“The public and the business community need to have trust in their government,” Speaker Mattiello said in a news release. “I believe giving the Ethics Commission jurisdiction over the General Assembly is a strong step forward for Rhode Island.”

Mattiello’s bill is a weaker version of the rules concerning Ethics Commission review of legislator conflicts of interest and other issues that the state Supreme Court effectively suspended seven years ago. It would suspend the oversight for five months before an election.

The state Supreme Court ruled seven years ago that legislators should not be held liable for actions that don’t violate the law, including conflicts of interest. The court used the “speech-in-debate” clause that had traditionally been used to shield lawmakers from civil suit.

North Kingstown state Senator Jim Sheehan, a Bernie Sanders supporter, has been leading a one-man crusade for ethics reform over the General Assembly this year. He took the somewhat unprecedented action of buying advertising on local media (including this site) to call attention to the matter.

“While far from perfect, the House amendment represents a reasonable compromise on the ethics reform issue,” Sheehan said. “Most critically, it finally closes the ‘legislators loophole,’ after a seven year hiatus, by restoring the jurisdiction of the Ethics Commission over the General Assembly. If approved and ratified by voters, I hope this measure will help rebuild the people’s trust in their elected state representatives and senators. In light of recent revelations of scandal at the State House, albeit overdue, this reform could not have come any sooner. After six year of working diligently on ethics reform, I am gratified to see a successful outcome to this issue.”

Senate President Teresa Paiva Weed, who joined Mattiello at a news conference yesterday, said, “I hope this is the final piece of the puzzle in terms of restoring confidence and trust in an institution which seeks to serve the people of the state of Rhode Island.”

Other state leaders called it one step in restoring Rhode Islanders’ faith in their government. “This legislation, along with my proposed lobby reform legislation, are historic steps toward restoring Rhode Islanders confidence in their government,” said Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea.

Said Governor Gina Raimondo, “Rhode Islanders deserve better – we need to embrace broad and deep reforms. By restoring Ethics Commission oversight, adopting a line-item veto, and re-examining grant programs, we can send a strong signal that we are committed to making Rhode Island a good place to do business.”

John Marion, executive director of Common Cause RI, who has long championed returning Ethics Commission oversight of the General Assembly said he supports the bill with some qualifications.

“Common Cause is supportive of the Speaker’s proposal to restore the full jurisdiction of the Ethics Commission over members of the General Assembly,” he said. “Our support is qualified on our need to examine the proposal further given that it was only made public today. Additionally, we believe that the moratorium on ethics complaints before an election belongs in law, not in the constitution. It has been seven years since a Rhode Island Supreme Court decision created this loophole in ethics oversight. It’s high time the voters be given a chance to close it by amending our constitution this November.”

Legislative leaders changed their minds on addressing legislators’ immunity from oversight by the Ethics Commission after former House Finance Committee Chairman Ray Gallison resigned amid a law enforcement probe last week. It’s unclear why the FBI and state police are investigating Gallison, but media reports since his resignation have shined a light on a non-profit that he works for. It received significant state funding and board members had little idea of the organization’s work and even their roles, which surprised some listed as board members.

“It is unfortunate, but true, that scandals help advance necessary reforms,” Marion told the Providence Journal.

Like having a new sheriff in town, the “Wild West” of unethical behavior diminished when the Ethics Commission began to patrol the halls of government.  While no oversight mechanism is ever perfect, the Ethics Commission proved to be an effective watchdog for elected and appointed public officials over many years.  However, a 2009 Supreme Court ruling involving former Senate President William V. Irons, struck a severe blow to the Ethics Commission’s oversight authority over the General Assembly.  This decision effectively exempted state lawmakers from scrutiny and prosecution by the state Ethics Commission for violations relating to their core legislative acts such as voting, sponsoring bills and introducing legislation.  Currently, any member of the General Assembly may pursue legislation for which he or she has a substantial conflict of interest without fear of being held accountable by the Ethics Commission.  This “legislators’ loophole” must be closed.

Since 2010, every attempt to close this “legislators’ loophole” died in either the Senate or House.  At the start of this session, it appeared that, once again, that the ethics amendment (ethics reform) was, to borrow an expression from former Senate President Irons, “Not going nowhere!”

But, public opinion and individual voices have helped breathe new life into the ethics reform effort this session.

