Dear friends,

Happy Summer!  The General Assembly finished our work last week, and I’m writing today with a summary of what we accomplished this year. We may return in the fall so work will continue through the summer to get bills ready to pass this year, or next. 

This newsletter also features the addition of a community events section - it is really nice that there are once again events to attend! Please be mindful of public health, and also enjoy the summer. I am so grateful we can do both. (And feel free to invite me to your block parties - it is delightful to see people in person this summer!) 

                                                                              

The most important work of the General Assembly is passing the the state budget - our annual plan of how we raise and spend money. I had a pretty good summary in my prior newsletter and here is projo coverage of the budget. 

Session ended with the usual bill-o-rama. I’m grateful that we did not waive the rules, and everything we voted on was posted before the vote. The one exception was floor amendments, but most of them were vetted by the interested parties before the vote. 

Here are some good bills we passed this year:

• The Act on Climate- We finally started passing climate-related legislation and it’s about time! This landmark legislation provides an enforceable framework for our state to reduce our carbon-emissions by 100% by the year 2050. Here's an ecoRI article. 
• Common sense gun legislation - We passed two bills that will prohibit anyone other than a police officer or school security guard from carrying a gun on school grounds, and will prohibit straw purchases of guns for people prohibited from purchasing a gun themselves. This is important!  Here is an article from the Boston Globe. We have more work to do - we should ban high capacity magazines; increase the age of purchasing a rifle to 21, as it is for handguns; ban assault weapons, and take a look at how New York is treating gun violence as the public health crisis that it is, and see what we can bring to Rhode Island. 
• I sponsored the bill to establish the Holocaust and Genocide Education Commission. It has passed and is awaiting the Governor’s signature. Here is the press release.
• Coverage for Doulas - Doulas are non-medical birth attendants, and have been shown to improve birth outcomes for moms and babies. We passed funding for doulas in Medicaid in our budget, and the Doula Bill to provide insurance coverage for Doulas. This bill was first introduced 5 years ago and it is great to see it pass! More information about doulas and national efforts to get coverage here. 
• Fair Pay Act - Finally we have passed this framework to ensure and enforce that everyone in RI is paid fairly, and that women and people of color who are often paid less than white male counterparts have a way to enforce their rights to equal pay for equal work.
• Minimum Wage - we have created a path to a $15 minimum wage. 
• Civic Literacy Act - I cosponsored this bipartisan civic literacy act in order to ensure that civics is taught to our children in schools. I know this has been a favorite class for my kids, and it is important.
• African American History Act - we passed this act to ensure that African American history is taught in our schools. 
• Fair Housing Practices Act - we passed to change the description of protected classes to include sexual orientation. House Bill No. 6215
• Telemedicine - we will continue coverage of telehealth visits for primary and behavioral health care visits. House Bill No. 6032  SUB A as amended
• Gender neutral restrooms - we passed legislation to require that single stall bathrooms be marked as all gender or gender neutral bathrooms so that everyone can access restrooms without worrying if the sign on the door matches their gender. House Bill No. 5741
• We codified the gender neutral rating requirement of the Affordable Care Act, so that no matter what happens to that, we won’t charge women more than men for health insurance. House Bill No. 5763
• We passed legislation to establish harm reduction centers, where people may safely use drugs and get connected with supports so that when they are ready to enter recovery they can access the services they need. This was a priority for our state opioid taskforce, and we are getting national attention for this landmark public health legislation.

We got a lot done! And I'm sure I missed something. Of course, there are important matters that I hope we pass the next time we convene. Here's a list of some unfinished business:

• I sponsored legislation to regulate neonicatanoids, pesticides that are harmful to pollinators, birds and people. This bill passed the House this session. I hope we will keep working on this important legislation to protect pollinators, birds, and our environment, and that this passes the Senate and will be signed by the Governor next time we convene. We would be joining our neighboring states in regulating and limiting the use of these harmful pesticides. Here is the bill the House passed: House Bill No. 5641  SUB A
• We have not yet voted on legislation to limit or repeal the Law Enforcement Officer’s Bill Of Rights. We should have legislative conversations about how we want to be policed and what sort of accountability we expect of our police officers. I join others in supporting greater accountability that requires, at a minimum reforming LEOBOR, and mostly likely repealing it altogether, as Maryland has.
• Let RI Vote Act - We need to pass legislation to codify some of the ways we voted during the pandemic. We should make voting as easy and accessible as possible, and one thing we should do is pass the Let RI Vote Act.
• Cannabis legalization - we should pass legislation to legalize and tax cannabis in RI, as Massachusetts and Connecticut have. Legislation to do this should ensure that we expunge the records of people with past cannabis convictions, and that we ensure that people from communities adversely affected by our drug laws can access and benefit from the legalized market. 
• Expanding Medicaid Coverage - I hope we will expand Medicaid coverage to all RI children, as well as all people who give birth for 12 months following the birth (currently Medicaid coverage ends 60 days post partum for people not otherwise eligible).
• In the last days of session, Rep. Cassar introduced a bill  that would require a race, ethnicity and gender impact statement be attached to all legislation. I am looking forward to working on this important issue and moving towards a system where we are explicitly aware of and stating what the impact of legislation might be on groups that have often been adversely impacted by our laws. Here's the bill.