Domestic-abusers lose gun rights, private-sector workers get paid sick leave
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Rhode Island lawmakers returned to the State House on Tuesday to close out the 2017 session with final votes on some of the most controversial bills of the year, including legislation to take guns away from domestic-abusers, mandate paid sick leave for private-sector employees and make it easier for firefighters to qualify for tax-free disability pensions.
A slew of lower-profile bills also zipped through the House and Senate on their way to the governor’s desk.
They included: bills to require random post-election audits to verify machine-ballot tallies and defibrillators in any venue in Rhode Island with room for 300 or more people to shock a stopped heart back into beating.
But unanswered questions dogged a bill to create the potential for an unnamed private company to put license-plate readers on state highways. The Senate closed without ever taking up.
Officially dead: House Republican Leader Patricia Morgan’s bid for a final-night vote on seeking the Rhode Island Supreme Court’s opinion on the need for two-thirds vote of approval on any public financing for the construction of a new Pawtucket Red Sox Stadium. With no decision yet to act on the proposal, House Speaker Nicholas Mattielo said it is unclear if it is even needed.
Read more: http://www.providencejournal.com/news/20170919/domestic-abusers-lose-gun-rights-private-sector-workers-get-paid-sick-leave-its-easier-for-firefighters-to-get-disability-pensions