Latest news with #RhodeIslandSenate
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Senate President Valarie Lawson seeks opinion on ethical conflicts with teachers union job
Rhode Island Senate President Valarie Lawson is pictured in the Senate chamber ahead of the May 13, 2025, floor session. (Photo by Alexander Castro/Rhode Island Current) Rhode Island Senate President Valarie Lawson quietly recused herself from two labor bills decided Wednesday. The reason: She's awaiting the advice of a state ethics panel on conflicts of interest with her job as head of one of the state's two largest teachers unions. Despite Lawson's abstention, two union-backed bills secured approval with decisive majorities of the 37-member chamber. One would extend organizing rights to university graduate students; the other enhances information-sharing about union members between their employers and local bargaining units. As the end of session looms, with hundreds of bills expected to be considered by both chambers in the final weeks, it's still unclear when and whether Lawson should be participating in discussions and decisions that overlap with her day job as president of the National Education Association of Rhode Island. Lawson, an East Providence Democrat, was elected Senate president on April 29, filling the opening left after the death of former Senate President Dominick Ruggerio. She requested an advisory opinion from the Rhode Island Ethics Commission on May 23, according to a letter obtained by Rhode Island Current. The commission, which last met on May 20, has not set a date to consider a recommendation from its staff on Lawson's request. Lawson in the letter referred to a June 2024 ethics recommendation, when she was majority leader, determining that she could still vote on a swath of proposed changes to the state pension system despite being a retired teacher and head of the teachers union. The ethics panel concluded that Lawson would not benefit from the proposed changes any more than the 68,000 retirees and active state workers and teachers, including 400 of her co-workers at the state teachers' union. Lawson sought to distinguish between actual conflicts of interest, rooted in financial gain, and a 'subjective perception of bias' — the latter of which is not addressed by the state ethics code. 'The Code of Ethics does not address perceived general biases, political views or personal opinions unless they intersect with financial interests,' Lawson wrote. 'This is intentional as the Code of Ethics may not infringe upon either legislative or executive powers.' Lawson also pledged in the letter to recuse herself from any discussions and votes on bills related to pension benefits that would affect her 'rights or entitlements as a participant in the state's Pension system.' Her letter does not mention potential conflicts on labor bills, including the two she abstained from Wednesday. Greg Paré, a Senate spokesperson, downplayed Lawson's recusals. 'In any part-time legislature, most members will have full-time jobs as well, and it is inevitable that potential conflicts will arise,' Pare said in an emailed response Thursday. 'The members of the Senate recuse themselves in these situations. Throughout her tenure in the Senate, President Lawson has recused out of an abundance of caution when a potential conflict arises, and she did so yesterday as well.' The precautionary measure did not put Sen. Ana Quezada at ease. Quezada, a Providence Democrat, did not vote for Lawson for Senate president because she worried over the conflicts of interest with her union job. 'For me, it is still a concern,' Quezada said in an interview Thursday. 'Even if she recuses herself from voting on the floor, what happens behind closed doors?' Indeed, it was behind-the-scenes negotiations, not public votes, that prompted the first Senate president, East Providence Democrat, Billy Irons, to resign. Irons abruptly left the leadership post at the end of his first year, in 2003, amid news reports he accepted payouts from insurance companies in exchange for defeating legislation the industry opposed. 'Recusing from a vote is only part of the actions as Senate president,' John Marion, executive director for Common Cause Rhode Island, said. 'Lawson is also the person who decides if a committee can move forward with a vote on the legislation.' Exercising caution might sound like the best choice amid uncertainty. But her constituents, and the 12,000 teachers she leads, could lose out if she recuses herself unnecessarily, too. This was the conclusion of a pair of Brown University professors in a paper in the 2024 Roger Williams University Law Review in examining non-judicial recusals from 2006 to 2018. 'Recusing might make political sense,' the authors stated. 'Stepping aside makes it impossible for political opponents to claim that voting was improper. But this is where the phrase 'out of an abundance of caution' falls apart. That phrase implies that there are no costs to recusing, just possible benefits. But there are real costs—direct and indirect—to this kind of 'abundance of caution.' The direct cost of legislative recusal is the disenfranchisement of constituents.' Without an ethics opinion on the bills up for a vote Wednesday, it's unclear whether Lawson could have participated in the decisions. Recusing from a vote is only part of the actions as Senate president. Lawson is also the person who decides if a committee can move forward with a vote on the legislation. – John Marion, executive director for Common Cause Rhode Island Marion acknowledged the timing of the state ethics reviews and meetings – typically once per month — made it difficult for Lawson to get timely advice in the end-of-session scramble. But the proposals themselves were introduced on Jan. 31, giving Lawson ample time to ask for more general input from the ethics panel. Senate Majority Leader Frank Ciccone requested an advisory opinion from the Ethics Commission on his ability to discuss and vote on gun-related legislation immediately after he was elected the Senate's no. 2. The commission approved its staff recommendation at its May 20 meeting. Lawson waited more than three weeks after she was tapped as president to ask for an ethics opinion. 