Members of the Rhode Island House of Representatives take the oath. Photo by Andrew Augustus, WPRO News.
Andrew Augustus, WPRO News
The newly elected and re-elected members of the Rhode Island House of Representatives and Rhode Island Senate gathered at the State House to kick off the 2015-16 Legislative session.
The Senate welcomed three new senators to the thirty-eight member Senate while the House welcomed 15 new members.
Both the House and Senate were sworn in by the new Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea.
Unsurprisingly, Senate President Teresa Paiva-Weed and Speaker Nicholas Mattiello were re-elected to their respective seats unanimously.
“Now that I am elected, I am looking forward to rolling up my sleeves and going to work,” said Speaker Mattiello.
During his speech, Mattiello talked about removing the Social Security tax and wanting to make Rhode Island more competitive with surrounding states on jobs and tax issues.
“We need to grow our economy and to get Rhode Island back to work,” said Mattiello.
Governor Gina Raimondo addressed both the House and Senate saying she wanted to work with the legislature to bring jobs back.
“We’re going to put this state back on track, and we are going to be the team that’s going to ignite Rhode Island’s great comeback,” said Raimondo
The House and Senate will meet on Wednesday.
