Legislation

The General Assembly approved legislation barring residency requirements for municipal employees.

In a major victory for civil rights, the General Assembly approved sending to the voters in November 2006 a proposed constitutional amendment to restore the right to vote to felons upon release from incarceration.

ACLU intervention helped kill a bill that would have authorized the Town of Westerly to allow non-resident property owners to vote in certain town elections and serve on the Town’s finance board.

The General Assembly approved an ACLU bill setting standards for police interrogation of students in public schools.

The Senate took no action on a House-passed bill to give school districts the power to disenroll any student they deemed to be a “habitual truant” if the school claimed it could not reach the child’s parents.

In a civil liberties defeat, the General Assembly passed a bill significantly expanding the number of sex offenders whose names and photos will be posted on a state web site for public viewing.

In another unfortunate civil liberties loss, the House defeated a bill that would have required police to record most interrogations of suspects charged with capital offenses.

The Senate took no action on a bill approved by the House that would have doubled the criminal penalties for various drug crimes if committed within 300 yards of a public college or university.