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2022 Legislative Session Wrap Up

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.”
— Lauren Carson

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




2022 Campaign Announcement

I am excited to announce my campaign for my fifth term! Please see my full press release announcement below and please let me know if you have any questions.

NEWPORT HOUSE REP. LAUREN CARSON TO RUN FOR FIFTH TERM

 

Newport, RI – Rhode Island State House Representative Lauren Carson has announced that she will run for reelection for her seat representing Newport in House District 75.

 

Carson was first elected in 2014 to the House of Representatives. In her time at the State House, she has been particularly active on issues related to the environment, small business, tourism, and government transparency. She currently serves as Deputy Majority Leader and as the second vice chair of the House Innovation and Internet Committee. She is a member of the House Environment and Natural Resources, Small Business and Oversight Committees.

 

In 2015, she sponsored and chaired two RI House study commissions, one to study the economic impact of sea rise on Rhode Island, and another to study ways to expand tourism through effective statewide branding efforts. In 2019, she organized the Aquidneck Island Climate Caucus to focus the island’s efforts concerning sea level rise, which has been very active since its creation and throughout the pandemic. In 2017, she sponsored a law requiring education on flooding and sea rise for local planning board members and creating a unified statewide application process for solar panel permitting.

 

This session she has introduced a wide range of legislation on topics including environmental protections, education, food safety, protections for special education students, seniors, and tax benefits for Newport residents. She has also been actively involved in implementing her landmark Act on Climate, which was passed in 2021. The short-term rental regulations she sponsored and passed will take effect this year.

 

She has sponsored and passed legislation that eliminated the state income tax on Social Security benefits; created a public internet portal at the RI State Treasury that reports on State pensions and pension performance; she secured funding in the 2019 State Budget to create an Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC); and created a program establishing small business support during RI DOT road projects – as a result, Newport businesses located near the Newport Pell Bridge are receiving support throughout the bridge realignment process.

 

She has been honored as a Champion for Seniors by the Edward King House in Newport and Legislator of the Year by the RI Audubon Society, the RI Hospitality Association, and the State Conservation Districts. She has also served on the Advisory Board of the Alliance for Livable Newport, the Newport Energy & Environment Commission, and the Environmental Council of the Rhode Island Educational Fund Board.

 

Carson said, “The upcoming election session will be busy. When the House concludes its 2022 session in June, I will be around town and I hope that we might meet so we can talk about our State government and your vision of our shared future. I promise to be available and to respond to your needs.” 

 

Carson obtained a Master’s degree in History from the University of Rhode Island in 2008 and her Master in Business degree from URI in 1992, and earned a BA in sociology in 1976 from Ramapo College in New Jersey. She is a graduate of Benedictine Academy in New Jersey. Born on February 26, 1954, she is the mother of a son, Andrew. She has lived in Newport for over twenty years. For more information about Carson’s background and plans for her fifth term, you can contact her directly at 401-523-1143 or laurenhcarson@gmail.com.

 

Bill would expand elder-affairs office to Cabinet-level agency

Read full article on The Providence Journal

PROVIDENCE — The push is on to once again rename the state's elder-affairs office and make it a full-fledged Cabinet-level agency with the power to do a lot more than the state is doing now for its large and growing population of seniors.

This year's push is coming from Reps. Lauren Carson and Deborah Ruggiero, who is running for lieutenant governor. And it centers on Rhode Island's status as the state with "the 11th largest concentration of elders" in the country.

Newport lawmaker files bill that would help students with special needs get needed services

Read on Newport Daily News.

For parents of students who don't feel their children are getting the proper services within the school district, help could be on the way. 

State Rep. Lauren H. Carson, a Newport Democrat in District 75, has introduced a bill that would create an ombudsman for special education, independent of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, to ensure school districts throughout the state meet the standards required to comply with individualized education programs for students with disabilities.

Rep. Carson: RIDOT plan for infrastructure funds violates Act on Climate

Read on WhatsUpNewp.

