Legislation

The Affiliate and other civil rights groups testified against legislation that would require voters to show identification at the polls.

Surveys indicate that 20% of teenagers have engaged in “sexting,” the practice of sending nude or semi-nude photos of oneself via cell phones or similar technology. The response: a bill from the Attorney General to drag these teens into Family Court and turn them into status offenders.

For the second year in a row, there’s a focus on whether to allow 18-20 year olds into nightclubs.

A liquor store owner who sells alcohol to a minor faces a $250 fine for a first offense. However, a major push is being made to amend the state’s “social host” law to subject teenagers under 21 to a six-month prison sentence if they give alcohol to someone else also under the age of 21.

A bill from the Attorney General’s office has again been introduced and heard this year that would set enhanced and mandatory sentences for “criminal street gang” activity.

This legislation, based on a federal law, would make it a felony for a public employee to “engage in any conduct that deprives the public of the intangible right of his or her honest services.”

Under a bill proposed by the Attorney General, any person who posts on a website opinions or information – even factual data – could be potentially subject to criminal charges if the posting is designed to “harass” and could cause a person “substantial emotional distress.”

The ACLU testified against a bill that would authorize the license suspension of teachers who engage in a strike, defined so broadly as to include a teacher’s “abstaining” even in part “from the full performance of his or her duties in his or her normal manner without permission.”

This pro-civil rights legislation clarifies that plaintiffs have three years, rather than one year, to sue under the Rhode Island Civil Rights Act, a major state law prohibiting discrimination in employment and other settings.