2010 Legislative Wrap-Up Newsletter
Volume XVI, Issue 4
Contents
- General Assembly Session Ends In Draw For Civil Liberties
- Enacted Pro-Civil Liberties Bills
- Enacted Anti-Civil Liberties Bills
- Late Introductions That Were Defeated
- Other Anti-Civil Liberties Bills That Died
- ACLU Promoted Legislation
- 2010 Legislative Wrap-Up & Dessert Evening
- Organizational Notes
General Assembly Session Ends In Draw For Civil Liberties
In keeping with its trend of unpredictable endings, the General Assembly surprised this year by concluding the session before the start of summer, in the early morning hours of June 11. The best way to summarize the session is to say that, on the whole, it was a draw. There were few gains for civil liberties, but perhaps more importantly, there were very few losses as well. Ultimately, the Affiliate succeeded in blocking a wide array of dangerous bills that were considered. However, a notable and troubling aspect of this year’s session was the number of anti-civil liberties bills that surfaced for the first time only in the session’s closing days.
Summarized below are some of the major bills, both good and bad, on which the ACLU focused during the 2008 session. As in past years, the Affiliate lobbied on well over 100 bills, so what follows is far from complete. Nonethe-less, it should provide readers a good idea of the broad scope of the Affiliate’s legislative activities this session.
Enacted Pro-Civil Liberties Bills
Very few bills that made it to the Governor’s desk fall into the “wins” category this session, but as you read about all of the bullets we dodged, there are clearly other ways of viewing “wins.”
Medical Marijuana Privacy. Introduced by Senator Rhoda Perry and Representative Scott Slater in response to the Department of Health’s violation of doctors’ confidentiality earlier in the year, this enacted bill strengthens the state’s medical marijuana statute by explicitly exempting from the open records law the disclosure of the names of physicians participating in the medical marijuana program.
Traffic Ticket Quotas. Responding to a complaint the ACLU had received about a Hopkinton police department policy, the General Assembly approved an Affiliate bill that prohibits police departments from setting traffic ticket quotas, a practice that makes citations less about public safety and more about making money.
Municipal Election Requirements. Helping to resolve two election lawsuits the Affiliate filed against East Provi-dence and Central Falls, the General Assembly approved a bill, sponsored by Rep. Helio Melo, that bars cities and towns from imposing more onerous petitioning standards on local candidates than are authorized by state law. For example, in contrast to state law, Central Falls and East Providence allowed voters to sign only one nomination paper per office; in the case of multiple signatures, the Board of Canvassers accepted the one on the papers that were first filed with the Board. Local ordinances like those are now null and void under the law, and the Affiliate should be able to get its two lawsuits dis-missed in the coming weeks.
Enacted Anti-Civil Liberties Bills
Just as there were few wins to report, there were few “bad” bills that made it through the General Assembly. Only two of note fit into this category.
Central Falls Receivership. This bill was introduced, passed and signed into law within 72 hours, never a good sign. In response to Central Falls’ fiscal crisis, this new law authorizes the Department of Revenue to appoint a special receiver in municipalities facing severe financial problems. Disturbingly, the new law gives the receiver vir-tually dictatorial authority, eliminating all the powers of the city’s elected Mayor and City Council and allowing the receiver to abolish any other municipal commissions or agencies or overrule their actions. This very troubling anti-democratic measure passed with almost no debate.
Fingerprinting. Introduced and approved in the last days of the session, a new law gives the Department of Busi-ness Regulation broad powers to require fingerprinting and nationwide criminal background checks on various DBR and lottery licensees. Although some amendments were added at the ACLU’s suggestion, the legislation fails to include many of the privacy and confidentiality safeguards contained in other state fingerprinting statutes.
Late Introductions That Were Defeated
More so than any other session in recent memory, the Affiliate found itself extremely busy fighting off a number of significant and con-troversial bills that were introduced only in the closing weeks of the session. In fact, the only two major defeats we suffered this session, noted above, were on bills that were not even introduced until June. With those two exceptions, however, the Affiliate helped to success-fully halt a number of other late-comers, such as those listed below.