Rep. Lauren H. Carson is calling on the Transportation Advisory Committee to put the brakes on a Department of Transportation proposal to spend $748 million in funding from the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act funds while ignoring its legal responsibility to adhere to the Act on Climate.

The Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC), which advises the State Planning Council on transportation planning, has been asked to meet Thursday to take action on a “Minor Amendment” to the State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP). This so-called “minor amendment” is 487 pages long and consists of 152 project changes that would spend $748 million of the new federal funding.

East Bay Communities Search for Answers on How to Protect Properties from Sea-Level Rise and Flooding

Read on EcoRI News.

The future of Aquidneck Island may be underwater, and community leaders are asking how to protect the three-municipality island and the rest of Rhode Island’s East Bay from sea-level rise. The remnants of late-summer’s Hurricane Ida and other more frequent and severe storms are causing increased flooding in the nine low-lying communities on the east side of Narragansett Bay.

The Aquidneck Island Climate Caucus, a environmentally conscious community group founded by Reps. Terri Cortvriend, D-Portsmouth, and Lauren Carson, D-Newport, hosted an Oct. 17 discussion with three experts working on climate-crisis issues. Sea-level rise is 2.6 inches above what it was in 1993, and continues to rise at one-eighth of an inch annually, according to the lawmakers.

Rep. Carson, Sen. Euer among Clean Water Action’s 2021 Environmental Champions

Read on WhatsUpNewp.

Representative Lauren Carson (D-Dist. 75, Newport) and Senator Dawn Euer (D-Dist. 13, Newport, Jamestown)  are being recognized as Clean Water Action’s Elected Officials of the Year for their sponsorship of the ‘Act On Climate 2021’ legislation, which passed through the Rhode Island House and Senate last month and as signed into law earlier this month.

Representative Carson will also receive the David R. Gerraughty Award for Lifetime Commitment to the Environment.

Aquidneck Island lawmakers hosting meeting for parents of special needs children

Read on Newport Daily News.

Rep. Terri Cortvriend, Rep. Lauren H. Carson and Rep. Julie A. Casimiro will host an open virtual meeting with parents of special needs children in Rhode Island to review bills they have introduced to help parents secure appropriate special education services for their children.

The community forum, scheduled Monday, March 8, from 4-6 p.m., has been arranged in conjunction with the Arc of Rhode Island, which has joined forces with a group of over 100 Rhode Island parents who have faced challenges in securing appropriate special education services for their children.

Boaters question proposal to increase mooring fees

Local harbormasters and harbor management officials are questioning proposed legislation that would add a state mooring fee on top of the existing municipal fee.

Reps. Joseph Trillo (R-Dist. 24) of Warwick and Scott Slater (D-Dist. 10) of Providence, co-sponsored the legislation, House Bill 2015 H-5257, that would allow the state to collect between $150- $500 in mooring fees per vessel, depending on the size of the mooring. The proposed bill would add a $150 fee for moorings up to 500 pounds; $250 for moorings between 500-1,000 pounds; and $500 for moorings of more than 1,000 pounds.

Read More..

 

 

Carson Honors Bike Newport for the First Mile

STATE HOUSE – The House of Representatives today unanimously adopted a resolution honoring Bike Newport, the charitable organization dedicated to improving, encouraging and facilitating bicycling in and around Newport.
           
Sponsored by Rep. Lauren H. Carson (D-Dist. 75, Newport), the resolution coincides with the organization’s first major event of the year, “The First Mile,” an activity being held to support efforts to create the first mile of a bike path on Aquidneck Island.

Read More...

 

Carson Holds Constituent Meeting on Small Business Issues

With 10 weeks on Smith Hill under her belt, District 75 Rep. Lauren Carson (D-Newport) met with constituents on Monday, March 16, to discuss what the legislature can do to better meet the needs of small businesses. A group of about 20 from the local business community gathered to offer their insights on what is needed to successfully run a company in Rhode Island.

Read more....

