Dear Friends,
I hope this newsletter finds you having enjoyed a terrific Newport summer. I am writing to you and your family to share some of the accomplishments of the 2022 Rhode Island legislative session. I am happy to report that the Legislature has acted on many issues regarding tax relief, senior citizen programs, climate change resilience, mental health, elections, good government, and so much more. I have prepared this newsletter with information about some of the many bills that we have passed this year.
I will always consider constituent services the cornerstone of my responsibilities as State Representative for Rhode Island House District 75 – Newport. I am available to solve problems at DMV or at Taxation, or anything else you or your family may need taken care of. I can be reached at laurenhcarson@gmail.com or 401-523-1143.
Thank you,
Lauren Carson
Legislative Grants
I was pleased to recognize these organizations and provide legislative grants for their continued work in our community:
$2,000 to the Edward King House for their continued service to Newport’s older citizens. Pictured top: Presenting the grant to Carmela Geer, Executive Director of the Edward King House
$2,000 to the Newport Gulls for keeping the great American pastime alive in Newport. Pictured bottom: Presenting the grant at a July Gulls game
$5,000 to the Island Cemetery for the restoration of the Belmont Chapel.
$3,500 to the Newport Middle Passage Project, commemorating those lost in the Middle Passage of the slave trade which was centered in Newport.
Legislative Study Commissions Updates
At the end of the 2021 session, the House passed legislation establishing two important Study Commissions - one looking into the Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC) and another looking at Lateral Shoreline Access. These two commissions met through the fall of 2021 and into the 2022 session, hearing from the state’s experts on both topics.
An immediate positive outcome of the CRMC Study Commission is that the 2023 budget now includes funding for a full-time hearing to hear both contested permit and enforcement cases.
The purpose of the commission to study Lateral Shoreline Access was to make a comprehensive study and provide recommendations relating to public access along our 400 miles of shoreline.
It was the testimony of the coastal scientists from URI’s Coastal Institute that provided the pivotal information that showed that the Mean High Water Line is underwater on RI’s Southern shoreline most of the day, meaning that the public’s constitutional privileges are largely illusory. This led the commission to the unanimous conclusion that the General Assembly should take action. The commission then supported a piece of legislation that would restore, using the historical seaweed line, a reasonable buffer zone landward of 10 feet, which was then modified by the Judiciary Committee reducing the buffer from 10 to 6 feet. The bill was passed unanimously by the House but was unsuccessful in getting a hearing in the Senate, meaning that the bill will need to be reintroduced in 2023.
“I have a record at the State House of Putting Newport First, while serving and representing the interests of my Newport neighbors.”
2022 Legislative Accomplishments
The new budget includes $1 million to study the feasibility of installing suicide barriers on Aquidneck Island’s three bridges.
Approved enabling legislation for Newport to create a two-tiered property tax system for residents and non-residents.
The General Assembly approved an accelerated phase-out of the car tax, eliminating it one year ahead of schedule.
Lawmakers elevated the position of Deputy Secretary of Commerce for Housing to Secretary of Housing, a cabinet-level position, and created a new Department of Housing.
The budget fully supported the state education funding formula, providing $17 million more than the previous year.
Voters will be asked in Nov. to approve a $50 million “green bond,” including $12 million for an education center at Roger Williams Park Zoo.
Voters in will be asked in Nov. to approve a $250 million bond for kindergarten through Grade 12 school construction projects.
Voters will be asked in Nov. to approve for $112 million in borrowing for new construction and repairs at the URI Narragansett Bay campus and at the Community College of Rhode Island.
Vote from Home with a Mail Ballot!
This session, the legislature passed the Let RI Vote Act, which allows any RI voter to vote by mail. General election mail ballot applications are due by Oct 18. To apply for a mail ballot and for more voting information, visit https://vote.sos.ri.gov