Both Speaker Nicholas Mattiello and Senate President Teresa Paiva-Weed deserve credit for agreeing to address this important issue this year.  However, their commitment has not occurred in a political vacuum.  They recognize that the upcoming election appears to be seething with anti-establishment or anti-incumbent sentiment.  Angry voters are seeking positive change from their government.  Failure to place a credible ethics amendment on the November ballot could hurt the re-election chances of members of the Senate and House team.  Moreover, the Speaker and President undoubtedly know that a growing number of their House and Senate members support ethics reform, and wish to see the “legislators’ loophole” closed.  As long as ethics reform remains in the public eye, the imperative to pass an ethics amendment will not dissipate.

Even now, there is no guarantee that the General Assembly will pass a credible ethics amendment and send it to the voters for ratification in the fall.  There remain two formidable pitfalls. First, the House and Senate fail to agree on a specific ethics bill text (language), which would mean the death of ethics reform again this year.  Second, Legislative leaders agree to an identical ethics amendment text that would weaken the Ethics Commission in the process.  For example, if legislative leaders were to propose to eliminate the rule making ability of the Ethics Commission, only the General Assembly would be able to make or amend ethics rules going forward.  Given Rhode Island’s unique history of scandal and corruption, often at the hands of the General Assembly itself, this would be unwise.

Speaker Mattiello and President Paiva-Weed stand at the threshold of passing authentic ethics reform.  In this endeavor, I can only hope that they will lead wisely and serve the greatest good by restoring a measure of public trust in our state government.

“There is great potential within the emerging green industries,” she told me in an extended interview one day after introducing a report that lays out her policy recommendations. “If we as a state position ourselves to maximize all available opportunities it will in fact move us forward and secure for us national recognition.”

The initiative already enjoys broad support in the private sector – from the chamber of commerce to organized labor, she pointed out. And she expects legislators from both chambers will champion the bills as protecting the environment is a bi-partisan cause in the Ocean State. “House, Senate, Democrat, Republican and I guess each of us have an independent,” she said. “It’s really a shared value.”

Carbon pricing bill

Paiva Weed is reserving judgment on the carbon pricing bill introduced yesterday in the House by Rep. Aaron Regunberg. “There is obviously not the same kind of agreement among business and environmentalists on that issue as many are concerned about Rhode Island being an outlier,” she told me. “I absolutely support the goal of the legislation without question. The question is from a business point of view how do we as a region, as a country, internationally, remain competitive and address our concerns regarding carbon.”

Tolls

Representing Newport and Jamestown, Paiva Weed serves the only two communities in Rhode Island that already have toll gantries. She said local bridges managed by the Turnpike and Bridge Authority, funded by tolls, are in demonstrably better condition than those maintained by the DOT, funded through the state budget.

“We have safe, well maintained bridges in Newport, in Jamestown and in the Mt. Hope bridge for one reason: because the individuals who use those bridges pay tolls,” she said. “Every other overpass in the state that I can think of if you drive under is a danger. They are falling down, they are decrepit, they are a danger both to the people over and under them.”

Education

A staunch advocate of progressive education funding, Paiva Weed said Rhode Island needs to continue its recent tradition of increasing state education funding. She added that it’s important to fix the funding formula so that it stops punishing traditional school districts for sending a high number of students to charter schools.

“As charter schools have developed the structure of the funding formula failed to recognize that there would be a tipping point at which the diversion of funds from the traditional public education system would negatively impact the traditional public school system,” she said. “If we as a state supported school choice, which we said we did when we passed the legislation years ago creating charter schools, then we would need to recognize that tipping point and provide additional funds for communities that have more of a draw on their base from charters.”

Listen to the full 23 minute interview here:

“The textbook law has been in the books since the 19^th century,” said RIDE spokesman Elliot Krieger. “The transport law on books since the 1970s.”

Governor Gina Raimondo’s proposed budget calls for cuts to this public subsidy to private schools. The state paid $4,873,473 in transportation costs and $554,974 for textbooks in 2014 and Raimondo proposed cutting each expenditure in half.

“Some tough choices needed to be made,” said spokeswoman Marie Aberger, and Raimondo instead proposed a “record investments in K-12 education; the full implementation of all-day kindergarten across the state; and funding for dual enrollment, last dollar scholarships, loan forgiveness and workforce development.”

But it seems like legislative leaders will seek to have the private school funding put back into the budget.

Said House Speaker Mattiello, in a statement, “The tax-paying parents who make the choice to send their children to private schools are lessening the burden on municipalities because the cities and towns do not have to pay to educate these students. The least we can do for these parents is to provide textbooks and bus transportation when necessary. Without transportation, some parents would be unable to make the choice to send their children to private schools, and a greater burden would then be placed on municipalities to educate them.”

Senate President Paiva Weed, who more often finds common ground with Raimondo than Mattiello, agrees with the speaker on this one.

