Latest news with #Zurier
Boston Globe
25-04-2025
- Business
- Boston Globe
R.I. senator's bill would require two-thirds majority for Commerce Corp. financing, after tight Tidewater stadium vote
Supporters said that action was needed to keep the project moving forward in the face of 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 Earlier this month, the developer Advertisement But Zurier, a Providence Democrat, has introduced In his April 20 district newsletter, Zurier explained his rationale, saying the razor-thin margin of that 2022 vote was an outlier. Over the last four years, the board has voted on 203 resolutions, and the Tidewater Landing vote was the only one that didn't receive at least two-thirds of the vote, he said. Advertisement 'This vote stuck out like a sore thumb,' Zurier told the Globe. 'From an institutional standpoint, it's not ideal. It happened on a divided vote, with the governor breaking a tie and two abstentions. It seemed it might be beneficial that they operate by consensus going forward.' He noted that the project's financing has 'generated significant controversy.' He cited reports that the state originally planned to provide the developer with $27 million in capital from a bond that would generate $37 million in financing costs. When the bond was finally sold, Related : 'I think it was at a minimum an extraordinarily inefficient way to complete the financing,' Zurier said. 'Certainly, there were easier alternatives in terms of a General Assembly expenditure or bond.' He said that during a Senate Finance Committee meeting last year, he asked Commerce Corporation Director Elizabeth M. Tanner if the board could adopt an internal rule requiring a third-thirds supermajority for all major votes. He said she did not think the Commerce Corporation had the authority to make such a rule. Zurier said he disagreed with Tanner's conclusion, but that led him to propose the bill to require a two-thirds vote in the future. He said the proposed legislation 'offers a surgically precise solution to the problems raised by that vote.' Advertisement The bill has been referred to the Senate Commerce Committee, which has held it for further study. When asked for comment on the bill, McKee press secretary Olivia DaRocha said, 'The governor will review the bill if it reaches his desk.' Edward Fitzpatrick can be reached at
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
RIPTA's finances are one hot mess. Lawmakers have four different solutions.
Rhode Island Public Transit Authority CEO Christopher Durand, center, stands inside the Senate Committee on Finance hearing room on April 8, 2025. He had just wrapped up a presentation on his agency's financial outlook for fiscal year 2026. (Photo by Christopher Shea/Rhode Island Current) A bill by Sen. Sam Zurier offers one way to plug the $32.6 million hole in the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority's upcoming budget: increasing the bus agency's share of the gas tax. The Providence Democrat's bill — one of four proposals seeking to solve the cash-strapped bus network's funding woes — would increase RIPTA's share of the state's tax on gasoline from 26% to 30%. It's a funding strategy that's garnered support from transit advocates and the agency's leader. 'With a $32 million shortfall, that's helpful,' RIPTA CEO Christopher Durand told the Senate Committee on Finance at a hearing on Tuesday. But the chairman of RIPTA's board of directors is opposed to the idea, arguing Zurier's gas tax shift would take away from the state department he leads. 'It would result in an annual loss of approximately $7 million, significantly impacting our capital program,' Rhode Island Department of Transportation Director Peter Alviti Jr., who the state mandated to steer RIPTA's board in 2023, wrote to the committee. Alviti did not attend Tuesday's three-hour hearing. Zurier argued Alviti's stance goes against RIPTA's board-supported goal of finding a sustainable funding source — which the gas tax has become less stable as more drivers shift to more fuel-efficient and electric vehicles. RIPTA now gets about $40 million in annual gasoline tax revenues, based on its existing allocation of 9.75 cents per gallon. That revenue is projected to drop over $1 million when fiscal year 2026 starts July 1, according to projections from the Rhode Island Department of Revenue. 'This would only restore the share RIPTA had,' Zurier said. 'It's very common sense.' Three other proposals were heard by the committee: A bill by Sen. Meghan Kallman, a Providence Democrat, would add a 75-cent fee to each fare collected by rideshare companies in order to fund mass transit. A bill by Sen. Robert Britto, an East Providence Democrat, would earmark the state's existing tax on rideshare trips toward mass transit. A resolution by Sen. Mark McKenney, a Warwick Democrat, would allocate $32.6 million from the general fund to fill RIPTA's latest budget gap. All four bills were held for further study by the committee as is standard procedure for an initial vetting by a legislative panel. Realistically, Durand said RIPTA can only cut around $10 million from its deficit because most of the expenses in the agency's $154 million spending plan are funded with federal money or tied into existing operations. 