 

TGIF: 20 Things to Know About Rhode Island Politics & Media

Newport casino opponents were quick to attribute the defeat of incumbent state RepPeter Martin Tuesday to his support for the casino at Newport Grand, even though Martin wasn't a casino supporter. Legislative observers point to more typical reason for Martin’s defeat, including an uninspired campaign in which he decided against knocking doors, raised little money and got called out in the local media for refusing to debate his rival, the energetic and well-liked Clean Water Action activist Lauren Carson.

Martin’s House District rejected the casino proposal in 2012 by a much larger tally than the razor-thin margin city-wide. But with both Martin and Carson both opposed to the casino, the margin of victory came down to election fundamentals: boots on the ground. This is best indicated by the famous 5th Ward in Newport, which voted overwhelmingly against the casino in 2012, but backed Martin on Tuesday on a margin of 55 percent. Ultimately, Carson ran a much better campaign, taking the four other precincts, and she won with 53 percent of the vote.

Speculation that anti-casino fervor toppled Martin or will impact Senate President Teresa Paiva Weed may be more heat than light. (Paiva Weed's district includes the more pro-casino parts of Newport, along with Jamestown.) Meanwhile, her GOP rival, Mike Smith, has a fundraiser Tuesday, from 7-9 pm, at the Fifth Element in Newport. His invitation cites in part what he calls "Paiva Weed's casino scheme."

Read more.

RI NPR. September 12, 2014.

Losing R.I. lawmakers blame outside forces

The two state lawmakers who lost in Tuesday’s primary say the outcome had less to do with their campaigns than those of their challengers, and the people who were backing them.

In Providence, Democrat Maria Cimini points to her opponent’s support from House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello. 

And in Newport, Democrat Peter Martin points to his opponent’s support from people who oppose adding table games at the Newport Grand slot parlor.

“The forces of the casino group are what wiped us out,” Martin said when asked about his race. “That’s the way it is, and I just have to accept it and move on.”

For Martin, the loss comes after three terms as a lawmaker. For Cimini, it comes after one. “Obviously, I would have preferred to win,” she said. 

Read more.

September 10th, 2014. Providence Journal

Carson Ousts Martin

Lauren H. Carson marked her first run for political office with a victory over three-term incumbent Peter F. Martin in Tuesday’s Democratic primary contest for the Rhode Island House of Representatives District 75 seat. Unofficial results from the state Board of Elections and the Newport Canvassing Authority showed that with all precincts reporting, Carson garnered 850 votes (53.6 percent), while Martin received 736 (46.4 percent).

Read more.

September, 11 2014. Newport This Week

The Joy of Victory

Representative-elect Lauren H. Carson is surrounded by enthusiastic supporters on the evening of Tuesday, Sept. 9, as the Democratic primary election results pointed towards a victory in her campaign to unseat incumbent Peter F. Martin in Rhode Island House District 75. Carson’s grassroots door-to-door approach was a mainstay of her strategy and characterized her political philosophy of connecting with voters on a personal level. Carson is unopposed in the November general election and will take her seat as a new legislator when the General Assembly convenes in January.

Read More

Thursday, September 11, 2014. Newport This Week.

 

Carson unseats Martin

NEWPORT — Local voters opted for a change Tuesday when they elected environmental activist Lauren Carson of Newport to the state House of Representatives, ousting threeterm incumbent Rep. Peter F. Martin, D-Newport.

In her first run for elective office, Carson won four of the five voting precincts in House District 75. The final tally in Tuesday’s local primary had Carson winning 850-726. Carson will not face an opponent in the general election in November.

Carson, 60, was surrounded by well-wishers for a victory party at her Willow Street apartment, three doors down from Martin’s home. It capped a busy day that began for her at 7:30 a.m. Carson said she visited each of the five polling places in the district three times during the day. It was typical of her campaign, in which she said she made an effort to personally visit every Democrat or unaffiliated voter who had voted in at least one of the last four Democratic primaries. “That was my world,” Carson said of the list of primary voters. “I think I tapped into voter disenfranchisement. Voters were frustrated and felt discouraged.”

Read more.

September 10th, 2014. The Newport Daily News.