Political Scene: Lawmakers still confront contentious issues as session nears end

May 12--Many of the clouds that hung over the Rhode Island House of Representatives earlier this year have parted as lawmakers begin the business end of 2019.

The precarious state budget picture top Democrats have warned of for months remains precarious, but new revenue estimates released Friday will give lawmakers a little more room to maneuver as they cobble together a tax-and-spending plan over the next few weeks.

The House Democratic schism that formed last year and, for a moment at least, seemed as if it could threaten House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello's ability to pass the budget he wants, has largely healed since the March vote on a long-sought abortion-rights bill.

Since that most divisive of culture-war issues was taken out of the mix, personal grievances and procedural squabbles have declined as the number of bills moving through the system has ticked up.

It's not summer camp. A core group of Mattiello critics remain. But while 19 House Democrats identifying as the "Reform Caucus" refused to endorse Mattiello out of protest of his leadership in January, many, if not most, are now working with House leadership to get some bills passed.

Has the speaker won people over?

"I think that's probably a fair statement," Mattiello said Thursday when asked about it. "I always expected when we started, if you took the politics out of the occasion ... everybody wants to work toward the same goal. The folks who weren't motivated by politics changed their thought process and the folks that are politically motivated continue to be."

Along with the abortion bill, Mattiello gave a little ground on reformers' calls for House rules changes, defusing another point of contention.

"The zeitgeist is that since January, the members of this body have dealt with very difficult issues, have taken very difficult votes. That is good for the body," Barrington Democrat and Reform Caucus member Jason Knight said. "There is a different tone to our conversations around policy issues. I see it as more collegial and at the same time more frank than in the past."

Had the Democratic infighting escalated, it may have created an opening for the small Republican caucus to exert more influence over the budget or achieve its top priority of establishing an independent inspector general.

"While every member of our caucus has individual legislative initiatives, we are united in our call for an independent Office of Inspector General," House GOP leader Blake Filippi wrote about that role the minority hopes to play. "As our state budget stands on the precipice of $10 Billion, we desperately need this office to root out abuse and waste, and to recommend best practices that will help departments realize efficiencies."

The abortion-rights bill, and the anxiety that goes with it, are now in the Senate, where Democratic leaders dumped an early-evening bombshell on Friday, announcing the Judiciary Committee will vote on it Tuesday. Unlike most committee votes, the outcome of this one is not a certainty.

If the Senate doesn't pass the bill, or amends it substantially, it is unlikely the House will take it up again this year. And next year is an election year.

Another contentious issue is a proposal to lengthen the statute of limitations on sexual-abuse cases. Both House and Senate leaders have said they expect to pass some change on the issue this year, but church leaders have pushed back on opening the door to lawsuits on cases from the past.

In the first four-plus months of the year, the Assembly has sent six bills to Gov. Gina Raimondo, excluding perfunctory sign-offs on local bills, marriage officiations and corporate charter re-instatements. They include legalizing online sports betting, extending the sales tax to internet purchases and the slate of organized labor bills approved Thursday.

Each chamber has passed dozens more bills whose fates, along with those of more than a thousand sitting in committees, will be decided in the negotiations that typically commence once the budget numbers are finalized.

With all of that in mind, Political Scene took stock of some of the unresolved issues that are likely to feature in the coming month.

The Budget: Raimondo proposed a mix of savings initiatives, one-time cash "scoops" and tax-and-fee increases to plug a roughly $150-million budget gap coming into this winter. Some of her ideas, such as deferring part of Mattiello's car-tax cut, raising beach fees and adding a surcharge on guns and ammo, were declared long shots the moment they landed.

A tax on large companies with employees covered by Medicaid is looking like a much better bet, while proposed hikes in the hotel tax, cigarette tax, beverage tax and vaping tax might survive with the need for revenue. In a House Democratic caucus Thursday, Mattiello gave lawmakers the usual warning that it will be difficult this year to afford their personal spending priorities.

They responded with "frustration around the [administration] overspending" and "about the systems we care about, hospitals and nursing homes and municipalities and making sure funding was appropriate," Mattiello said Thursday.

Avoiding cuts to state services without dipping even deeper into one-time revenue scoops will be a challenge.

Guns: Although Raimondo has pushed to ban carrying firearms on school property, Assembly leaders have given no sign they are interested in it. One gun bill that might have a chance is a ban on 3D-printed weapons, which Senate President Dominick Ruggerio supports.

Education: The poor test scores of 2018 quickly turned 2019 into the year of education reform in Rhode Island, with a number of competing policy proposals jockeying for position.

Last week, House and Senate leaders unveiled a seven-bill package with proposals that would, among other things, give more power to principals and set rules for state intervention in struggling districts, but notably does not require any new state funding.

Raimondo wants $10 million to expand pre-kindergarten and $5 million to grow her free tuition program to Rhode Island College and adult community college classes.

A wild card in the debate is the Senate's desire, days after a new state education commissioner took office, to replace her job with a secretary of education who the Senate would have the power to confirm.

Voting: The mounting concerns of election officials about Rhode Island's late primary date and challenges created by the increasing popularity of early mail voting could bring changes to both systems.

Taxes: House Majority Leader K. Joseph Shekarchi is proposing a workaround to the cap on state and local tax deductions for pass-through businesses in the 2017 federal tax cut bill. His bill received only positive reviews at a recent House hearing, but some national groups have questions about this strategy, which is becoming popular nationally.

Marijuana: Raimondo grudgingly proposed legalizing recreational marijuana use in her budget and General Assembly leaders are less enthusiastic about it than she is. Her budget, which also proposed growing the number of medical marijuana dispensaries, included $6.5 million in new marijuana revenue next year, a figure projected to grow to $22 million in 2021.

If the Assembly kills her legalization plan, it will need to make up that revenue somewhere.

A recently introduced Senate bill would double the number of dispensaries.

Providence Viaduct: On Tuesday the Senate is expected to approve $200 million in new borrowing to pay for rebuilding and widening Route 95 North in downtown Providence.

Economic Development: Raimondo fought to maintain funding for her business incentives nearly every year of her first term and may be in a similar position this year. Her budget would raise the cap on ReBuild Rhode Island tax credits from $150 million to $250 million.

Ruggerio wants more big construction projects to break ground and, frustrated by legal hurdles thrown in front of the Fane Organization's apartment tower in downtown Providence, is backing a bill that would allow the state to override local land-use rules on the former I-195 land and other large state-owned tracts. The Senate is also pushing a series of growth-related bills, including an increase in how much craft brewers can sell directly to customers and a plan to speed building inspections.

Others are scheduled for a Senate vote soon, such as the third-party inspection bill and the job-training bills scheduled for next week.

Minimum Wage: Progressive groups are again fighting for a $15-an-hour minimum wage, although Raimondo's budget proposes a much smaller increase from $10.50 to $11.10 per hour.

Left-leaning advocates are also backing an expansion of temporary caregiver benefits and the pay equity bill that blew up at the end of last year's session.

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