To the editor:

I write in follow up to the Senate District 32 debate held on Wednesday, Oct. 5 at the Barrington Town Hall.

During the debate, Senator Cindy Coyne defended her vote to outlaw falling leaves by claiming that those who attack this issue are ‘misrepresenting’ the intent of the bill and taking the bill out of context. 

She claimed that the ‘intent’ of the bill was to only fine folks who don’t clean up their leaves.

As I am certain Sen. Coyne knows, when a bill becomes a law the specific language in that bill becomes the law as far as our legal system goes. The actual language of Senate Bill S0333, which Sen. Coyne voted to approve, is listed in its entirety below. You can also read the bill here: http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText15/SenateText15/S0333.htm

“SECTION 1. Chapter 11-44 of the General Laws entitled "Trespass and Vandalism" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following section: 11-44-33. Injury to private property. – (a) Every person, firm or corporation who is the owner of land abutting another property owner shall maintain and control any and all debris generated by a tree or shrubs that create a nuisance to the abutting property owner. "Nuisance" means any debris that is not controlled, enters a dwelling, and/or causes the affected property owner unnecessary work or costs. (b) Any person, firm, or corporation violating the provisions of this section shall, upon adjudication, be required to remove said tree or shrubs, contain said tree or shrubs to prevent  future debris, and be subject to a civil penalty of not more than five hundred dollars ($500) for each offense."

This language, strictly interpreted, makes it a $500 fine if your tree drops its leaves in a neighbor’s yard, or if the wind blows your leaves onto someone’s property. It also imposes a tree death sentence for dropping its leaves in the wrong yard.

This bill received national ridicule, as it richly deserved. 

The fact that this bill came up for a vote at all shows how utterly disconnected the Rhode Island Senate is from the issues that Rhode Islanders consider most important.

Also in the debate, Sen. Coyne made a point of stating that she did not vote for the ‘leaf bill’ this year. The day this bill came up for a vote on the Senate floor was a day that Sen. Coyne was absent from the Senate, missing a total of six votes, including the leaf bill. Given the Senator’s record of 100 percent voting in synch with the Senate President, and given that the Senate President voted Yes on the leaf bill in 2016, it is a very safe assumption that had Sen. Coyne been in attendance she would have voted Yes for the leaf bill in 2016 as well.

A legislator’s voting record is a direct window into their priorities. Sen. Coyne’s record is one of over-regulation and a lack of focus on the issues that can meaningfully make our state better.

Ken Block