Rhode Island Center for Law and Public Policy

This post was researched and written by RICLAPP Intern Kayleigh Rogers-Torres, a student at Brown University. Look out for more posts written by Kayleigh coming at you soon!

Struggling to develop a sustainable solution to the current unemployment crisis is very much a national issue, but one that hits home hard for Rhode Island’s nearly 13% unemployment rate. After the US Senate rejected a bill calling for a 30-day-unemployment and health care benefit-extension on Thursday February 25^th, two thousand out of work Rhode Islanders were at risk of losing their benefits between now and the end of July. While the impact of this decision would have had minimal immediate impact on current recipients, many individuals would have been cut off from federal benefits up to 53 weeks earlier than planned.

The bill was reintroduced into the Senate and approved by a vote of 78-19 on Tuesday March 2^nd. Rhode Island’s own Sen. Jack Reed and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse had the state’s current 39,000 benefit collectors in mind at Tuesday night’s meeting, as evident by their votes to support the bill. Both Senators expressed their beliefs that longer benefit extensions are needed to allow individuals to securely search for employment knowing that their family is provided for at home.

We will report further regarding the future of this bill as mixed feelings about the measure continue to heat up on the national political stage. While both the House and President Obama have shown support for this bill, many, including Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY), fear that the $15 billion package will only contribute to the federal deficits and further harm our nation’s economy.

Regardless of one’s own views, the Senate’s initial decision last Thursday to rule against another benefits-extension bill (after Obama’s two month federal unemployment benefit extension in December) is a wake up call to the increasing risk of relying on a band-aid bill that alleviates rather than cures. Before the temporary benefits-extension bill reaches the end of its lifespan, the government can begin to explore more long term innovative plans to increase not just job creation, but also job accessibility. Job access will not only benefit individuals currently receiving unemployment benefits while searching for jobs, it will also benefit those unemployed who have given up looking for work and are consequently excluded from our nation’s unemployment rate. It will benefit not just the unemployed, but rather the unemployed and those with jobs together who share in the economic well being of their communities both on a local and national scale.

To read more, please visit:

Senate Brokers Deal to Extend Jobless Benefits

Senate Votes to Extend Unemployment Benefits

Three of the major gubernatorial will announce their support for gay marriage at a rally today, March 3rd, at the Statehouse. Independent Lincoln Chafee, Attorney General Patrick Lynch, and General Treasurer Frank Caprio will all make the pledge. Moderate Party candidate Ken Block is sending a representative to show his support for gay marriage because he will be unable to attend. Republican Candidate John Robitaille does not support gay marriage and claims he was never contacted to attend the event. Robitaille does say, however, that he supports civil unions.

There may be new life to the gay rights movement in RI. Only a few months ago, gay rights advocates had three large obstacles to ensuring gay marriage becomes legal in Rhode Island.  All belonging to the Catholic Church, Governor Carcieri, Senate President Paiva-Weed, and Former Speaker of the House Murphy all vehemently oppose gay marriage. With Governor Carcieri leaving office next January and Rep. Gordon Fox taking over for William Murphy as Speaker of the House, the cause has a strong advocate in the House and another possible advocate as Governor.

Currently, Rhode Island is the only New England State besides Maine to not recognize gay marriage. Over the past ten years, legislation has been written to reform that policy, but has never reached the congressional floor. Even if the Congress were to vote in favor of gay marriage, Gov. Carcieri has made it very clear his intentions to veto any bill that comes his way.

We will continue to follow this story as it unfolds…

For more information about this story click the links below:

3 Candidates for RI Governor To Publicly Back Gay Unions

Candidates for RI Governor Promise Gay Marriage Support

Below is the full story that ran in the Providence Business News describing RICLAPP’s Small Business Development Program.

