 |
| Henry Shelton in his prime |
Governor Lincoln Chafee has signed over 150 bills passed in the recently adjourned session of the General Assembly including several bills we have covered in Progressive Charlestown.
Among them is the “Henry Shelton Law,” which was thought to be in danger of a veto from the Governor only days ago. Whether that was a false alarm, or whether calls and e-mails from the bill’s supporters made a difference, the bill is now law. Named after one of Rhode Island
Other bills of local interest that have been signed into law:
H-5020 sponsored by Rep. Donna Walsh, authorizes Charlestown
H-5122 sponsored by Rep. Donna Walsh, requires repeat traffic offenders to appear in court after the third violation in any 12 month period (a loophole exploited by Laura Reale, who killed Charlestown
H-5203 sponsored by Rep. Brian Patrick Kennedy with Donna Walsh as first co-sponsor that requires commercial establishments to recycle cooking oil into bio-fuel. This bill was co-sponsored by just about all of the area’s legislators (Larry Valencia , Sam Azzinaro, et al.) at the encouragement of Westerly students who did a school project showing the feasibility of recycling cooking oil rather than dumping it.
H-5287 sponsored by Rep. Donna Walsh on hazardous waste liability. This bill was requested by the Southern Rhode Island League on behalf of South County emergency responders who needed to be “held harmless” when they respond to hazmat spills, especially those that commonly occur as a result of traffic accidents.
You can check on the status of legislation on the General Assembly's legislation database. You can see what your Representative or Senator sponsored or co-sponsored and check the status of any bill.
Author: Will Collette
