Photo by Lindsey Lerner
Andrew Augustus, WPRO News
After six months of work, the legislature ended abruptly Thursday night as House and Senate leadership were at an impasse on numerous bills.
“We just hadn’t made substantial progress on a great number of bills and we were either going to recess or be here until 4 in the morning and be criticized tomorrow,” said Speaker of the House Nicholas Mattiello.
Some of the bills that were left unresolved were the hemp, chicken, and charter school bills.
“The budget was the big bill of the session. The budget is very consequential; its going to have a significant impact on the economy as well as it is going to move us in the right direction,” said Mattiello.
Governor Gina Raimondo said the passage of her jobs plans was one of the highlights of the session.
The house recessed shortly before 11 o’clock but Mattiello said he expects there to be a fall session. Issues such as Rhode Works and the Pawsox Stadium Proposal were not taken up now but are expected to be discussed in the fall.