Sex Offenders. This 35-page piece of legislation popped up mid-May and was rampant with civil liberties viola-tions. Intended to implement a federal law that ties a small amount of federal funding with its state passage, this bill would have required some juveniles to register as sex offenders for life and to be posted on a national sex of-fender website. It also retroactively applied onerous registration and community notification provisions to persons who committed their offenses decades ago. The bill passed the House unanimously, but died in Senate committee. Numerous organizations particularly concerned about the bill’s impact on juveniles – including the R.I. Council of Community Mental Health Organizations, the R.I. Children’s Policy Coalition, R.I. Kids Count, R.I. Mental Health Association and others – joined the ACLU in opposing its passage. However, we will surely have to watch for it next session.
Constitutional Convention. A dangerous bill calling for a national Constitutional Convention to propose an amendment to the First Amendment went nowhere after a hearing in House Finance Committee. The bill proposed a Convention to overturn the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision that the First Amendment allows corporations to make independent expenditures in political campaigns. Besides opposing erosion of the First Amendment through a constitutional amendment, the ACLU pointed out that a Constitutional Convention, if one were ever called, could lead to a free-for-all, offering constitutional amendments on a wide variety of other issues. The Affili-ate noted that the last call for a constitutional convention approved by the R.I. General Assembly was to adopt an amendment to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Drug Court. Another late introduction, to expand Drug Court, passed through the Senate, but died in the House. Though the bill was well-intentioned, the Affiliate was concerned that first-time offenders who are likely to get probation if their case went to trial could instead end up in jail for opting to take the drug court treatment route, in light of the punitive sanctions magistrates could impose on participants if they violated any of the many conditions of their contract with the court.
Other Anti-Civil Liberties Bills That Died
The longest list of Affiliate accomplishments this year is reserved for bills that the Affiliate’s lobbying efforts helped to stop in their tracks, either in committee or after passing one House. As you will see, they cover a broad range of issues.
DNA of Arrestees. In spite of strong efforts by spon-sors Rep. Brian Kennedy and Sen. David Bates to sway Judiciary committee members by bringing in the mother of the federal bill’s namesake, legislation com-pletely disregarding privacy and due process rights by requiring the taking of DNA samples from persons ar-rested but not convicted of a felony stalled in both cham-bers, never making it out of committee.
National Guard Forfeiture. This legislation, perenni-ally opposed by the ACLU, would give the National Guard a significant amount of funding through forfei-tures related to drug investigations in which they took part. The ACLU objects to use of the military in civil law enforcement, and noted that allowing the National Guard to financially benefit from drug forfeitures would only encourage their greater participation in these civil-ian matters. Initially voted out of committee, the bill was recommitted upon reaching the floor.
Domestic Violence Petty Misdemeanors. This legisla-tion also pops up every year and would turn three “disorderly conduct” petty misdemeanors – the least serious category of criminal offense – into a felony car-rying mandatory minimum sentences if they were al-leged to be related to domestic violence. The RI ACLU has argued that if the offenses really are more egregious, then their classification should be changed altogether, not treated as greater crimes for this one purpose only. The bill passed the Senate but died in the House.
Internet Subpoenas. Problematic State Police legisla-tion that would allow them to obtain private Internet subscriber information with an administrative sub-poena, instead of a search warrant approved by a neu-tral magistrate, was passed in the House, but signifi-cantly amended in the Senate thanks to lobbying by the ACLU and volunteer attorneys Bud DeLuca and Miriam Weizenbaum. The amendments addressed the ACLU’s concerns by requiring probable cause and validation of the administrative subpoena by a judge within 72 hours of issuance. The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Peter Martin, made the decision to recommit the legislation rather than pass it in this amended form.
"Sexting.” One of many bills introduced in 2010 that the RI ACLU categorized as adding to the “criminalization of adolescence,” this one would have pushed juveniles into the court system for their mis-guided decisions to send via text message pictures of themselves in varied states of undress. Agreeing with the ACLU that education, not punishment, was the best way to address the issue, legislators allowed the bill to die in committee.
