June 29th, 2009 jmarion
Today the Rhode Island Supreme Court
carved out a special immunity from ethical oversight for the General Assembly. In ruling in favor of the plaintiff in William V. Irons vs. Rhode Island Ethics Commission, the Court has decided that the Rhode Island constitution’s “speech in debate” clause shields members of the General Assembly from prosecution by the Ethics Commission on their “core legislative functions” such as voting and speaking.
“Today the Rhode Island Supreme Court dealt a sharp blow to ethical government in Rhode Island” says John Marion, executive director of government reform group Common Cause Rhode Island. The case was a result of an appeal of a Superior Court decision by the Rhode Island Ethics Commission. The Superior Court ruled that former Senate President William Irons was immune from prosecution based on the “speech in debate” clause of the Rhode Island Constitution. Marion added, “By doing this, one of the main tools that the people of the Rhode Island deemed necessary for policing the ethics of Rhode Island government has been removed.”
Common Cause Rhode Island calls on the Rhode Island General Assembly to put on the ballot a proposed constitutional amendment that restores the power of the Ethics Commission to investigate, and if necessary, prosecute members of the General Assembly for any wrongdoing that may occur. Given that the General Assembly has yet to adjourn for 2009, and in the words of Speaker Murphy last Saturday, “we’re a full-time Legislature now” we feel it is incumbent upon them to pass legislation that lets the people decide if members of the General Assembly deserve immunity that no other elected officials in the state enjoy. By passing House bill 6070, or any similar bill that may be introduced as a result of this decision, the Assembly can accomplish this prior to the end of the legislative session and let the people decide in 2010 whether legislators deserve immunity. As Justice Suttell points out in his dissent in this case, it is important to look at the history of what the voters desired in passing the 1986 ethics amendment. Since the majority of the Court disagreed with what we feel the voters wanted, it is time again to let the voters decide.
Common Cause Rhode Island is pleased with the decision of the majority to not take up the question of whether those prosecuted by the Ethics Commission have a right to a separate jury trial. We feel that Judge Darigan’s decision on this matter was correct, and any attempt to remove the ability of the Commission to decide the matters before them (after first providing immunity under “speech and debate”) would be the equivalent of taking two legs out of a three legged stool.
Common Cause filed amicus briefs on behalf of the Ethics Commission in the case.
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June 29th, 2009 jmarion
On Thursday, June 25th, the Rhode Island Senate provided advice and consent to four current members of the Coastal Resources Management Council. Three of those members had never previously received the Senate’s approval. From the Senate Journal:
Upon motion of Senator Connors, seconded by Senator Algiere, the following measures on today’s Consent Calendar, by unanimous consent, are read and passed, upon a roll call vote with 34 Senators voting in the affirmative and 0 Senators voting in the negative as follows:
YEAS- 34: The Honorable President Paiva Weed and Senators Algiere, Bates, Blais, Connors, Cote, Crowley, DaPonte, Devall, DiPalma, Doyle, Felag, Fogarty, Gallo, Goodwin, Jabour, Lanzi, Lenihan, Levesque, Lynch, Maher, Maselli, McCaffrey, Metts, Miller, O’Neill, Perry, Picard, Pichardo, Ruggerio, Sheehan, Sosnowski, Tassoni, Walaska.
AYS- 0:
This seemingly unremarkable event is a huge victory in the march toward Separation of Powers in Rhode Island. Common Cause has long advocated that the 2004 Separation of Powers amendments are self-executing in nature. With this vote, the Governor and Senate took steps to bring the council into compliance with those amendments, all without new authorizing legislation.
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June 25th, 2009 jmarion
Every year both chambers of the Rhode Island General Assembly suspend their rules allowing hearings and votes to occur on bills without 48 hours notice to the public. On Tuesday the “big push”,
as the Senate Journal describes it, began. Common Cause is at the Assembly working on the initiatives we’ve been telling you about all year.
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June 23rd, 2009 jmarion
Tuesday June 23rd, the Rhode Island House voted on major changes to the Access to Public Records Act. Unfortunately, two amendments
stripped important provisions from the Act. You can read about the history of the bill
here, the
Providence Journal’s editorial endorsement, and an example of
how the law helps everyday citizens. Ask your representative to restore the changes to the act by
contacting them, and ask Governor Carcieri not to veto the bill this year, by contacting him
here.
