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 2019, Wyatt Detention Facility in Central Falls reentered into a contract with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to house and detain individuals for civil immigration violations. We were...
Presently, a person who engages in shoplifting can be punished by as little as a $50 fine. This makes sense, because shoplifting is deemed a crime no matter how financially minor the merchandise shoplifted...
We opposed legislation which would make it a crime punishable by ten years in prison for any child in the custody of either the Training School or a juvenile program worker to convey to another person ...
Justice-involved individuals are much more likely to report opioid use, and drug overdoses are one of the leading causes of death for individuals who are released from correctional institutions. We support...
Because there is no question that rehabilitation is substantially enhanced by making contact easier between incarcerated individuals and their loved ones, we strongly support this bill which would provide...
Over a decade ago, Rhode Island codified the first-in-the-nation Homeless Bill of Rights and recognized the dignity and civil rights of those who are unhoused. We strongly supported legislation which...