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Legislation seeking to end the practice of prison-based gerrymandering in Rhode Island has once again been brought forward

“The action of the local authorities in compelling the flag salute and pledge transcends constitutional limitations on their power, and invades the sphere of intellect and spirit which it is the purpose of the First Amendment to our Constitution to reserve from all official control.”

Yesterday a federal court ordered the release of information highlighting that Kris Kobach - the head of President Trump’s “Commission on Election Integrity,” - is dead set on undermining voting rights.  Unfortunately, attempts to make voting harder are also happening locally.

During the first week of March, the House Corporations Committee heard testimony regarding legislation to repeal the provisions of the general laws that currently prohibit health insurance coverage for induced abortions in policies covering state and municipal employees.

The fallout from the rollout of UHIP, the state’s troubled new computer system, continues to plague Rhode Island’s poorest residents, as the Department of Human Services (DHS) showed virtually no improvement in April in the timely processing of SNAP (food stamp) applications, including for people the Department acknowledges were entitled to emergency relief. That is the upshot of a report sent by DHS this week to the ACLU of Rhode Island (ACLU) and the National Center for Law and Economic Justice (NCLEJ), required as part of a settlement agreement filed earlier this year in the organizations’ challenge to DHS’s failure to timely process SNAP applications.