Legislation

Joining a nationwide chorus, the General Assembly passed harsh, costly and almost-certainly ineffective legislation to further punish sex offenders.

The Senate killed an ACLU bill, passed by the House repealing an exemption for the Board of Elections from the law that requires state agencies to go through a public rule-making process before adopting regulations.

The ACLU succeeded in significantly restricting the reach of a bill allowing people with disabilities who serve on public bodies to participate in public meetings by telephone.

Ignoring Affiliate objections that the bill would significantly erode the privilege against self-incrimination, the General Assembly has made it a crime for a driver to refuse to submit to a breathalyzer test if he or she has been cited once before for not taking the test.

An ACLU bill that would require schools to take a case-by-case approach in determining the appropriate discipline for students charged with drug, alcohol or weapons violations, passed the Senate but died in the House.

At present, health care providers are required to report the names of patients with AIDS, but not those who are only HIV-positive.

The legislature overwhelmingly approved an ACLU bill specifying that domestic partner health insurance benefits are not taxable income for state income tax purposes, and explicitly entitling state employees and their partners to the protections of COBRA and to the state’s Family Medical Leave Act.

A new law, promoted by the ACLU, will limit the phone call charges that can be imposed on inmates.

The ACLU, the R.I. Disability Law Center and the R.I. Council of Community Mental Health Organizations helped persuade the Governor to veto a bill that would have allowed the Mental Health Advocate to petition the court to involuntarily transfer inmates from the ACI to the custody of MHRH.