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.
In February, the ACLU testified before the House and Senate Judiciary committees in support of legislation restricting the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, by law enforcement.
The House adopted amendments proposed by the ACLU in addressing legislation that restricted the possession of the plants salvia divinorum and datura stramonium, or Gypsum Weed.
The General Assembly added Rhode Island to the list of states that have joined the National Popular Vote compact.
At the request of the Governor’s office of energy resources, the General Assembly also approved legislation exempting from public scrutiny a variety of information collected by that office from fuel...
There was one small bright spot on the open records front this year. The House and Senate each approved legislation requiring independent fire districts to post draft minutes of their meetings online.
The General Assembly passed legislation allowing health care providers to disclose a patient’s personal medical information to law enforcement under a variety of circumstances.