Primary Seatbelt Law. In the last newsletter, we re-ported on the large turnout for a hearing on legislation that would turn seatbelt violations into a “primary” of-fense. Despite a big push for the legislation by police and the Department of Transportation, the bill failed to make it out of committee. This was thanks in large part to the presence of many community groups opposing the bill’s passage as a ticket to increased racial profiling.
Prescription Monitoring Database. The Department of Health currently maintains a database of prescrip-tions written for medications categorized as a schedule I, II, or III controlled substance. These are the more highly addictive and dangerous drugs. Legislation was introduced to add the less dangerous schedule IV and V drugs, such as cough syrup, into the database. The Af-filiate expressed privacy concerns over monitoring these prescribed low-level drugs. A number of Senators shared those concerns, and the bill died.
Ignition Interlocks. A renewed effort to pass legisla-tion amending the state’s ignition interlock system law for drunk drivers was proposed by Rep. David Caprio, but as the bill was only introduced on the next to last day of session, it never even made it to the House floor for a full vote. The bill gave drivers facing long-term li-cense suspension because of a DUI the option to have the length of suspension shortened by use of an ignition interlock device. These devices are costly, create a bur-den for other drivers of a vehicle equipped with one, and are a distraction to drivers as they are required to blow into the handheld devices at random intervals while operating the vehicle.
E-Verify. Back for another year, this flawed employ-ment eligibility verification bill didn’t even make it out of committee in the House, despite passing that cham-ber in 2008 and 2009. Senate sponsor Mark Cote took advantage of a little-known and little-used Senate Rule that allowed him to bring the measure straight to the Senate floor without a hearing. Majority Leader Dan Connors immediately made a successful motion to re-commit, killing the bill for 2010.
Under 21 in Clubs. The Affiliate opposed legislation that would have allowed for the complete ban of persons un-der 21 from establishments classified as nightclubs. Through ACLU lobbying, the language was changed to narrow the criteria to institute such a ban, as well as to clarify that the ban could be limited to apply to only certain nights or times. The amended version made it through the Senate, but didn’t come out of committee in the House.
Criminal Record Checks.Every year, more and more legislation is introduced aimed at expanding the number of people subject to criminal record checks or changing the responsibility for the costs associated with them. This year was no exception. Although one bill, relating to lottery licensees, did get approved, two others did not. One would have significantly expanded the fingerprinting requirements for DCYF employees and, unlike current law, given administrators access to an applicant’s entire criminal record history, including arrests. The other, a town-specific bill, would have required those employed in early childhood centers in Warren to pay for the costs of fin-gerprint checks, while employees in any other municipality would continue to have the tab picked up by the police department. Both bills were held up in the Senate.
Expungement. The Affiliate proposed numerous amendments to a Senate bill that would have barred ex-offenders from getting a criminal record expunged unless they had paid all their court costs, fines and fees. The amendments, approved by Senate committee, made clear that judges could reduce or waive the costs if the offender was indigent. The amended bill died in the House.
"Social Host” Law. Finally, although this bill didn’t die, it was successfully neutralized as a result of amendments pushed by the Affiliate. In our mid-session update, we informed you of legislation to make it a crime, punishable by six months in prison, for a teenager to give, or permit another underage person to drink, alcohol in their home. Largely through the work of Sen. Chuck Levesque, the bill was amended in the Senate to limit its application to adults between the ages of 18-21 and to instead impose a civil fine and possible community service. The bill passed both chambers in this form.
ACLU Promoted Legislation
Despite the Affiliate’s best efforts, only one ACLU-sponsored bill passed this session: a ban on police ticket quotas, mentioned on Page 1. The fate of some of the other bills in the RI ACLU’s package is outlined below.
Racial Profiling. Notwithstanding very positive hearings in the House and Senate, attempted good-faith negotia-tions with police chiefs, and a willingness of the Senate Judiciary Committee to pass a compromise bill, the Com-prehensive Racial Profiling Prevention Act died in committee once again. The Campaign Against Racial Profiling will be re-energizing over the summer to come back fighting again next session for this bill that, among its many provisions, prohibits police from fishing for information from drivers and passengers without probable cause. The legislation was sponsored by Sen. Rhoda Perry and Rep. Joseph Almeida.