'There really isn't a whole lot to trim,' Durand said. The agency projects about 300 employees losing their jobs if lawmakers don't provide any new funding. There are ways RIPTA can try to generate revenue. A presentation Durand gave the committee floated a 5% fare increase, which the agency projects would bring in $470,871 annually. But such a change could decrease ridership by 100,000 trips, according to RIPTA's presentation. Durand had promised the agency's board of directors last December that raising fares would not be on the table. Another potential source could be by courting more businesses to buy ad spots on sheltered stops, which the agency projects would bring in $440,000 annually. Committee Chairman Lou DiPalma, a Middletown Democrat, suggested RIPTA could take over non-emergency medical transportation for Medicaid enrollees, something the agency used to provide until the service was privatized some years ago. State leaders are still waiting on RIPTA to submit an independent efficiency study of its operations, as mandated in the state's fiscal 2025 budget. The study was supposed to be done March 1, but the agency's board of directors delayed the bid process last year until it could find a permanent CEO Durand, who was the interim CEO for seven months, took over the agency permanently last November. RIPTA's board finally awarded a contract to do the efficiency study on March 27 to Canadian engineering consulting firm WSP, which likely won't have a final report complete until the summer — after the General Assembly likely wraps up this year's legislative session. Durand provided lawmakers with a two-page memo from WSP detailing how transit agencies nationwide are dealing with ridership and workforce challenges following the pandemic. DiPalma called the lack of a final study at this point 'extremely disappointing.' 'We need facts and data,' he said. 'This is not going to satisfy what we need for the budget.' But DiPalma did not blame Durand for RIPTA's latest financial crisis, instead placing it on Gov. Dan McKee for leaving it unaddressed in his recommended budget and passing the buck to the General Assembly. 'That's categorically what happened — we're given the charge to figure it out, and we're going to figure it out,' DiPalma said. 'Rhode Islanders expect to have a public transit authority that serves their needs — in an efficient and effective manner.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
R.I. Senators float alternatives for a decades-old school takeover law
Sen. Sam Zurier, a Providence Democrat, wants to radically revise the Crowley Act, which regulates school district takeovers in Rhode Island. The current law does not offer much detail on how the takeovers should operate. (Screengrab/CapitolTV) Providence's public schools may remain under state control until 2027. Three senators who represent parts of the city want to change the state law that made the takeover possible. The Crowley Act was first introduced in 1997 and lets the state education department seize control of underperforming school districts. The act's sparse instructions for state intervention — about 380 words in all — is not exactly adored by present-day lawmakers, its unpopularity concentrated in the capital city of Providence, where the school system's many stakeholders continue to lament the state's 2019 seizure of its schools. 'I am one of three councilors back in 2019 that actually testified against the takeover by the state,' said Providence City Councilor Helen Anthony at a meeting Wednesday of the Rhode Island Senate Committee on Education. 'One of the reasons that I was strongly in opposition to the takeover was because of the Crowley Act itself. It was woefully inadequate, in my opinion still is, in what it does [and] doesn't do.' Anthony was testifying in support of two bills, S0860 and S0861, by Sen. Sam Zurier, a Providence Democrat who previously visited city councilors to discuss his plans to codify a better receivership model should state takeovers happen again. The bills belong to a suite of four pieces of legislation crafted during a special legislative study commission led by Zurier in 2023 and 2024 that sought new ways to structure the relationship between the many stakeholders in the Providence public school system. Zurier's tweaks to the state's framework for intervention are based on the Springfield Empowerment Zone in neighboring Massachusetts, where a school district staved off state control through a radical revision of teachers' union contracts. 