1. S0266: Creates an “inspector general” position for the state of Rhode Island, to be appointed “by a majority vote of the governor, the attorney general and the general treasurer”. (S Finance; Tue, May 21) I’ve been lukewarm to this kind of proposal in the past, but given how an Inspector General was critical in uncovering the political targeting done by the IRS, I am reconsidering. I do remain skeptical of the provisions that lay out specific qualifications for an IG, as there is a strong case to be made that in a democratic republic, top government positions should be open to everyone.

2. H6098: Requires General Assembly ratification of rules promulgated by any state agency. Pre-ratification regulations have “immediate effect”, but “permanent effect” does not occur until post-ratification. (H Judiciary; Tue, May 21) If this doesn’t mean that the legislature wants to reserve for itself the right to change administrative rules that have the force of law, without having to pass a law via the regular lawmaking process, then what does it mean?

3. S0312: Requires the school committee and town/city council of every community that would send students to a proposed mayoral academy to approve the mayoral academy’s charter school application. (S Education; Wed, May 22)

4. H6101/H6111: Bills to allow Coventry fire districts (but really just the Central Coventry Fire District) to adopt a four-part property tax classification scheme, and to impose the previous year’s budget on taxpayers if the current year budget referendum fails. (H Municipal Government; Thu, May 23)

5. S0826: Authorizes cities and towns to enact separate tax rates for owner versus non-owner occupied residential properties. (S Finance; Tue, May 21)

6. S0133: Some adventures in legislative grammar are involved in interpreting this one; I think this bill creates a refund of the minimum corporate income tax (currently applied to C-Corps and LLCs in Rhode Island) in cases where a corporation would owe less than the $500 minimum calculated as a percentage of annual gross receipts. The refunded amount would be the difference between the gross-receipts percentage and the $500 minimum, meaning that although C-Corps and LLCs would not owe an annual automatic minimum, the first $500 they made would go to the government. (S Finance; Tue, May 21) Rube Goldberg procedures, to make sure the government gets its cut first. What could be more Rhode Island!

7. S0939: Maintains a 1% “regionalization bonus” (currently scheduled to drop to 0%) as part of the state’s education-aid “funding formula”. (S Finance; Tue, May 21)

8. S0181: Adds a five-dollar surcharge to traffic offenses “for the sole purpose of funding the cost of highway repair and maintenance”. (S Finance; Tue, May 21)

9. S0816: “Not later than July 1, 2014, and thereafter, all heating oil sold in the state shall contain not less than five percent (5%) of a biobased product”. (S Environment and Agriculture; Wed, May 22)

10. H5981: Allows city housing authorities to obtain information on “unemployment compensation, child support, alimony, supplemental nutritional assistance and public welfare payments…for the purpose of determining the current income of any applicant regarding rental calculations”. (H Finance; Tue, May 21)

11. S0662: Eliminates the State Police’s Workers’ Compensation Investigation Unit (at the request of the State Police). (S Labor; Wed, May 22)

12. H5562: Bans government agencies from obtaining location information from a telecommunications company, as part of child support collection. (H Judiciary; Tue, May 21) This bill probably wouldn’t have made the list two weeks ago, prior to knowledge being made public of the government’s dubious choices to use its information gathering authority against Tea Party groups and the Associated Press.

13. H5768: “In the event that any party is aggrieved” by a retirement board disability decision concerning a police or fire injury that occurred on the job, the time limit for an appeal is 20 days from the decision. (H Judiciary; Tue, May 21)

14. S0309: “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”. (S Commerce; Tue, May 21)

15. H5195: The substance of this bill states that the “reimbursement rate for direct support professionals employed by private development disability organizations shall be increased from $11.30 to $12.03 per hour… (H Finance; Tue, May 21) …but the part that caught my attention reads “The director shall adopt a state reimbursement system for community and nonprofit agencies that will encourage the hiring and retention of competent, qualified, and caring individuals”. Is it a policy elsewhere in government to hire incompetent, unqualified, and uncaring individuals?

16. S0380: A number of changes intended to improve the monitoring of fire-department compliance with NFPA 1500: Standard on Fire Department Occupational Safety and Health Program. (S Housing and Municipal Government; Tue, May 21)

17. H5935: Changes to municipal street-light financing. (H Municipal Government; Thu, May 23) Previous generations seemed to have handled this issue with much less difficulty. Are we just not as smart as they were?

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Not sure where to rank: H5404: Increases the maximum tax on certain rent and/or income controlled properties that have been rehabilitated from 8% to 15% of “the property’s previous 10 years’ gross scheduled rental income”. (H Finance; Tue, May 21)

Not sure where to rank II: 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, May 21)

Not sure where to rank III: S0523: Changes the process for state education funding associated with “conventional public housing units owned by public housing authorities which are not on local tax rolls”. (S Finance; Tue, May 21)

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Local Impact: Central Falls, Chariho/Cranston, Cranston, East Greenwich, Middletown, Portsmouth 2, Providence, Woonsocket 2.