The U.S. Department of Energy has called out several states, including Rhode Island, for not distributing funding for the Weatherization Assistance Program quickly enough. Rhode Island officials say they weatherized 1,568 since the state received federal aid. However, the governor also admitted that the state has had trouble distributing federal funding received earlier in 2009 because the office lost two staff members. They say, now that the office has been reorganized they are set to distribute funding more efficiently and complete weatherization projects more quickly. It is also reported that $700,000 out of 12.2 million dollars appropriated for the weatherization assistance projects has been distributed to contractors in recent weeks.

The weatherization assistance program provides aid to increase energy efficiency in low-income housing units in order to increase safety and health, as well as to reduce heating costs. This program targets the elderly, disabled, low-income families, and houses with high energy consumption. The RI Office of Energy Resources contracts with RI Housing and seven Community Action Agencies to provide weatherization services to housing units.

With a vote of 5-2, the Central Falls school Board of Trustees voted to fire all 93 teachers and learning professionals at the Central Falls High School today. Teachers union members from all over the state, and even a representative from the American Federation of Teachers, turned out by the dozen to support their fellow union members.

After struggling to reach an agreement on terms of compensation, Supt. Gallo abandoned her effort to implement the “Transformational Model”, which would have meant teachers would be required, among other things, to greatly increase the amount of time spent with students outside of the classroom. After reaching a stalemate with the union, she opted to move forward with the “Turnaround Model”. This model, supported by State Education Commissioner Gist, means that all teaching staff will be fired with only 50% allowed to be reinstated for the next school year.

This approach has caused mixed reactions. U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan said he “applauded” them for “showing courage and doing the right thing for kids.” Others believe this is simply a ploy to break up the teachers union. Finally, even though he voted down on the turnaround model, school trustee B.K. Nordon said, “I don’t believe this is a worker’s rights issue. I believe it’s a children’s rights issue.”

With a lot of pressure on Supt. Gallo to take drastic measures to rescue the failing school, this is certainly a loud statement that could possibly set a precedent for other failing school districts in Rhode Island and around the country. Due to a growing emphasis on education reform and the ramifications of poor education, it is likely that federal funding will continue to allow education officials to take bold measures to reform failing school systems.
To read more about this issue in today’s Providence Journal click the link below:

Every Central Falls Teacher Fired, Labor Outraged

It was reported by the Providence Journal today that Supt. Gallo intends to go through with her threat to recommend terminating all 74 Central Falls High School teachers because of their refusal to comply with her 6 step plan to reform the consistently low-performing school. Education Commissioner Gist said she will seriously consider this proposal.

The teachers union representatives met with Supt. Gallo last night to find a resolution to the disagreement, but none was reached. The union had until noon to agree to the plan, but have refused to agree to spending extra hours at the school without compensation. In a letter to Supt. Gallo the union said, “We continue to hold that it is contrary to federal law, our collective bargaining agreement and the Rhode Island tenure law to terminate all high school faculty. In addition to the proposed action being illegal, it is coercive, unnecessary, disheartening and counterproductive to school improvement.”

The union is threatening to take legal action against Supt. Gallo if she continues to encourage the firing of all the high school teachers.

In a surprise announcement, Patrick Kennedy stated in a video message to be release Friday, that he will not be running for re-election. He has been serving Rhode Island in the US House of Representatives since 1994 and has served 9 terms.

Although all signs pointed to a tough election fight, it seems like the death of Kennedy’s father, Ted Kennedy, had more to do with his decision. He called his father “my most cherished mentor and confidant, my ultimate source of spirit and strength.” Kennedy also promised that he would not be leaving public service, but focus more of helping those facing depression and addiction recovery.

To view Kennedy’s video message, click the link below

Congressman Patrick Kennedy Not Seeking Re-Election

To read more about Kennedy’s career and decision to not seek re-election click the links below:

A Kennedy Departs Congress Ending an Era

Kennedy’s Decision Shows an Abrupt Change In Course

This blog post was researched and written by RICLAPP intern Jenna Mandel, who is a senior at the University of Rhode Island. Look out for more articles written by Jenna in the coming months!

