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The Senate took no action on a House-passed bill, pushed by the State Police, to allow police agencies to give lie detector tests to job applicants.

The ACLU, the R.I. Disability Law Center and the R.I. Council of Community Mental Health Organizations helped persuade the Governor to veto a bill that would have allowed the Mental Health Advocate to petition the court to involuntarily transfer inmates from the ACI to the custody of MHRH.

The ACLU succeeded in significantly restricting the reach of a bill allowing people with disabilities who serve on public bodies to participate in public meetings by telephone.

Responding to a complaint the ACLU of Rhode Island filed last month with the Division of Public Utilities and Carriers regarding allegations that Verizon and AT&T have improperly shared telephone records with the National Security Agency, the two phone companies are claiming that “national security” bars them from addressing the complaint’s allegations and further bars the DPUC from engaging in any investigation of the matter. The ACLU today called the responses “appalling.”

After a vigorous and spirited debate, the House approved on a 36-25 vote a bill that would have restricted state and local police from collecting or maintaining information about the political associations or activities of individuals.