2017 GENERAL ASSEMBLY SESSION

The Rhode Island General Assembly began its 2017 session on Tuesday, January 3. 

In opening day remarks to their respective chambers, Senate President Teresa Paiva-Weed and House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello each provided an overview of their priorities for the 2017 session.  While their priorities were pretty much similar in 2016, in 2017, there seems to be very little overlap except for increasing the minimum wage. 

For the House, Speaker Mattiello’s priorities are:

• Phasing out the car tax and eliminating it within the next five years
• Eliminating the “double tax” on cars that are leased
• Increasing the level of income that would be exempted for retirees on their state income tax
• Expanding the estate tax exemption to be regionally competitive
• Raising the minimum wage to be regionally competitive 

For the Senate, President Paiva-Weed’s priorities are:

• Improving the availability and delivery of mental health services in Rhode Island in order to maximize their impact and to best serve children, families, schools, public safety, criminal justice, human services and health care systems in Rhode Island
• Enact the justice reinvestment reform legislation passed by the Senate (but not the House) last year
• Improve compensation for direct care workers, including those who serve the developmentally disabled and those who work in home care
• Increasing the minimum wage

As is the case almost every year, the state budget is also expected to generate significant debate and discussion, especially given projections of a growing structural budget deficit over the next few years.
Speaker Mattiello’s and Senate President Paiva-Weed’s remarks came after all 113 part-time legislators were sworn in on the January 3rd opening day.

In the House, twelve new representatives took the oath of office while, in the Senate, there were four new senators.  The Democratic majority in both chambers increased from 2016 with Democrats taking a 64-11 majority in the House and a 33-5 majority in the Senate.

The Assembly has no independents in 2017 after Representative Blake Filippi joined the Republican Party in November.

Stay tuned for future updates on legislation and other topics of relevant importance during the 2017 Assembly session.  No matter the issue, the Pannone Lopes Devereaux & O’Gara Government Relations team is at the State House every day on behalf of its government relations clients.

Pannone Lopes Devereaux & O’Gara LLC has extensive experience as a legislative advocate for clients in the private and public sectors. Our experience and deep understanding of our clients' operations and the issues facing them enables us to communicate effectively to legislators and state agencies. For more information about PLDO's government relations capabilities and services, please contact our firm at (401) 824-5100.

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