BY MATT O’BRIEN, Associated Press
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — This year’s biggest order of business in the Rhode Island General Assembly might be resolving the unfinished business left when the state’s 113 part-time lawmakers went home in June.
Senate President Teresa Paiva Weed and House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello say they’re committed to an unusually productive winter with early votes on bills that normally would wait until late spring.
The most contentious is Gov. Gina Raimondo’s proposal to install truck tolls and borrow money to pay for a 10-year public works plan to repair bridges and roads.
Other unfinished business could pass easily after lawmakers reconvene Tuesday. One bill would allow online voter registration. Another would renew an expired good Samaritan law protecting people from prosecution on drug charges if they call 911 to report an overdose.
