Tue, Jun 4)

12. S0026: An amended tax Bryant University bill, requiring Bryant to “reimburse the city or town wherein it is located for any and all public safety costs for services supplied to said corporation, including, but not limited to, police, fire and rescue services commencing July 1, 2014”, unless they reach a memorandum of agreement with the town. (S Finance; Tue, Jun 4)

13. S0269: I’ll borrow an explanation from the AARP: “Expand[s] the eligibility for the Medicare Savings Program (MSP) that pays part of or all of Medicare Part A and Part B premiums by increasing the maximum income eligibility from 135 percent to 185 percent of the federal poverty level and eliminate[s] the asset limits”. (S Finance; Thu, Jun 6)

14. S0614: New rules governing “advanced practice registered nursing”. (S Health and Human Services; Wed, Jun 5)

15. H6140: Creates two tiers of auto body shop licenses in Rhode Island, Class A and Class B. Class A insurers have to meet fourteen additional requirements, over what Class B shops do, including “obtain[ing] proper specifications for collision repairs through an industry recognized computer program with periodic updates for each vehicle being repaired” and “ensur[ing] customer satisfaction by providing each customer with a written limited lifetime warranty that is valid against workmanship defects and maintain a system for documenting customer complaints and responses to service”. This bill also requires that auto body labor rate surveys conducted by insurers be “separate and distinct”. (H Corporations; Tue, Jun 4)

16. S0368: Defines the difference between “employee” and independent contractor, and then adds to exemptions from “employment”: “services performed by a newspaper carrier” and “services performed by individuals that sublease space to perform a service for which they do not receive any compensation from their sublessor”. (S Labor; Wed, Jun 5) See note attached to this week’s #6.

17. S0530: Lifts a moratorium on reimbursement “for new school housing or additional housing” currently scheduled to extend until next year. (S Finance; Thu, Jun 6)

---

Unsure where to rank: S0303/S0666/S0667/S0715/S0719: A group of amended bills (meaning someone actually read them and changed them, after their initial submission) regarding insurance regulation. What the balance of power is, between the DBR, the insurance lobby, legislators with interests in the insurance business like William San Bento, consumers and taxpayers, I am not sure. (H Corporations; Tue, Jun 4). Two insurance regulation bills are also being heard in the Senate, H5606 (S Commerce; Tue, Jun 4) and S0536. (S Health and Human Services; Tue, Jun 4)

Unsure where to rank II: H6082: Twenty-two pages of strikethroughs eliminating the “Rhode Island Refunding Bond Authority Act”. (H Finance; Tue, Jun 4)

Inobvious Priorities: S0973 >> Regulations for tatooing people under the age of 18 “for medical purposes”. (S Judiciary; Tue, Jun 4)

---

Local Impact: Burrillville 2, Central Falls, Central Falls/Cumberland 2, Cranston, Glocester, “An Island” 2, Jamestown, Middletown, North Kingstown, Pawtucket, Portsmouth, Providence 2, Richmond, West Warwick, Woonsocket 2 3.