PORTSMOUTH — Here's a rundown on what state legislators representing Portsmouth have been up to lately at the State house:

McGaw, Ujifusa working on environmental legislation

Rep. Michelle E. McGaw and Sen. Linda Ujifusa have teamed up to sponsor three bills aimed at protecting Rhode Island’s environment and the health and safety of their constituents. Specifically, they are introducing bills that seek to prevent air pollution and ensure the state’s Act on Climate obligations are met.

“To protect our health, economy and quality of life, we must stop polluting and take actions to protect our environment,” said McGaw (D-Dist. 71, Portsmouth, Tiverton, Little Compton). “These bills are important steps towards achieving these obligations.” (Note: McGaw is the wife of Jim McGaw, editor of The Portsmouth Times.)

One bill (2023-S 0031, 2023-H 5142) would prohibit building new high-heat waste processing facilities in Rhode Island. The legislation is a response to efforts by the plastics industry to reclassify high-heat processing of plastic waste as “manufacturing” instead of “waste management” — and thereby lower applicable safety requirements. 

“High-heat waste disposal technologies, also called ‘advanced recycling,’ ‘pyrolysis’ and ‘gasification,’ are toxic and accelerate climate change,” said Kevin Budris, advocacy director for the non-profit group Just Zero. “What is produced by so-called ‘advanced recycling’ are toxic chemicals and dirty fuels that will be burned and create dangerous emissions and more greenhouse gasses.”

“Our communities are plagued with plastic waste — on our roads, shorelines, seas and even in our bodies,” said Ujifusa (D-Dist. 11, Portsmouth, Bristol). “Pyrolysis just encourages more unsustainable plastic production, fossil fuel production, climate change and serious medical problems.”

A second bill (2023-S 0061, 2023-H 5172) prohibits the Rhode Island Energy Facility Siting Board (EFSB) from approving new energy projects that would negatively impact the state’s ability to reach its Act on Climate obligations and reduce greenhouse gasses.

“The climate crisis is directly affecting the East Bay and other parts of coastal Rhode Island as warming weather and rising sea levels increase the frequency and severity of storms and flooding. Through the Act on Climate, our state committed to a carbon-reduction plan to do our part in slowing climate change. Ensuring EFSB does not approve facilities that work against those efforts is a critical part of that commitment,” said McGaw.

Another bill (2023-S 0030, 2023-H 5198) they have introduced requires 50 percent of new light duty, non-emergency vehicles purchased or leased by the state to be electric, zero-emission vehicles by the year 2031.

“This bill addresses the fact that the transportation sector generates the largest share of greenhouse gas emissions,” said Ujifusa.

“Sometimes we talk about protecting the environment like we’re preventing problems that might occur in the future, but people are dying from climate change and air pollution right now. It’s not hyperbole to say these bills will save lives,” said Justin Boyan, president of the environmental group Climate Action RI.

Ujifusa bill would make state websites ADA-compliant

Sen. Linda Ujifusa and Rep. Camille Vella-Wilkinson have introduced legislation to make the state’s publicly available websites compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The goal, advocates say, is to ensure individuals with visual impairments can access the information presented on state websites.

“This bill will ensure our neighbors with visual impairments can access the same information as everyone else,” said Ujifusa (D-Dist. 11, Portsmouth, Bristol).

The bill (2023 H-5106, 2023 S-0105) would require all newly established publicly accessible websites to meet web access accessibility guidelines in compliance with the ADA. State officials would have until Jan.1, 2028 to ensure existing websites comply with the guidelines.

“Passage and implementation of this legislation would allow Rhode Islanders who are blind, or who have other disabilities which require reliance on a screen reader to access the internet, to have the same access to state government websites which the rest of us take for granted,” said Bob Marshall, policy consultant for the R.I. Developmental Disabilities Council.

Cortvriend appointed to House Finance Committee

Rep. Terri Cortvriend (D-Dist. 72-Portsmouth, Middletown) has been appointed to the House Finance Committee.

One of the busiest House committees, the Finance Committee considers all matters related to state spending and is responsible for honing the state budget each year.

“I am very excited to join the House Finance Committee, which spends a great deal of the session crafting the state budget,” said Cortvriend. “During that effort, many Rhode Islanders will come before us and explain the effects that state funding has on themselves or the people for whom they are advocating, and I look forward to listening and being able to ask them questions. The budget is really an expression of our values as a state, and I am so grateful to be part of the effort to shape it.”

Cortvriend will also continue to serve as a member of the House Committee on Environment and Natural Resources and as a member of the Small Business Committee.

First elected in 2018, Cortvriend has been a leader in efforts to mitigate climate change and pollution, address public shoreline access, support education and prevent substance abuse, particularly among youth.  She is the owner of Ocean Link, Inc., a marine plumbing firm that she founded in 1989.

McGaw appointed to four House committees

Rep. Michelle E. McGaw (D-Dist. 71, Portsmouth, Tiverton, Little Compton), who began her second term in the House of Representatives last month, has joined the Health and Human Services Committee, the Environment and Natural Resources Committee and the Corporations Committee, which handles matters concerning financial institutions, business regulation, property and casualty insurance and consumer protection. Additionally, she will remain a member of the State Government and Elections Committee, on which she served during the previous legislative term.

“I am very excited to expand my work on House committees this term, particularly on committees that work in areas where I have professional and legislative experience and interests. I’m really looking forward to helping to craft legislation that improves the lives of Rhode Islanders now and in the future, and to all of the interesting conversations we will have with interested citizens, advocates and experts along the way,” McGaw said.

McGaw works as a consultant pharmacist serving the long-term care community. In the House, she has pushed for the state to strengthen its commitments to the environment and clean energy, introducing legislation to prohibit any type of new high-heat solid waste processing facilities in environmentally sensitive areas, and to require the state’s Energy Facility Siting Board to deny applications for power plants that would adversely affect Rhode Island’s ability to meet its carbon-emissions-reduction obligations. She was a cosponsor of legislation enacted last year to set standards for toxic PFAS chemicals in drinking water.

Donovan to lead Health and Human Services Committee

Rep. Susan R. Donovan (D-Dist. 69-Bristol, Portsmouth) has been named chairwoman of the House Health and Human Services Committee. The Health and Human Services Committee deliberates matters relating to the health care system, human services and children and families.

Donovan previously served as the committee’s second vice chairwoman, and has served on the committee — known as the Health, Education and Welfare Committee until 2021 — since she first became a member of the House in 2017.

“I am very eager to lead the work of a committee that has the ability to make profound, positive differences in the lives and wellbeing of every Rhode Islander,” Donovan said. “We are fortunate to have a very dedicated committee of representatives with a wide-ranging experience within the realms of health and human services. I look forward to the interesting and enlightening exploration of ideas we will undertake together this year to improve public health and services.”

Much of Donovan’s legislative work has been within the areas of health and human services. In 2021, she was the sponsor of a law that boosts the use of electronic medical records and another to allow patients to protect their privacy by having their health care mailings directed to themselves instead of a spouse or parent. She has sponsored or cosponsored numerous bills to improve the lives of children and families, including a law to help ensure effectiveness of Child Opportunity Zones and another that bans conversion therapy for minors.​ She backs many measures to help seniors, including a new law that streamlines the SNAP application process for those 60 and older.

Additionally, Donovan will continue to serve as a member of the Education Committee, the House Oversight Committee, and the Veterans’ Affairs Committee.