East Bay legislators doled out nearly a quarter of a million dollars in legislative grants this year, and two local lawmakers are among the state’s top grant givers.
Rep. Jan Malik, who represents Warren and Barrington, has so far been approved for $47,000 in grants to 19 organizations, according to a list of grants published in April by the Rhode Island General Assembly. Sen. Walter Felag of Warren came in second with 20 grants totaling $31,200. All told, East Bay legislators account for $238,275 in grants out of a statewide allotment of $2.2 million — $1.1 million each for the House and Senate.
While legislative grants have come under fire this year in the wake of the resignation of former Rep. Raymond Gallison of Bristol, Rep. Malik is unapologetic about seeking and retaining these small “mini-grants” for his many constituents. The House Veterans Affairs Committee chairman, Rep. Malik said he hands out grants statewide to needy organizations and will continue to go after them as “they do a lot of good” in the community.
“I just try to do what I think is right,” Rep. Malik said. “My biggest thing is, as long as they have this program, I’m going to go after them. If you look at what they do, they help a lot.”
The grant program works like this, according to General Assembly spokesman Larry Berman:
Local non-profit organizations submit requests for funding to legislators, who then bring them to House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello. Those requests are reviewed by the Speaker.
“It is subjective, but the speaker looks at them, Mr. Berman said.
Then, those organizations are sent applications in which they’re required to state specifically how the money will be used. They must also prove their non-profit status.
“Then they send the submitted application back to us,” he said. If the application is approved, “the representative (or Senator) gets a check and presents it to the organization. Later, organizations are required to send in receipts proving the money was used as described.
“If they do not do that, they’ll never get another grant,” Mr. Berman said.
“We don’t audit (every single grant) but the auditor general will audit some on a random basis. There is accountability there because they do have to send in their receipts.”
How much each representative or senator gets, he said, is solely up to each individual legislator.
“Some take advantage of it more than others.”
This year, Rep. Malik’s largest grant, $10,000, went to the Dare to Dream Ranch in Foster, which provides horses and other calming therapies to veterans suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome and other disorders.
Other grants went to the Rhode Island Association of Fire Chiefs ($4,000), the Warren Association of Vietnam Veterans ($2,000) and the United Veterans Council in Barrington ($3,000).
Governmental and non-profit representatives say the legislative grants go a long way to helping them fund items that normally would not be covered. Deputy Warren Police Chief Joseph Loiselle said that while the department never counts on grants, they are appreciated.
Recent legislative grants secured by Rep. Malik and Sen. Walter Felag, he said, have helped the department purchase a new state-of-the-art portable digital radio. Money has helped outfit an office for a department intern, purchased a new computer, and also went to new filing cabinets.
Other grant funds helped purchase cooler carriers (shells) for department members’ body armor. Also, funds went to help purchase a special large-sized bike for patrol officer Adam Jennings, who works bike patrols. At 6’7” and 240 pounds, Officer Jennings is just too big for the department’s other bikes and needed his own.
Deputy Chief Loiselle said he listens to the news and knows the knocks legislative grants have taken. But he defends the program:
“Bottom line is, with them we are able to do things that we otherwise would not be able to do.”
Who gave what: A list of legislative grants approved in 2016
Rep. Jan Malik (Dist. 67)
Total: $47,000
1. Art Night Bristol Warren, $1,000
2. Barrington Hockey Alumni Association, $1,500
3. Barrington Police Department, $1,500
4. Barrington Public Library, $1,500
5. Barrington Senior Center, $1,500
6. Community Scholarship Fund of Barrington, $1,000
7. Dare to Dream Ranch, Inc. (Foster), $10,000
8. Friends of Barrington Senior Center, $1,000
9. George Haile Free Library, $3,000
10. Historic Warren Armory, Inc., $2,000
11. Little Rhody Boys State, $2,000
12. RI Association of Fire Chiefs, $4,000
13. United Veterans Council, Town of Barrington, $3,000
14. Warren American Legion Ladies Auxiliary Unit 11, $2,000
15. Warren Association of Vietnam Veterans, $2,000
16. Warren Fire Department, $2,000
17. Warren Housing Authority/Kickemuit Tenants Association, $2,000