“The Senate supports restoration of the funding for textbooks and transportation services for private schools. Parents of children in private schools pay their taxes just like other parents in the community,” she said. “Collectively, their decision to send their children to private schools saves valuable public resources. For many years, the Senate has chosen to support the funding of transportation services and textbooks for private school students despite previous attempts to cut the funding.”

Aberger, Raimondo’s spokeswoman, seemed to understand that subsidizing private school education was sacrosanct to legislative leaders. “The Governor respects the legislative process and knows the General Assembly will make adjustments as her jobs budget moves forward,” she said.

The Senate Finance Committee will discuss the issue at a hearing on Thursday.

“The troubling issues raised in the ACLU report point out how far our society has yet to go before we achieve true equity,” said Senate President Teresa Paiva Weed, noting statewide all-day kindergarten in particular and education in general are policy areas where the Senate would seek reform to address systemic racial disparities in Rhode Island.

“The Senate’s focus on education acknowledges the outcome gaps that exist in our state, and we will continue to prioritize making investments that will help eliminate disparities,” she said. “An important priority for the Senate this session is legislation to promote full day kindergarten in all Rhode Island school districts. Full day kindergarten is a proven, effective method to help close achievement gaps. More work needs to be done on many fronts, and the Senate remains committed to working towards the ideal of true equity for all Rhode Islanders.”

House Speaker Nick Mattiello was less specific.

“I have not yet had the opportunity to review the ACLU report, but the House of Representatives will always work to enact policies that treat all persons fairly, equally and without discrimination,” he said. “In particular, I will continue to work with the members of the Legislative Black and Latino Caucus on racial equality issues in our state.  I look forward to reviewing any legislation they may propose, as well as other bills on these issues that may come before the House.”

The House passed an ACLU-supported bill in 2012 that prevents schools from suspending students for chronic absenteeism, said spokesman Larry Berman. School suspensions is an issue raised in the new ACLU report. Last session, that bill’s sponsor Providence Rep. Grace Diaz said there is more work to be done in this area in particular.

“We’re still working to address racial disparities in overall suspensions and attendance rates, especially in our city schools,” Diaz said in a press release. “We need to continue to be creative in how we address problems in education while stamping out racial bias.”

Also last session, a bill that would authorize the Department of Education to analyze school suspensions for racial implications was held for further study. It reads, “The commissioner shall develop a method to analyze local school system discipline data collected in accordance with §16-60-4(21) to determine whether the discipline imposed has a disproportionate impact on students based on race or ethnicity. If such a racial or ethnic disparity is found, the local school system shall prepare and present to the department a plan to reduce that disparity.”

Paiva Weed said last session a bill to address racial profiling in traffic stops passed in the Senate. It was called the Comprehensive Community-Police Relationship Act. “Unfortunately, the bill died without a hearing in the House,” according the the ACLU.

“The RI Interfaith Coalition, whose mission is to fight poverty with faith,” says this year’s press release, “believes that as people of faith they are called upon to hold their communities and themselves accountable to the moral standards of justice and compassion that are central to religious traditions.”

The march starts at the Gloria Dei Lutheran Church across from the Providence Place Mall at 2pm and Governor Gina Raimondo, House Speaker Nick Mattiello and Senate President Teresa Paiva Weed are scheduled to speak at 3pm in the State House rotunda. Here’s what Senate President Teresa Paiva Weed said last year and this will be Raimondo’s and Mattiello’s first time addressing this audience publicly on poverty.

The Interfaith Coalition is advocating for “payday lending reform, family cash assistance, and homeless prevention legislation,” according to the press release. Bishop Nicholas Knisely of the Episcopal Church will be there, it said. His counterpart from the Catholic Church, Thomas Tobin, wasn’t mentioned.

Here’s a picture from last year:

“I sought out the Sierra Club’s endorsement because I have great respect for them as an organization,” she told me. “Anyone who crosses the Newport Bridge as often as I do can’t help but take in the beauty of Narragansett Bay and realize how important of an asset it is to our state.”

Paiva Weed has a mixed record on progressive issues – she was a holdout on same sex marriage but has pushed hard to fight poverty. She’s never been wavering on her commitment to environmental causes though, including habitat restoration efforts and growing green jobs. This past year she was an early and ardent supporter of the recently-enacted Resilient RI climate change bill that will help the state prepare for rising sea levels, super storms and other climate change impacts.

Rober Malin, political chair of the Sierra Club said she obviously knows her stuff.

