Woonsocket Radio News Room

 


WEEKLY MEDIA SPOTLIGHT

 

Senate Minority Leader Jessica de la Cruz : It's time to vote on pay raises
When Governor Dan McKee requested pay raises for his cabinet directors for the second time in barely a 6-month span, Senate Minority Leader Jessica de la Cruz and Senate Minority Whip Gordon Rogers were quick to respond by calling for an up or down vote by the General Assembly.  Read the full press release here.

WEEKLY  LEGISLATIVE  HIGHLIGHTS

Morgan bill would limit who can mail voters’ mail ballots.
Senator Elaine Morgan (R-Dist. 34, Charlestown, Exeter, Hopkinton, Richmond, West Greenwich) introduced the legislation (S-0395), ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO ELECTIONS – MAIL BALLOTS. The bill Requires that only the mail ballot voter or their spouse/court appointed guardian/cohabitant/or adult person related to the voter by blood or marriage, be allowed to physically mail the voted mail ballot. The bill was referred to Senate Judiciary.  On March 7, the committee recommended the measure be held for further study.

Paolino bill would increase aggregate limit for tax credits.
Senator Thomas Paolino (R-Dist. 17, Lincoln, North Providence, North Smithfield) introduced the legislation (S-0267), ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION -- TAX CREDITS FOR CONTRIBUTIONS TO SCHOLARSHIP ORGANIZATIONS.  The legislation would increase the aggregate amount of tax credits for contributions to scholarship organizations to $5,000,000 for 2024.  The bill has been referred to the Senate Finance Committee.

SESSION  HIGHLIGHTS

The Senate Minority Caucus was excited to welcome Leader Emeritus Dennis L. Algiere back to the Senate chamber on Thursday, March 16, as the General Assembly honored Irish and Italian cultures with their traditional celebrations of St. Patrick’s Day and St. Joseph’s Day.  The Senate session included an Irish heritage address delivered by former Senate Majority Leader Michael J. McCaffrey and an Italian heritage address delivered by former Senate Minority Leader Dennis L. Algiere. 

Read the Senate Resolution honoring Senator Dennis L. Algiere for his service to the people of the state of Rhode Island here. 

SENATE MINORITY NEWS

The Senate Minority Office extends proud congratulations to Senate Minority Whip Gordon Rogers on his appointment to the Rhode Island Emergency Management Advisory Council. Read full release here.
 

COMMUNITY  ENGAGEMENTS

Senator Anthony DeLuca welcomed students from Tollgate High School in Warwick to visit the Senate Minority Office during their tour of the State House March 16th.  

The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear a case involving emergency abortions. The high court will hear oral arguments today on whether emergency rooms in Idaho can provide abortions to a woman whose health is at risk. Idaho's law makes it a felony for physicians to perform most abortions except to save the life of the mother.        President Biden is preparing to sign a new foreign aid bill into law today. On Tuesday, the Senate passed a 95-billion-dollar emergency foreign aid package, which included funding for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan, and the Indo-Pacific.       A bill allowing Tennessee teachers to carry guns is heading to the governor's desk. The bill allows for specially-trained teachers to carry handguns in their classrooms, and parents would not know if their kids' teacher was armed or not.       The Texas Supreme Court is putting on hold a guaranteed income program that was approved in Houston. Attorney General Ken Paxton has been suing, claiming that it's unconstitutional. The Uplift Harris program uses federal funds to give monthly 500-dollar checks to nearly two-thousand low-income residents.        The City of Baltimore is making some changes following the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge last month. On Thursday, a deeper channel will be opened to allow commercial ships in and out of the Port of Baltimore.        Grindr users are suing the app for allegedly selling sensitive information like HIV status without their consent. The suit, filed in the UK, claims the dating app targeted towards gay and bisexual men disclosed information about health and sex lives of users to advertisers without their knowledge.        

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