'That vision, I am pleased to report, is union friendly,' Zurier said of the Springfield initiative, noting that 96% of the district's unionized teachers approved of the most recent contract. Zurier's bills would apply to Providence only, and would create a statute authorizing a third-party receiver to manage the district, rather than the state doing so directly. The state would appoint the receiver, who would be 'a nonprofit entity or an individual with a demonstrated record of success in improving low-performing schools or districts or the academic performance of disadvantaged students,' according to one of the bill texts. The receivership would be authorized for up to three years, and allow the third-party to oversee staffing and budget decisions, teacher renewals and a turnaround plan with clear metrics to determine the takeover's success. The receiver would also have some power to modify collective bargaining agreements, and Zurier's bill specifies time periods for contract and dispute arbitration. The current Crowley Act fails to specify much in its regulation of state takeovers in its two paragraphs on the process of state intervention, compared to the 10 pages of regulations in one of Zurier's bills. 'I know it's strange to be thinking about amending the Crowley Act when the city of Providence is considering returning to local control, but I think it's absolutely critical,' Anthony said, arguing that the bills have value for school districts statewide. 'Even though this is Providence specific, they will ensure future interventions are more effective, more accountable, and ideally less necessary.' Former Providence schools superintendent Susan Lusi told senators that Zurier's bills 'will create legal clarity regarding the state's authority moving forward.' One example of the Crowley Act's ambiguities: Last year's protracted legal battle between the state and Providence in which a judge agreed the city owed at least $15 million to plug up deficits in the state-controlled budget. The parties had contradictory interpretations of the city's statutory obligations for school funding under the Crowley Act. Rather than dismiss the possibility of state control, Zurier's bill is actually meant to codify a stronger form of receivership, should it happen again. 'None of this could have happened in Springfield if they weren't scared of a state takeover under the rigorous Massachusetts law,' Zurier said. 'The argument is that you need to have a structure like this in order to…incentivize people to do the right thing.' Jeremy Sencer, testifying on behalf of the Rhode Island Federation of Teachers, disagreed. 'We can do many of the things, if not all, of the things that they do in the Springfield Empowerment Zone,' said Sencer, who was part of Zurier's study commission. 'It is possible, but that requires building trust, and we are not going to have trust at the end of a threat. It's just not going to happen after this takeover…You cannot legislate trust.' Two other Providence Democratic senators on the education committee offered alternate visions of state takeovers. Sen. Jake Bissaillon's S922 would permit state takeovers but only for individual schools, not entire districts. Union representatives spoke in favor of this approach, which stemmed from Bissaillon's utter dissatisfaction with the state takeover. 'What grade would you give the takeover over the last six years?' Bissaillon asked Anthony when she spoke on Zurier's bill. The city councilor gave the takeover a 'C,' but when Bissaillon spoke on his bill, he graded it without a curve: 'The takeover in 2019 completely foundered…I think I would give it an F for abject failure.' Sen. Tiara Mack also offered a school-based solution, with legislation that would require Providence schools to 'form local elected school-based councils' at each of the district's public schools, according to the bill text. All four bills were held for further study, which is standard practice. The same day state senators mused on the mechanics of receivership, the collective voices of Providence public school students were compiled in a document released by OurSchoolsPVD, an assembly of youth-led activist groups that began in 2019 in response to the state takeover. The 11-page 'community needs' document details the trends and prominent concerns about the city's schools shared by students themselves at a December event,. The students' collected opinions reflected a ground-level vantage point, describing a number of more material and social issues like poor school buildings with mold and falling ceilings, subpar transportation and curriculums that don't make space for students of different backgrounds or center people of color. The report noted that 'People are not satisfied with school leadership broadly…They are frustrated by a lack of progress, transparency, accountability, and care for students.' But the biggest complaint was a general lack of support, which was mentioned 54 times by students who attended the event. 'There is overwhelming agreement that students feel unsupported in school,' the report states. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
How old is too old for a judge to stay on the bench?
