Legislation

One court has called “civil death” laws “an outdated and inscrutable common law precept” and “a medieval fiction in a modern world,” but Rhode Island is one of only four states to still have such a law.

Despite broad support for the legislation from the General Assembly, the governor also vetoed a bill that would have eliminated the mandatory minimum sentences in place for certain drug offenses.

As has happened in previous years, the House took no action on a Senate bill that would have allowed for the forced administration of blood tests on persons in vehicular accidents involving death or serious injury.

Opposition from the state Board of Elections and the creation by the Secretary of State of a commission to review voting issues kept a comprehensive election reform bill drafted by the ACLU from moving forward.

On the more positive side, no action was taken on legislation requiring individuals to provide certain forms of identification in order to vote at the polling booth.

For the second year in a row, the Senate took no action on an invasive House bill allowing police agencies to give lie detector tests to job applicants.

In another victory for workplace privacy, the Senate also took no action on a House bill that would have given DCYF and licensed day care agencies direct access to job applicants’ entire criminal history.

A bill that would have allowed domestic partners of state employees access to their partners’ pensions, thus providing further security, stability and protections for same-sex families in Rhode Island, overwhelmingly passed the General Assembly, but was vetoed by the governor.