“They have jobs. They have kids. What they don’t have is a place to live that they can afford. According to the latest data gathered by the state’s Homeless Management Information System, almost 1,000 of the people in Rhode Island’s homeless shelters last year were employed” (Housing Works, 2010).

Housing Works RI (2010),“a coalition and campaign intended to end the state’s severe shortage of quality, affordable homes”, recently prepared a Special Report to present the correlation between the state’s severe shortage of affordable homes, consumer behavior and the foreclosure dilemma. By tracking government and private statistics, they have concluded house prices in Rhode Island have escalated markedly faster than wages (as cited by Parker, 2010).

The Mortgage Bankers Association reported “10.25% of Rhode Island’s mortgages were 30 days or more past due”, a record high in the nationwide performance (as cited by Parker, 2010). According to Paul Edward Parker (2010), a writer for Providence Journal, many people applied for risky loans in order to afford a house that allowed them to borrow more than they would have been able to. Consequently leaving borrowers susceptible to foreclosure and driving housing prices to increase as more money became available to consumers.

While the Housing Works report clarifies the source of Rhode Island’s foreclosure crisis, it does not present any rapid solutions to the problem. In order for the economy of Rhode Island to flourish again, Housing Works asserts that policymakers must invest in strategies that will ensure a lasting supply of homes that are affordable to our workforce (Special Report, 2010).

Edward Parker, P. (2010, February 10). Report blames R.I. housing crisis on lack of affordable homes. The Providence Journal.

Housing Works RI. (Winter 2010). Special Report: Foreclosures in Rhode Island.

***Update: On Friday February 12, 2010 Rep. Gordon Fox was sworn in as RI’s next Speaker of the House. A lawyer and former nightclub owner, he is the first black and openly gay Speaker. In his speech, Fox vowed that his top priority would be to put Rhode Islanders back to work.

It was reported today that Democrat William Murphy of West Warwick will step down as Speaker of the House and will hand his position over to House Majority Leader Gordon Fox. Rep. Murphy has held the Speaker title for the past seven years.

We will report updates to this story as more information becomes available as to who will take over the other key leadership positions.

To read more about Rep. Murphy’s career as the Speaker of the House or about who will take over other leadership roles click the links below.

Murphy Set To Relinquish Role As Speaker

House Leadership Set To Change Hands From Murphy To Fox

Today the Providence Journal reported that Central Falls Superintendent Frances Gallo is giving the teacher’s union until Friday to comply with her plan to overhaul Central Falls High School or she will terminate all 74 teaching positions. “For the first time, Gallo knows she can get it done because state Education Commissioner Deborah A. Gist has mandated the overhaul, giving Gallo federal and state authority to transform the school.”

Below is a list of the changes she wishes to make:

- Increase length of school day by 25 minutes to provide more instructional time for students.

- Formalize tutoring schedule to help struggling students receive extra help for one hour before and after school.

- Agree to eat lunch with students one day a week to build stronger relationships.

- Attend two weeks of professional development training in the summer at a rate of $30 an hour.

- Stay after school for 90 minutes one day each week to work with fellow teachers in order to analyze student work and test data, as well as to discuss ways to improve teaching at a rate of $30 an hour. (Only if Supt. Gallo can find grant funding)

- Accept more rigorous evaluations by a third-party beginning March 1.

With a graduation rate of 48% and 50% of students currently failing their classes, it is clear that changes need to be made. However, how to go about creating the best environment for students in Central Falls remains a controversial issue.

This author hopes that egos can be put aside in the spirit of revamping what is clearly a failing system because the only victims of all this discourse are our children. This may be obvious, but somehow I feel it necessary to point out the importance of good education and the power it gives the individual to succeed both professionally and personally. The fact that our children are caught in a system that does not benefit them is discouraging and frustrating, but the fact that change is encouraged is a good thing. From overhauling our failing schools to hopefully acquiring “Race to the Top” funding, there are positive signs of a proactive approach that can only better our state.

Here is the article that ran in the Projo today:

Supt. Sets Friday Deadline For Central Falls Teachers