Robert Nardolillo – RI Future

June 29, 2016

Ryan Hall challenges Nardolillo in House District 28

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Ryan Hall is excited to announce his candidacy for State Representative from District 28.

Hall has an inspired vision of hope and prosperity for Coventry and Rhode Island. Many Rhode Islanders are disengaged and disenchanted by our current political system, and he believes that engaging the community and finding prosperity for Coventry residents can reverse this trend.

“We need to clean up our government to allow for local economic growth,” Hall said. “Local food, local products and local companies promote a strong middle class, but they first need the support of our elected leaders. Our state should be an innovation hub for the country and the world because of our geography and population size.”

Additionally, Hall is running to ensure that government and tax system functions for all Rhode Islanders.

“No one likes paying taxes, of course, but they are our payment for enjoying the benefits of living in a civilized society with roads, schools and rule of law. We should feel confident that our tax dollars are being spent equitably and in a way that best serves our community and our state. Unfortunately, that confidence just isn’t there right now.”

Finally, Hall is committed to fighting to make sure future generations inherit a strong, prosperous and sustainable Rhode Island.

“We need to bring equity and resources to education making sure that our future is ready for the challenges they will inevitably face. We also need to focus our efforts squarely on clean energy, not because it’s trendy or hip but because it is economically and morally the right thing to do.”

Ryan Hall is hopeful for the future and is excited at the prospect of getting to know the citizens of District 28 over the course of the next few months.

“I am eager to start speaking with folks all across the district and listening to not only their concerns but also their vision for the future. I look forward to working hard to earn their vote for ‘Hall this Fall’ and the honor of representing them at the state house.”

Ryan Hall has deep roots in the town of Coventry. He has been a resident of the town for most of his life and his family’s history here goes back several generations.

He is an Eagle Scout from Troop 39 Summit and a 1999 graduate of Coventry High School. He later completed a Bachelor of Science Degree from the New England Institute of Technology. He currently works as a Technology Educator and Crew Leader at The Greene School. Ryan Hall lives with his wife at their home on Flat River Road.

[From a press release]

March 16, 2016

Full video: House hears testimony over driver’s licenses for undocumented immigrants

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Two competing bills were heard in the House Judiciary Committee meeting Tuesday evening in a hearing that lasted well over 6 hours and had over 4 dozen people testifying. House bill 7610, submitted by Representative Anastasia Williams, would grant driving privilege license to undocumented immigrants. House Bill 7859, introduced by Representative Arthur Corvese, would make issuing such licenses illegal. Over 200 advocates for licenses filled the main rotunda with reverberating chants during the hearing, which was often emotional and contentious.

2016-03-15 Driver's Licences Undocumented 007 — Gorman and Nardolillo

This became evident immediately as Reps Williams and Corvese verbally sparred even before presenting their bills, which were heard simultaneously. Committee Chair Cale Keable worked hard to keep the peace, and surprisingly did not put a cap on speaking times, allowing people to speak until they were done.

Both bills have been held for further study, and the ultimate fate of the bills is in doubt. Governor Gina Raimondo has indicated that she wants a bill allowing driver’s licenses for undocumented immigrants to be passed and that she is ready to sign such a bill. She made a campaign promise to issue an executive order granting such licenses within her first year in office, a promise she has broken in favor of a legislative solution.

Below is all the testimony presented during the hearing last night, each speaker given a separate video. For the purposes of time it is impossible for me to do justice to all the wonderful testimony given in support of allowing undocumented immigrants driver’s licenses, just as it is impossible for me to get into some of the racism and xenophobia presented by the other side. Hopefully, the occasional notes I’ve provided below can point people towards some of the testimony I found the most interesting.

Rep Doreen Costa, vice-chair of the House Judiciary Committee, told Corvese that he had presented a “great bill.”

Rep Joseph Almeida took Corvese to task for using the term “sanctuary city” in reference to Providence. Corvese responded that, “I do not countenance political correctness,” said Corvese, “and I never have.”

Mayors Jorge Elorza of Providence and James Diossa of Central Falls both spoke in favor of licenses for undocumented immigrants.

Rep Robert Nardolillo, who quoted FAIR, (Federation for American Immigration Reform) in his Providence Journal op-ed, did not exactly do himself any favors by testifying. FAIR has been identified by the Southern Poverty Law Foundation as a hate group. At one point Nardolillo seemed to imply that immigrants were more likely to drive without insurance that non-immigrants. Here’s a quote from the founder of FAIR for Nardolillo and others to ponder:

“As Whites see their power and control over their lives declining, will they simply go quietly into the night? Or will there be an explosion?”
— John Tanton, founder of FAIR

Terry Gorman, of RIILE, lists FAIR on its links page. They also list the Minuteman Project and American Border Patrol, also listed as “extremist nativist groups” by the SPLC. I don’t know how RIILE avoids being on the SPLC hate group list.