Members of the Rhode Island judiciary are shown at Gov. Dan McKee's State of the State address on Jan. 14, 2025. (Photo by Michael Salerno/Rhode Island Current) All Rhode Island judges currently serve for life, but the Senate Committee on Judiciary on Tuesday heard a bill that would impose a mandatory retirement age for most judges. The bill sponsored by Sen. Sam Zurier, a Providence Democrat, would require all lower court judges and magistrates to retire by the age of 75. The committee held the legislation for further study — as is standard for most initial bill hearings. 'Rhode Island's system is inadequate,' Zurier told the committee. 'Lifetime appointments are not the best system.' If passed, the legislation would take effect July 1, 2025, and only apply to new judicial appointments after that date. The justices on the Rhode Island Supreme Court would be exempt because any change to their status requires an amendment to the state's constitution. 'All of our lower court judges are creatures of statute,' Zurier told the committee. Zurier wants to get Rhode Island's courts in line with most other states. A total of 33 states have a mandatory retirement age, according to data compiled by the National Center for State Courts. Most set the retirement age between 70 and 75. 'We're really a huge outlier,' Roger Williams University School of Law Professor Michael Yelnosky said in an interview. That statement rings especially true for how Rhode Island ranks among its neighbors. Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire all require their judges to retire at 70. Connecticut judges serve eight-year terms while judges in Massachusetts and New Hampshire are lifetime appointees. New Hampshire had the chance to raise the judicial retirement age to 75 during the November 2024 election, but the ballot measure was shy one percentage point of being approved. In Vermont, where judges serve six-year terms, the retirement age is set at 90. Maine has no retirement limit for its judges, who serve eight-year terms following their appointments. 'It could be that we're better than everyone else, but I think there's some good reasons why states do it the way they do,' Zurier told Rhode Island Current ahead of Tuesday's committee meeting. One of those reasons, Yelnosky said, is that mandatory retirements invite less scrutiny over the performance of older judges — and whether they're overstaying their welcome. He pointed to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, who was still active on the bench at the time of her death at age 83 in 2020, despite calls from some Democrats to step down before the end of President Barack Obama's second term. 'If it's 75, everybody knows you walk away regardless of your ability to continue to do the job,' Yelnosky said. Setting a mandatory retirement age allows state officials to better plan for the future, Yelnosky added. 'If you're a governor naming someone, you know how long they're going to be on the bench,' he said. 'If you're a judge named, you know what your career is going to look like on the bench.' Zurier said an official retirement policy could also lead to a more diverse bench moving forward. 'It's easier to do that if you have more turnover in the Judiciary,' he said. As of Feb. 25, Rhode Island's lower courts had four vacancies. There are 82 active magistrates and judges across the state's District, Family, Superior, Traffic Tribunal, and Workers' Compensation courts. 'I think we have a good judiciary — but I think this could be an improvement,' Zurier said in an interview. 'You want to have rotation in your judges so that they can be up on the changes that have occurred in society over time.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
05-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Pair of Rhode Island senators pitch gas tax fix, rideshare fee to shore up RIPTA's finances
A Rhode Island Public Transit Authority bus stops on Pocasset Avenue in Providence on Jan. 30, 2025. (Photo by Christopher Shea/Rhode Island Current) As Rhode Island's statewide bus agency stares down a $32.6 million budget gap heading into the next fiscal year, two lawmakers are looking at ways to fill the gap without drawing from the state's general revenue fund. A bill sponsored by Sen. Sam Zurier, a Providence Democrat, reforms how the state's gas tax is allocated to the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA), while another from Sen. Megan Kallman, a Pawtucket Democrat, would impose a new fee on rideshare services. Zurier's bill would increase RIPTA's share of the state's annual gas tax revenue, which has never kept pace with inflation, he said. When the General Assembly set the tax at 32.5 cents per gallon in 2015, the agency was allocated 9.75 cents per gallon — at the time a 30% share. But as the gas tax has since increased to 38 cents, RIPTA's share of the pot has since decreased by 4% to 26%, which Zurier said has cost the bus agency $5 million in annual revenue. 