“The endorsement committee was impressed that Teresa Paiva-Weed displayed a depth of knowledge about environmental issues when answering our questions and has been outspoken in her views on the importance of dealing with climate change,” he said. “In the interview it was clear that she is someone who understands that prioritizing this problem is essential to Rhode Island’s economic future.”

Paiva Weed said she thinks coastal communities like the ones she represents have shown a stronger commitment to addressing climate change and a clean environment. “Often it’s more of a priority for those of us from coastal communities than those from urban districts,” she said.

Go back to what Paiva-Weed, and former Speaker Gordon Fox, said when the 38 Studios bonds were being issued.  At that time, in 2010, Fox and Paiva-Weed told Wall Street’s credit-rating agencies that the state would bail out 38 Studios bondholders if 38 Studios was unable to pay, although the Rhode Island Constitution forbids the General Assembly to “pledge the faith of the state for the payment of the obligations of others” without voter consent.  Still, even though our constitution is meant to give voters the right to have a say whenever the state is pledged to pay, Fox and Paiva-Weed did their best to get around our constitutional right and signaled that they would get the General Assembly to do a bailout if one was requested.  The rating agencies decided to act as if there really was a promise by the state to pay, as if it really was state debt—though of course our state really didn’t have any kind of obligation, because the procedures that the constitution designed to protect taxpayers were never followed.  Since the Speaker and the Senate President were in favor of making taxpayers pay for a bailout if need be, their perceived unofficial clout was enough to make some Wall Streeters think they could profit from participating in this dirty deal, even though 38 Studios didn’t seem to have  a very viable business.

But the State House leaders are taking a different line in today’s Providence Journal.  Paiva-Weed now says that what she said to the rating agencies in 2010 is not binding now, and Mattiello similarly says that he’s not bound by what Fox said then even though Mattiello had been Fox’s #2 at the time.  Instead, Paiva-Weed and Mattiello now say that they’ll look at what’s best for Rhode Island right now (since we all know that our State House leaders are dedicated to figuring out what’s best for Rhode Island).

Paiva-Weed has been a longtime bailout supporter.  Last June, when the House was debating the state budget, Mattiello was a big advocate on the House floor for bailing out 38 Studios bondholders.  This year, Mattiello is often portrayed in the media as someone who hasn’t taken a position about a bailout.  In today’s story, Paiva-Weed and Mattiello don’t say that they’re against the bailout.  And I wouldn’t be surprised if they go back to saying that taxpayers should pay for this debt which we don’t owe, like they’ve said in the past.  But they’re now saying that if they come out in favor of a bailout it will be because of what’s best for the state right now, not because of the personal pledge to the Wall Street rating agencies that was made in 2010.

It’s no secret that the 38 Studios bailout is very unpopular.  The strongest advocates for a bailout have been those in high-ranking positions, like Fox and Paiva-Weed and (last year) Mattiello.  After all, it’s generally those in high places who arrange all sorts of shady deals like 38 Studios, and it helps them if they can continue the tradition that those who seek to profit from these dirty deals will always be assured of being paid.  If you go a little further down the power ladder to the representatives who were actually elected by voters, there was a serious rebellion last year against doing the bailout.  And of course the bailout is even more unpopular among the voters themselves, who are the least powerful in this debate, which is why there was an effort to stick them with the bill in the first place.

From what I hear, a sizeable number of politicians who have to face the voters are planning to vote against the 38 Studios bailout this year, though there are also lots of politicians who are holding out against the voters’ will and supporting a bailout.

What I notice about the statement in today’s Projo by Mattiello and Paiva-Weed is that it’s exactly the kind of thing that would provoke the Wall Street rating agencies.  Paiva-Weed is pretty clearly going back on what she said to the rating agencies 4 years ago.  Mattiello is making a similar shift, even though he’s known to belong to the same clique as former speaker Gordon Fox and the preceding speaker William Murphy. Because Paiva-Weed and Mattiello said what they did in today’s Projo, we’re likely to see a downgrade by credit-rating agencies now that’s quicker or more severe than it would have been if Paiva-Weed and Mattiello had said nothing.

If Paiva-Weed and Mattiello have decided that they need a big downgrade to scare people into supporting the bailout, they’re doing exactly the right thing to anger the credit-rating agencies and provoke a big reaction, even though Paiva-Weed and Mattiello have always been careful not to suggest that they’re actually against a bailout.  If all this works, we get a serious ratings downgrade, the politicians pass the bailout again, the crooks on Wall Street immediately put us back to a higher rating, and our unelected leaders get to preserve their reputation as people who can insure that those who want to be paid in these kinds of dirty deals will get a taxpayer bailout.