March 7, 2016July 13, 2016

I used to live in fear: Driver’s licenses and the undocumented

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I used to live in fear. Fear of being separated from my family and fear of being forced away from my home, away from everything and everyone I had ever known. I am not a criminal, but my life has been criminalized. I have lived in Rhode Island for practically my entire life, having moved here from Europe when I was merely ten months of age. My visa expired when I was a young child and just like that, I became an undocumented immigrant.

For much of my life, documentation has been an obsession. Angst consumed me as a teen. My status constantly raised basic questions about life. I worried that I would never be allowed to drive. I worried about getting a job. These were recurring, pervasive thoughts in my thirteen-year-old mind.

Fortunately, in 2012, President Obama announced his Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) memorandum. This decision granted provisional presence to undocumented immigrants who arrived in the United States as children. Finally, I felt a sense of relief. I applied for DACA and underwent a background check. My application was approved. Thanks to DACA, I was now allowed to get a driver’s license.

Possessing a driver’s license means everything to me. This document allows me to work, to pursue higher education and to volunteer in my city. A license gives me a sense of being, by allowing me to fully participate in the community. Unfortunately, thousands more are not in my position. Many undocumented immigrants in RI are terrified that they will be pulled over while driving to their jobs, homes, or schools. I believe that these undocumented immigrants should not live in fear. They deserve a chance to apply for a driver’s license.

Despite enormous hurdles, undocumented immigrants continue to contribute to their communities. They have paid approximately $33.4 million in yearly tax contributions in RI, including income taxes, as reported by the Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy. With an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number provided by the IRS, millions of undocumented immigrants throughout the United States contribute billions to local, state and federal governments. Nationally, immigrants comprise 13% of the population, but contribute 14.7% of the total economic output in the US, as shown by the Economic Policy Institute.

Unfortunately, there has been a systematic effort to distort the contributions of undocumented immigrants in the United States, with the intent of keeping them mired in the immigration process. Lobbying groups, such as the private prison industry, have echoed many of RI Rep. Nardolillo’s sentiments in his February 28th op-ed. Private prison corporations such as GEO Group and the Corrections Corporation of America stand to gain financially from undocumented immigration. For instance, between 2000 and 2010, the industry has doubled in size, while simultaneously spending over $32 million on federal lobbying and campaign contributions. In addition, the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), which Nardolillo cited, has a track record of affiliating with white nationalist movements. The founder of FAIR, John Tanton, has a record of association with former Klan lawyers and Holocaust deniers, as shown by correspondence archived at the University of Michigan’s library. In fact, FAIR is identified as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

As a result, the benefits of immigration are lost in debate. Immigration reduces overall budget deficits, as shown in a study by the National Resource Council. The issue here is not that undocumented immigrants are stealing two and three jobs each while paradoxically qualifying for every government assistance program in existence. The issue is that corporate interests stand to gain from a system that deports members of working families while inflating the profit margins of the private prison industry and appeasing white supremacists.

I strongly believe that Rhode Island should grant drivers’ licenses to the thousands of undocumented immigrants who file taxes, as the legislation requires. The thousands who live in fear only wish to better the lives of their family and children, an unequivocally American value.

I urge everyone to stand with me to end this cycle of fear and contact the legislators on the House and Senate Judiciary Committees to support H7610 and S2333.

July 30, 2015July 30, 2015

ABLE Act gives disabled children funds for their future

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Only a few days after the 25^th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Rhode Island instituted a new law that will allow families of children with disabilities to create a tax-free investment account to help financially support them when they reach adulthood. Governor Gina Raimondo signed the “Achieving a Better Life Experience,” or ABLE Act, into law on Wednesday afternoon at the Cornerstone School in Cranston.

Representative Robert Nardolillo, an Republican from District 28, and Senator Adam Satchell, a Democrat from District 9, sponsored the bipartisan act. Both legislators said that they decided to take on the bill because of their experiences with disabled children and their families. Satchell, who is a guidance teacher in the West Warwick, said that he works with disabled children all day, and has done so for years, even before he started teaching.

“I grew up next to a little boy who was disabled, and I learned a lot from him and from his family about the struggles that they go through,” he said. “I have friends who have a disabled child. So, working with the disabled has been something that I really wanted to do from the second I got elected.”

Satchell said that in West Warwick, schools are trying to bring the disabled population back in from outside placement. This move has given him the opportunity to work with both disabled and non-disabled students in the same room, in character education activities, teaching children how to respect and be kind to everyone.

“We have disabled individuals in the classroom, and its awesome to see the little kids helping their friend who can’t speak. They come up to me and say “Oh can I help this one, can I work with that one,” and it’s just awesome to see,” he said.

Having spoken with parents of these children, Satchell said that one of their biggest worries is what will happen when their children are not in school anymore. The ABLE program will hopefully quell that concern, and give parents the funds to send their children to adult daycare, or obtain job training.

While on his campaign trail, Nardolillo also spoke with parents of disabled children in his district, and decided to take on the act to help them.

“When I thought about what would be important to me to be important to me, to begin my session with, I concentrated on why I’m campaigning to be a legislator, and that’s public service,” he said. “You reflect on all the stories you heard going door to door. I’m a huge supporter of small business and trying to find jobs, but I’m a family man too.”

