Latest news with #Corvese
Boston Globe
30-05-2025
- Health
- Boston Globe
R.I. House passes human composting bill, shifting focus to Senate
Corvese said he realized the House was about to pass the bill. But, he said, 'I just want to assure my constituents back in District 55 in North Providence — I do not intend to compost grandma." Get Rhode Map A weekday briefing from veteran Rhode Island reporters, focused on the things that matter most in the Ocean State. Enter Email Sign Up On Friday, the bill's sponsor, Representative Michelle E. McGaw, told the Globe that the legislation is meant to provide another option in addition to traditional burial in a coffin or cremation. So, she said, '(Corvese) doesn't have to compost grandma if he doesn't want to.' Advertisement Representative Michelle E. McGaw, a Portsmouth Democrat, has introduced a human composting bill. Handout McGaw, a Portsmouth Democrat, said some funeral homes in the state are interested in making this option available, and she has constituents interested in it. 'It's enabling legislation,' she said. 'Anyone who is not comfortable with these options can choose from one of the other options that are already available.' Rhode Island would join 13 other states that have passed human composting legislation, including Maine, Vermont, and New York. Advertisement McGaw said human composting aims to reduce the impact on the earth. Burial involves occupying land and paying for things such as caskets, grave liners, and gravestones, while cremation requires the burning of fossil fuel, pouring an average of 534 pounds of carbon into the atmosphere for each cremation, she said. With human composting, dead bodies are placed inside vessels along with organic matter that helps speed the natural decomposition process, McGaw explained. An indoor chamber keeps the vessels between 130 to 160 degrees, and the contents are blended regularly over the course of four to seven weeks. The result is about a cubic yard of nutrient-dense soil. This year, the legislation has been broadened to include alkaline hydrolysis, also known as water cremation, which is legal in 28 states, McGaw said. For that process, McGaw said, a body is placed into a vessel with water and alkaline substances — potassium hydroxide or sodium hydroxide, or a combination. The vessel is heated up and the alkaline solutions return the body, which is already mostly water, to 'a clean water product, with no tissue or DNA,' she said. Bone fragments are left over, similarly to cremation. Those remains are ground up, and a fine white ash is placed in an urn, McGaw said. 'Instead of soil, you get water,' she said. McGaw said she hopes this is the year her bill becomes law. 'As you saw, the debate was far less on the House floor this year,' she said. 'When you see people at fundraisers or in the hallways, they say 'Tell me about this bill, help me understand it better.' It has definitely been a conversation piece. As people get more education about what the bill actually does, they are becoming more comfortable with it.' Advertisement The legislation would enable licensed disposition facilities, including those that also perform cremation, to offer natural organic reduction and/or alkaline hydrolysis, subject to licensing, inspection, and regulations set by the state Department of Health. The bill, which would take effect on Jan. 30, 2027, would not affect burial or cremation as options Rhode Islanders can choose. Attention now shifts to the Senate, which has new leaders following the Senator Tiara T. Mack, a Providence Democrat, has introduced On Friday, Senate spokesman Greg Pare said new Senate President Valarie J. Lawson, an East Providence Democrat, will be reviewing testimony on the bill and speaking with Senator Melissa A. Murray, the Woonsocket Democrat who chairs the Health and Human Services Committee. Edward Fitzpatrick can be reached at
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Ethics Commission offers one ‘yes' and one ‘no' on legislative conflicts of interest
Rep. Arthur Corvese, left, a North Providence Democrat, and Rep. Paul Santucci, right, a Smithfield Republican, each sought opinions from the Rhode Island Ethics Commission regarding potential conflicts of interest. (Courtesy Rhode Island General Assembly and Paul Santucci for State Representative) The state ethics panel has given the OK for one state representative to vote on the fiscal 2026 budget, but put the kibosh on another lawmaker's ability to advocate for his landlord's development plans. The pair of advisory opinions issued by the Rhode Island Ethics Commission on Tuesday address inquiries regarding potential personal or professional conflicts by state legislators. Rep. Arthur Corvese, a North Providence Democrat, sought the commission's opinion regarding his son-in-law's job with Meta. Gov. Dan McKee as part of his fiscal 2026 budget has proposed taxing global companies on the income they derive from digital advertisements in Rhode Island, which directly relates to Corvese's son-in-law's job as Meta policy director. Corvese already pledged in his written submission to recuse himself from any committee hearings at which his son-in-law, or one of his supervisees, testifies. But Corvese was unsure whether he could vote on the fiscal 2026 budget as a whole, should the final version include the proposed 10% digital advertising tax. The commission's opinion gives Corvese permission to vote on the budget as a whole — though not individual line items pertaining to the tax — noting that Meta and his son-in-lawr's financial standing is unchanged by the state's tax proposal. However, the commission did not give a similar rubber stamp to another state representative's inquiry regarding his business landlord's development plans. In a separate advisory opinion, the commission concluded that Rep. Paul Santucci, a Smithfield Republican, could not comment on or vote on any legislation related to his company landlord's plans to develop a 300-acre industrial park in his district because the pair are business associates. No legislation regarding the planned development has been introduced, so the question for now remains hypothetical. Should a bill be submitted, Santucci should recuse himself from the vote or seek further input from the commission. Neither Corvese nor Santucci immediately returned inquiries for comment on Thursday. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
