Legislation

As the result of objections from the ACLU and the efforts of Rep. Edith Ajello, the legislature significantly revised a bill that would have denied drivers’ licenses to students who miss a specified number of days at school.

In agreeing to put the question of a West Warwick casino on the ballot, the General Assembly also approved a 50-page bill establishing a comprehensive regulatory scheme for casino establishments.

The legislature approved an ACLU bill requiring administrative agencies, in issuing decisions in contested cases under the Administrative Procedures Act, to notify parties of the appeal period and the procedure for filing an appeal of the agency decision.

In one of the Affiliate’s most significant losses of the year, the General Assembly approved legislation requiring the taking of DNA samples from any person convicted of any felony.

A number of draconian criminal sentencing bills failed to become law this session.

The House took no action on Senate legislation allowing for the forced administration of blood tests on persons involved in vehicular accidents involving death or serious injury.

In an important victory for ex-offenders, the legislature repealed an eight year old law that imposed a lifetime bar to food stamps and cash assistance for people convicted of a drug-related felony.

In order to give members a better sense of the scope of the Affiliate’s work, we have picked one topic – privacy – and briefly summarized how the ACLU helped shape lesser pieces of legislation on the issue, in addition to the more prominent bills summarized elsewhere.

A number of bills with civil liberties implications did not make it out of the General Assembly this session.