By WPRO News and the Associated Press
Attorney General proposes narcotics cases changes
Attorney General Peter Neronha is proposing that possession of small amounts of narcotics be charged as misdemeanors instead of felonies. He said that the proposal is aimed at helping people struggling with addiction to get treatment.
“Our laser-like focus needs to be on, and will continue to be on dealers, not users, and our criminal justice system should reflect that distinction,” Neronha said as he unveiled his proposal in his office’s service center in Cranston.
Under the proposal, someone charged with simple possession, without any intent to deal the drug, would face up to one year in prison, rather than up to three years. The bill is being sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Michael McCaffrey of Warwick.
Stephen Dambruch, chief of attorney general’s criminal division, says that of the more than 1,100 felony drug cases brought in 2018, more than 660 involved only a drug possession charge.
Chaos on the House floor
Lawmakers tangled loudly on the House floor this week over Black History Month comments.
Speaker opposes beach fee hikes
House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello says he’s looking to freeze beach parking fees in Rhode Island, rather than increase them as the governor requested.
The Democrat told WPRO’s Tara Granahan on Thursday that the budget will likely maintain the current rates for two or three years.
The Department of Environmental Management proposed that residents pay $2 more for daily beach parking or $10 more for a season pass. Non-residents would pay $4 more for daily parking or $20 more for a season pass.
The General Assembly cut the fees in 2016. Mattiello says more Rhode Island residents are going to the beach and he has heard from some who don’t want to pay more.
Listen to “Speaker Nick Mattiello” on Spreaker.
Medical transportation vendor fined over complaints
After over 1,300 complaints of elderly and disabled patients being left in the cold waiting for their rides, the state’s medical transportation vendor was hit with a $1 million penalty and a renegotiated contract.
According to the Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS), the renegotiated contract lifts the cap on how much the state can fine MTM when it performs poorly, and includes a “10% quality withhold of MTM’s monthly payment that will only be released to MTM upon achieving measurable performance goals.”
State officials and MTM’s President and CEO Alaina Macia faced questions from the House Oversight Committee on Thursday night. Both said MTM’s progress is on the right track, but improvement is still needed.
“I can say that the system is stable. The number of missed trips and complaints have decreased dramatically, and your constituents have shorter handle times,” Macia said. She also apologized for the issues.
“I expect that within… less than a month, that this service is very, very acceptable, if not performing well,” she said.
Macia laid out plans for improvement, including hiring more staff and putting GPS tracking in vehicles by April 1st.
Governor-backed gun bills introduced
Representative Justine Caldwell says she has introduced three gun safety bills proposed by Democratic Gov. Gina Raimondo and Attorney General Peter Neronha.
The bills would ban the sale and possession of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines and impose a penalty for the unsafe storage of firearms.
Caldwell said in a statement Friday that the state, and nation, are “suffering a crisis of gun violence.”
Next week
The House Judiciary Committee is expected to vote on an amended version of the Reproductive Privacy Act, which a spokesperson says includes, “a strict codification” of Roe v. Wade, a ban and prohibition on all late-term abortions except to protect a mother’s health or life, and adds new language “confirming the federal statute which bans partial birth abortion and affirms that partial birth abortion will remain banned in Rhode Island.”
