Search

As the 2015 legislative session wound down, a number of pro-civil liberties bills were primed for passage and many anti-civil liberties bills were failing to move at all. In any legislative year, however, a great deal can happen in the closing days, and this session was no exception. A sudden collapse in negotiations between the House and Senate over a series of seemingly minor bills meant that a number of other bills slated for passage suddenly died in the last moments of the session when legislative leaders abruptly adjourned.

By Megan Khatchadourian, assistant to the director

The Rhode Island Division of Motor Vehicles has agreed to provide a written driving test in Italian to an Italian national in need of a language accommodation. In July, the ACLU of Rhode Island filed a federal civil rights complaint on behalf of Danilo Saccoccio, a recent Italian immigrant whom the DMV has barred from taking the written driver’s license exam in any language other than English, Spanish or Portuguese. The complaint, filed with the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, charges the DMV with violating a law that requires agencies receiving federal funding to provide meaningful access to programs and services for individuals with limited English proficiency (LEP).

Expressing concern that “lives are on the line,” nineteen local medical professional associations and dozens of public health experts and activists are urging the Rhode Island House of Representatives to expand the Good Samaritan Overdose Prevention Act’s immunity to include more charges and provide protection for people on parole and/or probation in order to save more lives.

The ACLU testified in support of legislation permitting the issuance of driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants.