Assembly approves several acts sponsored by city delegation

Amore’s school safety bills pass; Conley helps negotiate new PawSox plan

Posted 6/29/18

PROVIDENCE — In the waning days of the 2018 session, the General Assembly approved a number of pieces of legislations sponsored by members of East Providence’s delegation, including an acts …

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Assembly approves several acts sponsored by city delegation

Amore’s school safety bills pass; Conley helps negotiate new PawSox plan

Posted

PROVIDENCE — In the waning days of the 2018 session, the General Assembly approved a number of pieces of legislations sponsored by members of East Providence’s delegation, including an acts proposed by Rep. Gregg Amore (D-District 65) aimed at preventing violence in schools.

The item, Article 9 in the FY18-19 budget, establishes a voluntary three-year pilot program to fund school resource officers at half the costs associated with employing new officers at public middle and high schools. Municipalities would share the cost with the state.

“This item is necessary because some of our schools already have a resource officer, but, others do not. Having a trained police officer in our schools is the first line of defense in stopping a potentially deadly and tragic situation from unfolding in Rhode Island’s schools,” said Representative Amore, current athletic director in the East Providence School District and long-time teacher in the system. “But also, school resource officers are more than just lines of defense against unthinkable tragedies. They are trusted confidants, counselors, and serve as valuable resources to the student body.

“During my decades of teaching experience, I have seen them in some cases be the most popular and trusted authority figure in a school’s hallways and I am pleased that their positive presence will be available to all of our schools.”

The second budget item sponsored by Rep. Amore creates a permanent additional reimbursement to municipalities for school safety projects that follows national school security best practices.

“The amount of upgrades and new school construction that is needed in our state is not a secret,” he said. “But, along with making our schools into acceptable teaching facilities for our students, we cannot ignore security updates that will protect our kids from acts of violence as well. Our schools need to be safe, dry, healthy, and most importantly, secure, and this budget item will accomplish that.”

An act co-sponsored by Rep. Katherine S. Kazarian (D-District 63) and passed by the assembly requires health insurance plans to provide coverage for a 12-month supply of birth control to all those who are insured.

“This act will allow up to a full year of prescribing and dispensing of contraception when prescribed. With constant threats and attempts from Washington to restrict women’s choices concerning their own reproductive health, it is imperative that we ensure Rhode Island’s women have open and reliable access to birth control,” said Representative Kazarian.

The assembly approved legislation co-sponsored by Sen. Cynthia A. Coyne (D-District 32), which prohibits consumer reporting agencies from charging consumers a fee for a credit freeze.

The legislation eliminates a provision of existing law that allows reporting agencies to charge up to $10 to consumers who ask for a credit freeze, also known as a security freeze, that prohibits a reporting agency from giving their personal credit information to any third-party creditor. Current law prohibits the fee only when the consumer has been a victim of identity fraud or is over 65.

“Your credit information belongs to you, not the credit reporting agencies,” said Sen. Coyne. “When you ask them to stop giving it out to other parties because of a security concern like identity theft or a data breach, you shouldn’t have to pay them. They profit from charging those parties for that information, but that doesn’t mean you owe them anything if you tell them to stop because their providing it would put you at risk for fraud. Consumers should have the right to take control of their credit information, without a fee, when they are concerned about security.”

Sen. William Conley (D-District 18), chairman of the finance committee in the upper chamber, was involved in likely the most high-profile piece of legislation considered by the Assembly during the 2018 session, funding for a proposed new Pawtucket Red Sox stadium.

The assembly eventually settled on a proposal for the $83 million project to be funded by the three partners — the state, the City of Pawtucket and the PawSox. The team would pay approximately $45 million for the new structure to built at the site of the former Apex Department Store in downtown Pawtucket near Interstate 95.

“While the House version of the bill takes a slightly different approach, it still addresses and reconciles all the issues that were a concern to the Senate after studying and deliberating about the issue for so long,” said Sen. Conley. “Our goal was to pass legislation that is fair to all parties, and I truly believe we have come up with the best legislation possible. This legislation gives the city of Pawtucket the opportunity to pursue a ballpark partnership with the potential to anchor redevelopment in a downtown district at the northern gateway to our state.”

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