Every year, the ACLU of RI lobbies on hundreds of bills during Rhode Island's annual Legislative Session. Below are some of the bills we have tracked and testified on before the General Assembly. For more info on advocating for the issues you care about, check out our Advocacy 101 Guide. To see how your Reps and Senators voted on various bills over the past few years, visit our Legislative Scorecards page.
Complaints by Rhode Island’s veterans that they had been discriminated against in housing decisions because of their veteran status prompted legislation to make such discrimination illegal.
A prime example of how quickly legislation can go from good to bad came in the form of legislation, passed by the Senate in June, that purported to strengthen the state’s laws against human trafficking, but...
Rhode Island law generally makes larceny a felony if the item stolen is worth $1,500 or more, but legislation passed by both the House and the Senate drastically undercuts this limit, allowing for larceny...
Existing federal prohibitions against pregnancy discrimination in the workplace have proven ineffective in preventing women from facing serious workplace penalties because of their pregnancy or...
Perennial bills eliminating the posting of legal notices in newspapers have returned. Public bodies argue that being posting notices online versus in the newspaper would present cost savings.
In March and April, the ACLU testified before the Senate and House Judiciary committees, respectively, that the legislation’s overly broad definition of “indecent materials” would encompass award-willing...