Legislation

We opposed legislation which would have increased the penalties for individuals convicted of unnecessary cruelty to an animal and would have placed a life prohibition on that individual owning or possessing an animal for life.

In a piece of legislation indicative of the way that the General Assembly often attempts to “carve out” new crimes out of offenses that already are enshrined in state statute, this legislation would have made simple assault, already a misdemeanor, a more serious felony if committed on a taxi driver.

We supported this legislation which would have required the tax administrator to prepare one-time data that shows the amount of taxes paid by individuals and entities that file taxes using an Individual Tax Identification Number rather than a Social Security Number.

Though we appreciated the intent behind a piece of legislation which makes it a crime for an individual to knowingly and fraudulently represent oneself as a member of the military to obtain “money, property, or another tangible benefit,” we urged amendment to the bill.

We strongly supported a bill which would have proposed an amendment to the Rhode Island constitution guaranteeing the right to an adequate education.

While ensuring a healthy workplace is a laudable goal, we opposed a piece of legislation which would have created a far-reaching “civility code” and imposed liability on employers or co-workers who are, among other things, “overbearing.”

We strongly supported legislation that expands access to a driver’s license to undocumented individuals.

We supported this bill which would have prevented landlords from inquiring about the immigration status of their tenants or potential tenants.

We urged enactment of a bill which would have provided specific technological privacy protections for students using school-loaned devices.