Legislation

The Affiliate testified before the House Labor and Senate Judiciary committees in favor of returning legislation that would bar employers from asking about an applicant’s criminal history before determining whether they were a qualified candidate for the position.

The General Assembly once again considered a tremendous number of bills requiring fingerprint-based background checks for a wide range of professions and volunteer opportunities, from school mentors to nursing home employees to fire department volunteers.

The General Assembly approved legislation amending the duties of the Drug Court magistrate, and altering which individuals are eligible for participation in the court.

This legislation will save lives by protecting from prosecution individuals calling for emergency care in the case of a drug overdose.

On June 13, Governor Chafee signed into law monumental legislation decriminalizing the possession of one ounce or less of marijuana, and imposing civil penalties instead of criminal charges against individuals in possession.

In March, the Affiliate testified before the Senate Health and Human Services committee in opposition to legislation sanctioning the creation of an electronic prescription monitoring database.

As cell phone technology has advanced and smartphones have become ubiquitous, the devices we carry on a daily basis have begun to contain substantial amounts of personal information, including e-mails, photos, and records of where we’ve been traveling.

The House and Senate Judiciary committees considered legislation to drastically Rhode Island’s computer crimes laws by altering the definitions of old laws and creating new offenses.

The legislative session brought a familiar bill allowing for the collection of DNA from any person arrested for a crime of violence, which included larceny offenses such as pickpocketing.