'The program they set up in 2015 was supposed to adjust for inflation,' Zurier said in an interview. RIPTA's incoming deficit is the result of federal pandemic relief aid drying up. Last year, the General Assembly gave the statewide bus agency $15 million in unspent federal COVID funds to help plug its budget hole. 'But we know for a fact that money is not around this year,' Zurier said. 'And we know it would be difficult just to plug it with general revenues because we have a projected deficit.' And no relief is coming from Gov. Dan McKee, at least until RIPTA submits a report on its operations to the governor, House speaker, and Senate president by March 1, as stipulated in the bus agency's fiscal 25 budget. McKee's proposed fiscal 2026 budget allocates $126.6 million to RIPTA, despite $159.1 million in projected expenditures. RIPTA had a budget of $153.4 million for fiscal 2025. The gas tax itself is based on the gallons of gas purchased in Rhode Island — a source that will become less stable as drivers shift to more fuel-efficient and electric vehicles. 'That's something that is a positive in terms of our environmental goals, but it has a practical downside when you rely on those gas tax proceeds to fund critical transportation infrastructure,' GrowSmart RI Deputy Director John Flaherty said in an interview. RIPTA now gets about $40 million in annual gasoline tax revenues, based on its existing allocation of 9.75 cents per gallon. But that revenue is projected to drop over $1 million when fiscal year 2026 starts this July, according to projections from the Rhode Island Department of Revenue. If RIPTA's share of the gas tax remains unchanged, revenues are expected to drop to $32.9 million by fiscal year 2030 even as projections show the Rhode Island Department of Transportation's (RIDOT) share of the gas tax increasing one cent every other year. McKee's proposed budget leaves public transit advocates fuming over RIPTA's $32M deficit RIDOT's share goes from 22.25 cents per gallon for fiscal years 2026 and 2027 and increases to 24.25 cents by fiscal 2030. State projections show RIDOT will receive $94 million in revenue for fiscal 2026 and drop to $86.6 million by fiscal 2030. Another part of the gas tax problem, Flaherty said, is how the state calculates increases. The Department of Revenue adjusts the gas tax to account for inflation every two years, but only considers inflation from the previous year. Zurier said he plans to correct that with a separate bill mandating the state consider both years. The proposed changes are welcomed by RIPTA as it seeks to close its budget deficit. 'I would like to thank Senator Zurier for his support and look forward to collaborating with the governor and General Assembly to identify a sustainable financial plan for RIPTA that allows us to fulfill our mission,' RIPTA CEO Christopher Durand said in an emailed statement. Zurier admits there is a slight wrinkle in his tax plan for RIPTA: McKee's budget proposal to charge electric vehicle owners higher with registration fees. The governor's proposal calls for using any revenue from EV registration to help support municipal road repairs, which until now have been funded using federal pandemic aid. Zurier's gas tax allocation bill seeks to allocate 30% of those fees toward funding RIPTA — granted the registration fees are even approved by the legislature. 'It's a controversial measure and I'm not sure if it's going to make it into the final budget,' the senator said. 'And I still haven't developed my own position on that yet.' Both of Zurier's bills, which were introduced on Jan. 23, were referred to the Senate Committee on Finance, where they have yet to be scheduled for an initial hearing. Companion legislation has not yet been filed in the House. More help for RIPTA could come from a proposed tax on Uber and Lyft rides. Kallman's legislation would add a 75 cent fee to each fare collected by rideshare companies — half of which would go toward funding statewide transit. The bill would also direct sales tax revenue already being collected from rideshare companies to a restricted receipt account to fund RIPTA. 'Whether it's reducing our greenhouse gas emissions, making Rhode Island more attractive to employers or increasing workforce participation, we cannot make progress without a healthy RIPTA,' Kallman said in a statement. 'RIPTA needs steady and diverse funding streams that will allow it to operate smoothly year-to-year and expand its services to meet the transit needs of Rhode Islanders.' Kallman introduced the same legislation last year, where it was held for further study by the Senate Committee on Finance. The latest bill was filed Jan. 31 and was referred to the same committee, where it has yet to be scheduled for a hearing. A similar rideshare surcharge was put in place in Massachusetts in 2016 as a way to fund local road maintenance — something the Save RIPTA coalition highlighted on X Tuesday in celebrating Kallman's bill. 'It's time to do this in RI,' the coalition posted. Durand said he was grateful for Kallman's support of public transit. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
