To the editor:

With the legislative session now beginning, I wanted to reach out to my constituents to give them a quick update and to remind them to contact me anytime with any comments, questions or concerns that they may have. There are going to be very important issues that we will be weighing at the State House over the course of the coming months, and the feedback of my constituents is extremely important in making the best decisions possible.

In the coming weeks, I will be again introducing legislation to eliminate the income tax on military pensions in Rhode Island. This is a very important issue for us on Aquidneck Island, not only because of the high population of those who have served or are serving in our nation’s military but because we want to keep Rhode Islanders from moving just across the border to Massachusetts for tax advantages.

There are other professions that face similar disparate tax treatment in Rhode Island compared with other states, and I will be working to address those challenges as well. Additionally, I will be introducing legislation to create an independent inspector general to police state government spending. This has long been a priority of mine and I will forcefully push for the measure this year, especially in the wake of the 38 Studio’s fiasco.

Among other issues, I am carefully looking at the governor’s proposal to toll commercial vehicles on some roads. I have found the current proposal to be lacking in specifics and I am disappointed with the difficulty in getting further information from the governor, and cannot support what has been proposed. Again, please do not hesitate to reach out to me on any issue that is of concern to you, or if you are having any problems across state government. I aim to be a responsive lawmaker, and can be reached anytime at 401/619-8734 and at rep-reilly@rilegislature.gov.

Rep. Daniel P. Reilly

Portsmouth

Editor’s note: Rep. Reilly is the state representative from District 72, which includes portions of Middletown and Portsmouth.