18. Warren Police Department, $2,000
19. Warren Senior Center, $3,000
Sen. Walter Felag, Dist. 10
Total: $31,200
1. Art Night Bristol Warren, $1,500
2. Bristol Veterans Council Garden Fund, $1,500
3. Bristol Volunteer Fire Department, $1,500
4. George Haile Free Library, $1,200
5. Hometown Revival Project, $1,200
6. Imago Foundation for the Arts, $1,200
7. Kickemuit Village Tenants Association, $2,000
8. King Philip Little League, $2,000
9. Tiverton Fire Department, $1,500
10. Tiverton Library Services, $1,200
11. Tiverton Little League, $2,000
12.Tiverton Police Department, $1,500
13. Tiverton Senior Center, $2,000
14. Warren Police Department, $2,000
15. Warren Little League, $2,000
16. Warren Preservation Society, $1,200
17. Warren Senior Center, $1,500
18. Warren Substance Abuse Task Force, $1,200
19. Warren Veterans Honor Roll, $1,500
20. Warren Volunteer Fire Department, $1,500
Sen. Louis DiPalma, Dist. 12
Total: $29,250
1.Aquidneck Island National Police Parade, $2,500
2. East Bay Cap (Molar Express), $1,500
3. Little Compton Community Center, $3,000
4. Little Compton Seniors Club, $1,000
5. Middletown Prevention Coalition, $2,500
6. Middletown Senior Center, $1,500
7. Newport Festa Italiana, Inc., $5,000
8. Pop Warner Little Scholars, Middletown Youth Football, $5,000
9. RI Science and EngineeringFair, $1,000
10. Sakonnet Preservation Association, $1,000
11. Salve Regina University, Pell Center, $3,750
12. Tiverton School Department Parents as Teachers Program, $1,500
Sen. Cynthia Coyne, Dist. 32
Total: $29,000
1. Barrington Community School, $5,000
2. Barrington Education Foundation, $1,000
3. Barrington Public Library, $2,000
4. Barrington Substance Abuse Task Force, $8,000
5. Benjamin Church Manor Tenants Association, $500
6. Bristol Senior Center, $1,500
7. Bristol Warren Education Foundation, $1,000
8. East Bay Cap (Molar Express), $3,000
9. Project 106, $1,000
10. Summer’s Last Night in Bristol, $3,500
11. United Veterans Council of Barrington, $2,500
Sen. Christopher Ottiano, Dist. 11
Total: $27,000
1. Benjamin Church Senior Center, $500
2. Bristol Substance Abuse Task Force, $1,000
3. Bristol Train of Artillery, $1,000
4. Bristol Veterans Council, $1,000
5. Coggeshall Farm Museum, $1,000
6. East Bay Community Development Corp., $2,500
7. East Bay Food Pantry Inc., $500
8. Explore Bristol, $5,000
9. Friends of Bristol Animal Shelter, Inc., $1,000
10. Mosaico CDC, $1,000
11. Mount Hope Volunteer Caregivers/Self Help Inc., $1,000
12. Portsmouth Business Association, $500
13. Portsmouth Free Public Library, $3,500
14. Portsmouth Historical Society, $1,000
15. Portsmouth Multi-Purpose Senior Center, $500
16. Portsmouth Public Education Foudation, $3,000
17. Prudence Island School Foundation, $500
18. Prudence Island Volunteer Fire Department, $2,000
19. Franklin Court Independent Living Tenants Association, $500
Rep. Kenneth Marshall, Dist. 68
Total: $19,500
1. Bristol Human Services, $500
2. Bristol Parks and Recreation, $2,000
3. Bristol Senior Center, $1,500
4. Bristol Senior Citizens Council, $1,500
5. Bristol Warren Education Foundation, $2,500
6. Bristol Housing Authority, $5,000
7. King Philip Little League (w/Gallison), $1,000
8. Mt. Hope High School Band Parents (w/Gallison), $1,000
9. Town of Bristol Maritime Center, $2,000
10. Warren Parks and Recreation, $2,500
Rep. Ray Gallison, Dist. 69
Total: $19,000
1. Bristol Fourth of July Committee, $5,000
2. Bristol Veterans Memorial Garden, $1,000
3. Community String Project, $500
4. Dreadnaught Hook, Ladder and Hose Co., $500
5. East Bay Community Development Corporation, $5,000
6. East Bay Food Pantry, $500
7. Homestead Plat Improvement Association, $1,000
8. Hydraulion Engine Hose Co. 1, $500
9. King Philip Little League (w/Marshall), $1,000
10. Mt. Hope High School Band Parents (w/Marshall), $1,000
11. Portsmouth Multippurpose Senior Center, $1,500
12. Prudence Island School Foundation, $1,500
Rep. Joy Hearn, Rep. 66
Total: $11,000
1. Alice M. Waddington School PTO, $500
2. Barrington Community School, $2,000
3. Barrington Education Foundation, $2,000
4. Friends of Barrington Library, $2,000
5. Friends of the Bay Spring Community Center, $1,500
6. Rhode Island Center for the Book at RI Council for the Humanities, $500
7. Scholarship Foundation of East Providene, $500
8. TAP-IN, $2,000
Rep. John Edwards, Dist. 70
Total: $10,825
1. Common Fence Point Improvement Association, $2,000
2. Tiverton Garden Club, $325
3. Tiverton High School, $2,500
4. Tiverton School Department/Tiverton Middle School, $3,000
5. Tiverton Senior Center, $3,000
Rep. Dennis Canario, Dist. 71
Total: $11,000
1. Portsmouth Prevention Coalition, $3,000
2. Town of Little Compton, $5,000
3. RI District 2 Challenger Division, $3,000
Sen. John Pagliarini, Dist. 11
(none)

TOTAL: 119 grants, $238,275