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June 10th, 2009 jmarion
As the General Assembly session enters the final weeks, it’s not too late for the legislature to put the interest of the people first. In recent weeks the House has voted to impose a photo identification requirement on voters, and both chambers have supported closing the polls earlier Election Day. Now is the time to tell the General Assembly that the nearly half-million Rhode Islanders who voted last year deserve more, and not less, access to the polls.
The first order of business is passing the bill that gives 16 and 17 year-olds the ability to preregister. After being vetoed numerous times, this bill deserves to be passed again in time so that any veto can be overridden. Likewise the bill to provide a direct election in cases of U.S. Senate vacancies should be passed. Voters, not politicians, should decide who represents us.
It is not for lack of ideas that the Assembly is not making it easier for people to cast their ballots. The Assembly has before it two bills that would make it easier for citizens to vote. The first allows citizens who cannot be bound by the historical anachronism of the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, to vote during business hours at town halls the week prior to the election. The second bill would make it easier for voters to receive a mail ballot if they cannot vote on Election Day. Where are these bills in the legislative process? They are stuck in committee, with the early voting bill not even receiving a hearing as the final weeks of the session
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May 26th, 2009 jmarion
The straight party lever is broken. The 19th century anachronism that allows voters to cast votes for all candidates of a single party is incompatible with our current optical scan machines. When voters pull the straight party lever in 16 cities and towns, they are not voting for some local races. This is a flaw in the ballot, and the only solution is to eliminate the straight party lever.
The Providence Journal has recently endorsed our position, and 16 cities and towns have already supported removing the lever. Join the movement today. Contact your legislators, and ask them to support removing the straight party lever.
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May 13th, 2009 jmarion
On May 13th, 2009, the Rhode Island Supreme Court heard arguments in William V. Irons vs. Rhode Island Ethics Commission. Common Cause weighed in with briefs in support of the Ethics Commission’s position that legislators are subject to the code of ethics, despite the “speech in debate” clause of the Rhode Island Constitution. Likewise Common Cause supported the position that Irons does not have a right to a jury trial.
Read about the oral arguments here.
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April 29th, 2009 jmarion
Common Cause Rhode Island has issued friend of the court briefs in Irons vs. Rhode Island Ethics Commission. Click below to read what we have to say on these important issues to all Rhode Islanders.
Brief on Speech in Debate
Brief on Jury Trial
Reply Brief
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April 24th, 2009 jmarion
The body charged with “the governance and conduct of elections” in Rhode Island has voted to support efforts to remove the straight party master lever from the ballot. On Wednesday, April 22nd, the Rhode Island Board of Elections voted 3 to 1 to support the bi-partisan movement to eliminate the master lever.
“The Board of Elections vote does not mean the straight party master lever is removed from the ballot,” says John Marion of the government reform group Common Cause, a member of the Make Every Vote Count coalition, “but their custodial role over elections in Rhode Island means their approval carries great weight.” Only the General Assembly can remove the straight party lever and currently there are two bills to do so, H 5318 and S 80, stalled in committees at the Statehouse.
“The straight party master lever is problematic for many reasons,” says activist Margaret Kane, “it does not work well with our current optical scan system.” This especially affects elections at the local level. In local non-partisan elections (16 RI Communities), a large undervote is due to straight party votes that ignore these races. And in instances in local partisan elections, the straight party vote in any local race with more than one position, is deleted without the voters’ knowledge, when voters make additional marks on the ballot in that local race.
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April 23rd, 2009 jmarion
Wednesday, April 22nd marks the 22nd day since the Judicial Nominating Commission (JNC) sent a list of finalists to Governor Carcieri for the position of Chief Justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court. The law creating the JNC (§ 8-16.1-5) clearly states “(b) The governor shall fill any such vacancy within twenty-one (21) days of the public submission by the commission.” Common Cause Rhode Island asks; where is our new Chief Justice?
“The proper administration of justice relies on a fully staffed judiciary,” says John Marion, executive director of Common Cause Rhode Island, “and by ignoring the law concerning judicial vacancies, the Governor is preventing that from happening.” Besides the current vacancy for the Chief Justice slot, there are two other vacancies for which the JNC provided lists to the Governor, in 2008, and that are still unfilled. Common Cause Rhode Island urges Governor Carcieri to fill all judicial vacancies in a timely manner and in accordance with the law.
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