Open Records. Our bill aimed at making it easier for the public to obtain open records was held up in the House for the second year in a row after passing the Senate. The bill would generally shorten from 10 to 7 days the amount of time an agency has to respond to a request for records, prohibit public bodies from asking why a document is being sought, and make a host of other changes. Sponsored by outgoing Senator Michael Lenihan and Representa-tive Edith Ajello, the RI ACLU plans to continue the fight for its passage next session, aided by the member organi-zations of the open government coalition ACCESS/RI.
Shackling of Pregnant Inmates. No action was taken on an Affiliate bill prohibiting shackling or otherwise re-straining pregnant inmates while being transported to the hospital or during labor, delivery and postpartum recov-ery. Several groups, including the R.I. State Nurses Association and R.I. NOW, were on hand to testify in favor of the bill, while the Department of Corrections testified against the legislation and helped to kill it.
Same-Sex Divorce. In spite of favorable hearings and sporadic rumblings of a desire by legislators to pass it, a bill allowing legally married same-sex couples to divorce in Rhode Island died in committee, victim of leadership con-cerns about bringing a “controversial” bill like this to the floor. The bill would overturn a controversial R.I. Su-preme Court ruling that the Family Court has no jurisdiction to grant such divorces.
Newborn Screening. This legislation would have clarified the purpose of newborn screening: to allow testing only for conditions for which there is a medical benefit to the early detection and treatment. The bill garnered support from several medical groups, including the March of Dimes, RI State Nurses Association, and the RI Medical Soci-ety. This was enough to pass it out of the Senate, but the bill got stalled in House committee.
2010 Legislative Wrap-Up And Dessert Evening
After a hiatus last year, we were happy to bring back our popular and well-attended Legislative Wrap-Up and Dessert Evening! Members and their guests made their way to a wonderful new location – the Rhode Island Council of Community Mental Health Organizations – and feasted upon sweets aplenty. Of course, there was much discussion of the 2010 general assembly session including an interesting Q&A period.
The Affiliate would be remiss if we did not thank our legislative guests Representatives Edie Ajello and Art Handy and Senator Charles Levesque; Anne Mulready, RI ACLU Board Chair, for moderating the event; and the staff at RICCMHO for offering their space. Many thanks are also due the local businesses that generously donated all of the fabulous refreshments: Coffee Exchange, Providence Cookie Co., Stop & Shop, Trinity Brewhouse, Johansson’s Bakery, Whole Foods, Au Bon Pain, and The Cheesecake Factory.
Organizational Notes
Tune Into the ACLU's Monthly Cable Access Show
During the months of August and September, the ACLU’s cable access show “Rights of a Free People” will focus on the 2009 Supreme Court session. August’s show will look at some of the major First Amendment cases decided by the Court. Guests will be attorneys Richard Sinapi & John Dineen. In September, Richard Sinapi will return with public defender attorney Michael DiLauro to discuss some of the Court’s major criminal justice decisions.
Showtimes:
Channel 13: Tuesdays 10:00pm & Fridays 3:30pm (Channel 32 on Verizon FIOS)
Channel 18: ( In Providence & N. Providence) Wednesdays 9:00pm (Channel 38 on Verizon FIOS)
Attend Our Annual Dinner - Thursday, November 4th
The details for this year’s annual dinner are all set, and it promises to be a fun event.
* Guest Speaker: National radio commentator and author Jim Hightower
* Raymond J. Pettine Civil Libertarian of the Year: Elizabeth V. Earls, President and CEO, R.I. Council of Community Mental Health Organizations
* William G. McLoughlin First Amendment Award: RI ACLU volunteer attorney Richard A. Sinapi
Consider taking out an ad in our annual dinner program book. Call the office at 831-7171 for more details.
Visit Our Website
Check out our website, at www.riaclu.org, to get up-to-the-minute news on Affiliate activities. You will also find there more information about upcoming activities in September, including a House Party in Barrington and a Banned Books Event at the Providence Athenaeum.
Providence, RI 02903