PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - Rhode Island lawmakers are hoping to tackle questions involving a new PawSox stadium, sexual harassment and whether to rename the state’s main airport before the end of their legislative session.
The General Assembly wants to end the session Friday. The House has suspended its procedural rules dictating how laws can be passed, which makes it easier to push bills through in the session’s final days. The Senate hasn’t taken that step yet.
The House addressed its biggest task last week when it passed a $9.6 billion state budget. The Senate is considering the spending plan this week.
But the budget isn’t the only bill. In Rhode Island, the General Assembly usually passes two versions of every bill - one House version and one Senate version. That makes for a lot of housekeeping and handwringing at the end of the session, as each chamber tries to ensure its bills will be passed by the other.
“Nothing is really dead,” House spokesman Larry Berman said when asked about legislative priorities. “Things can move quickly around here.”
Here are some of the items on lawmakers’ schedule:
BUDGET
The budget approved by the House includes a sports betting system at the two Twin River casinos and asks voters to authorize $250 million in bonds for school reconstruction.
Senate spokesman Greg Pare said most of the chamber’s top priorities are contained within the budget. He identified the bonds for school construction, sports betting and increased funding for people with developmental disabilities and the Department of Children, Youth and Families as some of those concerns.
The full Senate could vote as soon as Wednesday.
PAWSOX
Lawmakers will revisit a plan to help pay for a new stadium for the Pawtucket Red Sox, likely the most significant issue they face after the budget.
Democratic House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello declined to speculate about whether it would pass before the session ends.
The Senate has already approved a plan that would contribute $23 million in state money to the $83 million ballpark for the Triple-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox.
But Mattiello has pronounced that plan dead. His framework would finance the state’s contributions with “special revenue bonds.” Only tax money generated directly by the stadium and its surrounding area would go toward paying off that debt.
Mattiello’s deal is less risky - the state won’t be on the hook for the money if revenues fall short - but it’s also more expensive - it costs more to finance bonds when they’re not guaranteed by the state. Fiscal advisers have, so far, declined to provide an estimate on the added costs.
Worcester, Massachusetts, has also been wooing the team.
SEXUAL HARASSMENT
It remains unclear whether the General Assembly will address sexual harassment amid the #MeToo movement after two documented cases of misconduct at the statehouse. A senator in February was charged with extorting sex from a page, and Rep. Teresa Tanzi revealed in October that a higher-ranking lawmaker told her sexual favors would help advance her bills.
Tanzi, a Democrat, then led a legislative commission that introduced a package of legislation in the House to address sexual harassment.
Those bills were all held in committee, but Berman said they’re still in play. Tanzi has said the commission worked to produce vetted solutions so they’d be easier to pass. The proposals include mandatory sexual harassment training for companies with more than 50 employees and extending the statute of limitations for bringing a civil rights complaint.
A separate Senate bill would require the training at companies with four or more employees.
The Senate is also expected to vote on changes to its own rules. The new policy, up for a vote Wednesday, would mandate annual training and establish a procedure to expel members.
EQUAL PAY
The Senate passed a bill in April that would help women and people of color “demand equal pay for equal work.” It’s called the Fair Pay Act, and it would require Rhode Island employers to justify wage discrepancies based on a “clearly documented difference in skills.”
Pare said that’s also one of the Senate’s top priorities, but House spokesman Larry Berman says that bill is unpopular in the business community.
Lawmakers are trying to come up with a compromise before the end of the week.
OTHER ISSUES
House leadership is behind a plan to rename the T.F. Green Airport the “Rhode Island International Airport.”
And one week after the federal net neutrality policy was eliminated, senators will vote on a measure to force Internet service providers for the state government to continue abiding by those principles.
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