Nardolillo said that while speaking with these families, he realized that their children are their sole concern. When he began the session, he was looking for legislation that would have a positive and lasting impact on these families. While there is still more work to be done, and regulations that must be implemented, Nardolillo believes that this is a positive first step in the right direction.

The ABLE Act allows familes to put in $14,000 in state sanctioned accounts each year, with a $100,000 cap. This money is not taxed, and can be put towards a disabled child’s future, when they age out of the school system. Nardolillo added that these funds become even more important when a disabled individual wants to begin working.

“They want to work. They enjoy being out there, and socializing, and we all do,” he said. “We all love our jobs and like to socialize and everything, and this is a nice gateway. It opens the door to that, and that’s a special thing too.”

Both Satchell and Nardolillo also remarked that they anticipate no negative effects on the economy once the act is implemented, only positive ones.

“I can’t imagine what the negative impact of something like this would cause,” Nardolillo said. “Any time you offer someone opportunity, and you offer them a protection with an account like this, that allows them to put assets aside to protect their future, it’s hard for me to find a negative in that, it really is.”

“It wouldn’t have a negative effect on the economy, because a lot of these people basically have no assets to receive some of these services,” Satchell added. “If these people had any money, they weren’t using it, because if they have that money, and they have those assets, they run the risk of losing their programming.”

Before signing the act, Governor Raimondo gave her own remarks, saying that the ABLE accounts give Rhode Islanders the agency they deserve.

“This is about allowing people to have opportunity and independence, and fulfillment in their lives,” she said. “With these ABLE accounts, it will allow everybody to have some measure of independence, which is what people deserve.”

General Treasurer Seth Magaziner was also involved in the crafting of the bill, and said that he took a personal interest because his girlfriend’s brother was born with Down syndrome. Magaziner mentioned that he has seen the difficulties that their family has encountered trying to transition his girlfriend’s brother, named Peter, into adult life.

“Children who suffer from disabilities are just as deserving of a rich and fulfilling life than those children who are fortunate enough to pursue higher education,” he said. “Under this new law, our state will provide an affordable, tax-efficient savings plan to help families save for the costs of helping a child with disabilities make the transition into adulthood.”

February 25, 2015February 26, 2015

Experts agree: Criminalizing HIV transmission a ‘backwards step’

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If freshman legislator Robert Nardolillo accomplished anything with the introduction of legislation that seeks to criminalize the transmission of HIV, it was to demonstrate the hard won strength and unity of the LGBTQ and medical community in resisting a return to the ignorance, fear and stigma attached to the disease in the 1980s.

Though Nardolillo, in presenting his bill to the House Judiciary Committee claims to have done research on the issue, it became immediately obvious that he had not talked to any of the assembled experts in public health policy in the room last night. If anything, it looks like Nardolillo’s research amounted to little more than copying section 44-29-140 of a draconian and unhelpful South Carolina law passed in 1988, at the height of AIDS hysteria in the United States.

Nardolillo, who did not respond to my request to answer questions before the hearings, did speak to Zack Ford at ThinkProgress and when confronted with studies demonstrating the dangers of this kind of legislation, showed himself to be impervious to reason, saying,

‘Have I read the research? I did,’ Nardolillo confirmed, saying that he still felt that HIV was too serious not to prosecute in a distinct way.

Stephen Hourahan, Executive Director of AIDS Project RI strongly disagreed. The legislation’s passage, said Hourahan, “would mark a backwards step” in dealing with HIV. Since the bill criminalizes knowingly transmitting HIV, the bill will, “privilege the ignorance of not knowing your status.” We don’t want the mantra to be, “Take the test and risk arrest,” said Hourhan, adding that such a bill would create a “viral underclass” and should be opposed by all.

Paul Fitzgerald, executive director AIDS Care Ocean State, echoed Hourahan’s comments, adding, “I don’t believe that it’s smart” to pass such a bill.

Anthony Maselli, a healthcare worker and LGBTQ activist, said that transmission of HIV with “malicious intent is improbable and rare.” The law, says Maselli, “adds insult to injury” and is “a slap in the face.” At the conclusion of his excellent testimony, Maselli was greeted with applause from those crowded into the room.

Anthony DeRose, representing the Rhode Island Democratic Party LGBTQ Caucus and the Young Democrats of Rhode Island pointed out that as a country, we are in the process of rolling back similar laws. Laws such as the one Nardolillo introduced, said DeRose, are “outdated.”

Dr. Amy Nunn of Brown University, who I featured in a piece back in December during a State House event held for World AIDS Day, said that passage of such a law would set back decades of work here in Rhode Island. She called Dr. Michael Fine of the Rhode Island Department of Health a visionary for suggesting that Rhode island might be the first state to eliminate HIV transmission through sound public policy.

Rounding out the night’s testimony was Miriam Hospital’s Kristen Pfeiffer, chair of the RI HIV Prevention Coalition and Ben Klein, a Senior Attorney at Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders. Both were vociferous and forceful in firmly opposing the legislation.

In the face of such strong opposition, it seems extremely unlikely that this legislation will advance out of committee.