House Speaker, Nick Mattiello, certainly has taken some knocks during his tenure, including from me. While one can hypothesize ad infinitum about his motives, I prefer to focus on his positive steps and the attitude with which he has made his moves. Here are just some of the good things the speaker has embraced:

Car tax phaseout
In announcing his plan, the speaker stated that his motivation was based on the will of the people. Let the cynics argue otherwise but the fact is that most people hate the car tax. It is a potpourri of charges based on the “accident” of where you live. Some cities exempt only $500 (East Providence, Johnston, North Providence, Pawtucket, Warren, Cumberland) while others (Barrington, Bristol) exempt $2000 before taxes are levied. Wealthier communities (East Greenwich, Jamestown, Narragansett, Newport, Scituate and Tiverton) exempt cars up to $6000.

The tax rate also varies from municipality to municipality. Jamestown clocks in with $14.42 per thousand on the low end and Providence scalps car owners with a $60 per thousand tax. It is obvious that the discrepancies revolve around the budget needs of the respective towns/cities. The Republicans are correct that the locales should first be required to cut their budgetary waste first before the state reimburses them, but nonetheless this tax should go. It stifles purchases of new vehicles which, in turn, hurt the economy.

Paw Sox
The speaker has walked back his earlier support of wholesale taxpayer money for a new stadium. He was correct to goad the governor into walking the plank by her supporting it first. The present legislation, in effect, has taxpayers guaranteeing the pay back of the bonds rather than the personal assets of the billionaire boys. Governor Gina Raimondo demurred, finally.

Free tuition
The speaker’s hesitation to support the free tuition proposal of the governor will, no doubt, send it back to the drawing boards for a narrower reconstruction. A recent Providence Journal letter to the editor (Ann Anesta, May 31, 2017) offered great suggestions like setting a parental income qualifier, limiting the free tuition to those majoring in subjects that correspond to projected job openings, and requiring that the recipient live in Rhode island for at least 2 years following graduation. Ms. Anesta’s best recommendation was to create a revolving fund to provide low interest loans with similar conditions so that the program would be revenue-neutral.

Estate tax
The speaker is wise to focus on raising the threshold before estate taxes kick in. I have been involved with dozens of charities and have seen firsthand that philanthropists let their money do the walking when they leave the state.

Tax credits
The speaker wants an analysis done of the efficacy of all the tax credits allowed by the state. The public has seen time and again that companies like CVS get $22 million in such credits for job creation while reducing the actual work force. Nobody asks for the money back.

38 Studios
Mr. Mattiello called upon the judge to make the exception and release the grand jury data. Whether he knew or surmised that she would not do so, at least he showed political skill.

Hopefully, the speaker will continue on this new path of enlightenment. Now, if only he would support giving whomever is governor the line-item veto!

Arlene Violet is an attorney and former Rhode Island Attorney General.