Legislation

For the third year in a row, the General Assembly debated whether to allow 18-20 year olds to enter nightclubs in order to address the problem of underage drinking.

The General Assembly enacted legislation creating a pilot recovery high school program for students with substance abuse addictions.

On June 8th, Governor Chafee signed into law a bill supported by the ACLU, the RI State Nurses Association, RI NOW and other groups to restrict the shackling of pregnant prisoners.

The ACLU, the Public Defender and the Urban League all testified in opposition to legislation that would have required the collection of DNA samples from any person arrested for a felony.

The ACLU testified before the House and Senate Judiciary committees in opposition to legislation that would have dramatically limited the ability of prisoners to accrue “good time” days that shorten their sentence.

In yet another response to the Woodmansee case, the General Assembly considered, but ultimately took no action on, legislation to funnel prisoners deemed unable to reenter society into mental health facilities after the completion of their prison terms.

As in past years, the Affiliate testified against efforts to expand the scope of the state’s current sex offender registration and notification laws.

The Affiliate testified in opposition to mandatory ignition interlock requirements for all individuals convicted of driving under the influence of liquor or drugs.

The year got off to a positive start when, on his first day in office, Governor Chafee signed an executive order lifting a requirement that state agencies and business contractors use the deeply flawed federal E-Verify program to check the immigration status of workers.