'It's surprising given the scrutiny on her dual roles that she isn't doing more publicly to make sure that she's getting sound advice on what she can and can't do in her role as Senate president,' Marion said. 'The next few weeks are going to highlight that challenge.' Companion legislation in the House to Ciccone's bill expanding organizing rights to college graduate students remains held in committee following an initial Feb. 12 hearing. The House Committee on Labor is scheduled to vote Thursday night on a companion to the other union bill, requiring regular updates from union employers to the local bargaining units. House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi remained noncommittal when asked for comment Thursday, only saying that both bills were 'under consideration.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
R.I. Senate confirms Karen Bradbury to open spot on PUC
Karen Bradbury and her husband Patrick Crowley smile after the Rhode Island Senate vote on Tuesday, May 27, confirming Bradbury's appointment to the Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission. (Screenshot/Capitol TV) Rhode Island's three-pronged state utility panel is back to full power, with the Rhode Island Senate unanimously voting to confirm Karen Bradbury to the open seat on the Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission. The chamber's 30-0 vote Tuesday fills the vacancy left by former commissioner John Revens, who resigned in December, midway through his six-year term. Supporters of Bradbury touted her experience in state and federal government and renewable energy as qualifications for her appointment. Bradbury most recently served as program administrator for Rhode Island's Office of Energy Resources, overseeing the rollout of federally funded tax credits and incentives to help homeowners and small business owners pay for high-efficiency electric heat pumps, among other renewable energy programs. Much of her 20-year policy career was spent working under U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, where she left as projects director in December 2022. 'She is committed to finding solutions that provide Rhode Islanders with clean and affordable energy,' Sen. Robert Britto, an East Providence Democrat, chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, said of Bradbury. 'Her track record makes her an excellent selection to serve on the PUC.' Sen. V. Susan Sosnowski, a South Kingstown Democrat, also gave high praise to Bradbury. 'We are so fortunate to have someone with her expertise and her knowledge, and not only that, she's great to work with,' Sosnowski said. Bradbury did not address the chamber, but waved in response to standing applause after the vote. She was accompanied by her husband, Patrick Crowley, the president of the Rhode Island AFL-CIO. McKee's administration previously defended against inquiries about whether Bradbury's appointment was related to her husband's influential role with a major labor union, instead focusing on Bradbury's own qualifications for the job. Bradbury's high-profile appointment to the regulatory body carries extra weight amid rising frustration over utility costs and profits reported by Rhode Island Energy. Addressing lawmakers during a May 20 panel hearing, Bradbury pledged to protect families and businesses grappling with soaring utility bills while also advancing the state's renewable energy mandates, which are one of several costs contributing to monthly utility bills. The utilities commission by law cannot reject the state utility provider's proposed supply-side prices, as long as they do not include an extra markup beyond what it costs to purchase power directly from third-party suppliers. However, the commission has more authority over service-side charges and has scaled back Rhode Island Energy's proposed investments in capital infrastructure projects in acknowledgement of the extra costs to customers. Bradbury will serve out the rest of Revens' term, which ends on March 1, 2027. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Boston Globe
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Remembering Ruggerio, R.I. senators say their late leader modeled growth and built unexpected alliances
'One of the things that he modeled, which I think we should all aspire to model, is growth,' Acosta said on Wednesday evening, as senators devoted a session to honoring Ruggerio, who 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 The Rhode Island Senate honored the late Senate President Dominick J. Ruggerio during its session Wednesday. Edward Fitzpatrick Advertisement 'Over the last few years of his life, he modeled and demonstrated what it meant to grow, to change policies,' he said. 'Not to compromise necessarily your beliefs, but to believe in the process of a deliberative democracy that might move us closer to a more ideal project of a multiracial democracy.' Senator Melissa A. Murray, a Woonsocket Democrat, recalled meeting Ruggerio for the first time after she was elected in 2018. 'I was a young, progressive queer woman meeting this 70-year-old conservative Italian man, whose reputation for being tough proceeded him,' Murray said. 