Let’s remember, by the way, that our credit rating is actually not the most important thing.  Good investors look past the credit rating on a bond and do their own due diligence to see whether the bond is a good investment.  They have to do that, since the credit-rating agencies got a reputation for doing shoddy work during the financial crisis, putting AAA ratings on investments that were worthless.

I assume that the rating agencies will lower our state’s credit rating, even on the legally binding voter-approved debt that’s obviously going to be paid no matter what happens.  So yes, ratings agencies can certainly make these unjustified ratings as a way to pressure us into a bailout, but those rating agencies don’t speak for the whole market.  Whether the rating agencies lower our voter-approved bond rating to BBB, or further to B, or even to D, doesn’t matter as much as what investors are willing to pay.

It’s traditional for rating agencies to retaliate, but it’s the business of smart investors to look instead at whether their investments will make a profit.  Since we’re a small state that needs to sell only a small number of bonds, we only need a few smart investors, as I explained earlier.  So let’s put aside the hype about credit ratings.  Focusing on retaliatory credit ratings downgrades, rather than on what’s a good deal for investors in our voter-approved bonds, is exactly what people do when they want to present a slanted case for a bailout.  For investors who want to buy legitimate, voter-approved bonds, we can actually offer a better deal when we don’t let the insiders waste our scarce taxpayer money on bailing out their dirty deals like 38 Studios.

Monday Jan 13, 2013
North Kingstown, RI – Good morning, Ocean State. This is Bob Plain, editor and publisher of the RI Future blog podcasting to you from The Hideaway on the banks of the Mattatuxet River behind the Shady Lea Mill in North Kingstown, Rhode Island.

It’s Monday, January 13 … and while last week we wondered if Rhode Island was the only state in the nation to have a governor who surfs, this week we’ll be wondering if we’re the only state to have a gubernatorial hopeful responsible for a traffic fatality.

The Providence Journal reports this morning that in 1989, a 19-year-old Allan Fung, now mayor of Cranston who is running for governor, was arrested for the death of a man after a car accident he caused on Interstate 95. The charges were later dropped. Fung was coming home from college for the weekend and he allegedly lost consciousness, or maybe he fell asleep at the wheel, crossed three lanes of traffic and hit and killed a man who was changing a tire in the breakdown lane.

Wow … what a life-changing event for Mayor Fung. A lot of folks wouldn’t have the courage to enter public service after such an experience. I applaud him for telling this story, and more so for being able to move on from it.

That said, Sam Howard penned an important piece about both Republican candidates for governor late last week … both Fung and Barrington millionaire Ken Block agreed to boycott John DePetro and/or WPRO, but quickly abandoned their commitment as soon as the hateful shock jock’s month in exile was over.

On NBC 10 News Conference this weekend, we debated the merits of legalizing marijuana. Justin Katz, the ostensibly small government libertarian-leaning conservative, said he’s afraid it will lead to a government monopoly over drugs and prostitution. Ironically enough his opposition to marijuana smacks of paranoia.

I can’t believe I actually have opportunity to say this, but the ProJo editorial page has a more nuanced and reasonable reason for opposing legalization this morning. They write the legalization could increase use among kids. Experts don’t necessarily agree.

In December, East Greenwich school drug counselor Bob Houghtaling joined Jared Moffat and Rebecca McGoldrick of Regulate RI here in the RI Future newsroom to talk about just this topic. Houghtaling thinks it will be easier to teach kids how to make healthy choices about pot if we take a less punative approach.

In other news about potentially progressive legislation this year from the State House … Senate President Teresa Paiva Weed said last week that her chamber will focus on addressing poverty this session as a means to fixing Rhode Island’s ailing economy.

And in New Hampshire this week, the talk is about campaign finance reform. Harvard professor and Rootstriker Lawrence Lessig organized, with Demand Progress and Rhode Island’s own David Segal, a two week march through the Granite State to get residents to demand presidential candidates take a stand against money dominating politics.

Friend of RI Future Mike McCarthy is there for the entire two weeks and we hope he’ll be checking in with us on occassion. In the meantime, here’s my interview with McCarthy from Friday … he stopped by the Hideaway to borrow my sleeping bag for his trip. Listen to our conversation about his adventure here.

“The Senate’s focus this session on the economy will be inextricably intertwined with the causes of poverty,” she said at a State House vigil yesterday to call attention to poverty in Rhode Island.  “We can’t move the economy forward without addressing the very issues that underline poverty.”

She said the vigil and a screening later in the day of Inequality For All “will set a tone for the year and the message will be carried with us as we work to meet the significant challenges ahead.”

Steve Ahlquist has the video: