Latest Rhode Island State General Assembly News
States boost child care money as congressional effort stalls
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Difficulties in finding affordable child care cost Enoshja Ruffin her job three years ago. The mother of six was let go from her position as a counselor for kids with cerebral palsy after she missed three shifts because she had trouble finding babysitters. After...
Lawmaker suspended from TikTok defends twerking video
BOSTON (AP) — A state senator in Rhode Island who was suspended from TikTok after posting a video in which she twerked while doing a handstand in a bikini says she has no regrets. Sen. Tiara Mack, a 28-year-old Providence Democrat, is Black and queer and dismissed any criticism of...
Officer suspended for off-duty actions at abortion protest
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — A Rhode Island police officer accused of punching a woman at an abortion protest while he was off-duty was suspended from his job with pay Saturday while the Providence Police Department conducts a criminal investigation into his actions. Jennifer Rourke,...
Rhode Island lawmakers pass budget and adjourn for the year
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Rhode Island lawmakers passed a flurry of major bills before the legislative session ended Friday, including the state budget and legislation to provide driver privilege cards to people who are in the country illegally. The General Assembly adjourned early...
Rhode Island governor signs 3 gun control bills into law
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Rhode Island's governor signed three firearms bills into law on Tuesday that included a ban on magazines holding more than 10 rounds, calling it a response to a national crisis that has “taken too many lives and torn apart too many families.” The bills...
Rhode Island House approves $13.6B state budget proposal
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — A $13.6 billion state budget passed the Rhode Island House late Thursday, sending it to the Senate for a vote. The House version of the budget for the 2023 fiscal year accelerates phasing out the car tax, eliminating what would have been the final year of...
3 gun control measures pass RI Senate, head to governor
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Three firearms bills, including a ban on magazines that hold more than 10 rounds, are headed to the governor's desk after passing the Rhode Island Senate. The bills passed Tuesday night — intended to reduce gun violence and prevent mass shootings like...
Rhode Island House approves gun control legislation
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — The Rhode Island House approved bills Friday that would ban firearm magazines that hold more than 10 rounds, raise from 18 to 21 the minimum age for buying guns, and prohibit loaded rifles and shotguns from being carried in public. The legislation now heads...
House committee approves $13.6B state budget proposal
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — A $13.6 billion state budget passed the finance committee in the Rhode Island House late Thursday, sending it to the chamber floor for a vote next week. The budget proposal is higher than the governor's recommendation. Democratic Gov. Dan McKee proposed...
3 gun reform bills clear a key committee in Rhode Island
Three gun reform bills that gained momentum after mass shootings in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas, cleared a key committee in the Rhode Island House on Thursday. Days after 19 students and two teachers were fatally shot at an elementary school in Uvalde, top leaders in Rhode...