'I was pretty intimidated and maybe a little scared of him, and he was probably scared of me, but for different reasons.' Advertisement The chances of them forging a friendship seemed unlikely, she said. 'But despite our different backgrounds and some pretty big differences over certain political views, his door was always open to me,' Murray said. 'He was straightforward and honest with me, and he always gave really great political advice.' She said some people never understood her admiration for Ruggerio. 'But I have no regrets about supporting him until the very end,' she said. Near the end, when she would ask if he was OK, Ruggerio would ask what she needed, Murray said. 'A dying man was asking me how he could make my life easier, because that's who he was,' she said. 'He was tough but kind.' House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi, a Warwick Democrat, came over to the Senate chamber to pay tribute to Ruggerio. He said he talked to Ruggerio often, including when he was battling cancer over the last two legislative sessions, and he said Ruggerio often talked about his fellow senators. 'He loved you all, he really did,' Shekarchi told the senators. 'He loved this institution.' He recalled that on the final nights of legislative sessions, in June when the weather turns warmer, the House and Senate chamber doors would be open and he'd look across the State House rotunda to see Ruggerio presiding. 'We would text each other back and forth about the hot air in the building — and the hot air on the floor in both chambers,' he said. Ruggerio, who was the state's longest-serving legislator, first joined the Senate in 1985, after serving four years in the House. 'He recognized that we are all in this building and hold the positions we do for a brief moment in time, and he wanted to make his mark,' Shekarchi said. 'Donny's moment was a lot more than brief, and he made more than his mark.' Advertisement Senate President Pro Tempore Hanna M. Gallo, a Cranston Democrat, described Ruggerio as a 'remarkable friend and true gentleman.' She recalled that he called her every day when she broke her foot to see if there was anything she needed. 'Donny was a gift and his memory will continue to live on in the stories that we tell,' Gallo said. 'We're family, and I've said it, sometimes dysfunctional. We are family, and that's what Donny would want us to continue to be — family.' Senator Pamela J. Lauria, a Barrington Democrat, recalled little-known facts about Ruggerio, including his love of Disney and French fries with mayonnaise. She said that when she was first elected in 2022, Ruggerio asked what her priorities were. She cited the During her first year in office, Ruggerio, a long-time Second Amendment advocate, told her that the gun storage bill would not pass that year, Lauria said, and she said she appreciated his honesty. But the bill did pass during her second year in office, and she said Ruggerio showed up for the bill signing ceremony. 'He was there with the biggest smile,' Lauria recalled. 'Anybody who knows Donny knows it probably wasn't because we were passing yet another gun violence prevention bill. He had a smile because he was happy for me, because I was thrilled. And that right there is my favorite thing about Dominick Ruggerio.' Advertisement Edward Fitzpatrick can be reached at
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Senate committee taking up bill banning cell phones in schools
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — The Rhode Island Senate's Education Committee is set to vote Wednesday on a bill that would ban cell phones from being used on school grounds during the day. State Sen. Melissa Murray, D-Woonsocket, introduced the legislation in March. All public school districts would be required to have a policy for 'the use of personal electronic devices' aimed at reducing 'distractions and maintain environments focused on learning,' according to the bill's text. Districts would be allowed to make except exceptions, the bill says. In the House, state Rep. Julie Casimiro, D-North Kingstown, has introduced similar legislation, which was held for further study earlier this month. MORE: RI lawmaker to introduce bill banning cell phones in classrooms Locally, multiple schools have already implemented policies banning the use of cell phones during the school day. Students in North Providence's Ricci Middle School are required to put their phones in a teacher-supervised locker. Nathanael Greene Middle School in Providence also requires students to have their phones in a Yondr locking pouch. In October, Fall River started a cell phone ban for middle and high school students. Q&A: National poll shows Trump's approval rate drops after 100 days Download the and apps to get breaking news and weather alerts. Watch or with the new . Follow us on social media: Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
What comes next for the Rhode Island Senate?
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — The Rhode Island Senate is set to reconvene Tuesday afternoon to elect a new president following the death of Dominick Ruggerio. Majority Leader Valarie Lawson is seeking the top leadership spot, but she is facing pushback for selecting longtime Sen. Frank Ciccone as her number two. Senate President Ruggerio laid to rest In the video above, Boston Globe columnist Dan McGowan joined Kait Walsh on 12 News This Morning to go in-depth about the future of the Rhode Island Senate. MORE: Globe RI & 12 News Stories Globe RI on » Globe RI & 12 News Partnership: WPRI 12 partners with The Boston Globe Rhode Island to deliver unmatched local news coverage MORE: Globe RI & 12 News Stories Download the and apps to get breaking news and weather alerts. Watch or with the new . Follow us on social media: Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
