Legislation

Legislation creating a task force on employee misclassification and the underground economy contained one of the more dangerous anti-privacy provisions of the year.

In June, the House passed legislation governing the transmission of mental health civil certification records to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), the database used to determine who is eligible to purchase a weapon under state and federal laws.

Another part of the Attorney General’s package of legislation dealing with computer crimes carried still more concerns about the breadth of these changes.

In May, the House overwhelmingly approved legislation to protect the freedom of political speech. The legislation repealed a section of law that is largely regarded as unconstitutional, as it prohibits the distribution of anonymous political literature.

While undermining the medical marijuana program, the General Assembly failed to make productive changes in the state’s “War on Drugs” by expanding the state’s Good Samaritan Act.

Complaints by Rhode Island’s veterans that they had been discriminated against in housing decisions because of their veteran status prompted legislation to make such discrimination illegal.

A prime example of how quickly legislation can go from good to bad came in the form of legislation, passed by the Senate in June, that purported to strengthen the state’s laws against human trafficking, but in fact undermined the law entirely.

Rhode Island law generally makes larceny a felony if the item stolen is worth $1,500 or more, but legislation passed by both the House and the Senate drastically undercuts this limit, allowing for larceny of farm products to be considered a felony if the farm product is worth just $250.

Existing federal prohibitions against pregnancy discrimination in the workplace have proven ineffective in preventing women from facing serious workplace penalties because of their pregnancy or breastfeeding status.