Legislation

We supported legislation which would have provided state-level protection for (not always followed) Department of Homeland Security guidance aimed at prohibiting immigration enforcement in certain “sensitive locations” such as hospitals, religious institutions, and schools.

This comprehensive legislation, supported by the ACLU and more than two dozen other advocacy groups, was introduced to build upon the successfully implemented changes of the 2020 election cycle.

To our knowledge, Rhode Island remains the only state to still have a statute on the books which declares any person serving a life sentence in prison “civilly dead.”

We opposed a bill which would have eliminated the counting of write-in votes for persons who had not filed in advance a “declaration of intent.”

This bill would make clear that the public can see all final reports of police misconduct investigations and reinstate public oversight of law enforcement that the AG opinion undermined.

The introduction of the Rhode Island Senate rules this session prompted our initial commentary in two specific aspects.

By granting legal immunity to individuals engaged in commercial sexual activity who report a crime that they are either a victim of or witness to, this legislation would create more comprehensive occupational safety for sex workers.

Though bullying is a scourge, a piece of legislation which would have statutorily created an “Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights” drew our opposition over concerns about its breadth.

We opposed a provision within this legislation that could have allowed police officers to recoup disability benefits if they alleged to suffer from PTSD from misconduct that they have themselves inflicted on a civilian.