2014 RI General Assembly Winners and Losers

Winner

Nicholas Mattiello, Speaker of the House

When the new Speaker of the House took the helm over halfway through the General Assembly calendar, questions swirled as to what Mattiello could accomplish during a session that saw discussion of paying back 38 studios bonds -- or not -- dominating debate and public attention.

Mattiello was able to usher through a cut in the corporate income tax and changes to the estate tax that earned plaudits by some in the business community (although not all).  And facing mounting pressure both internally and externally to not pay back the 38 Studios bonds, Mattiello ultimately chose to back paying them, and whipped the votes necessary in the chamber to prevail.

Winner

Joseph Paolino, Jr, Developer

Former Mayor and real estate developer Joseph Paolino, Jr, who earlier this year acquired the only locally owned skyscraper in Providence at 100 Westminster announced in early May that along with investors, he had struck a deal with Newport Grand owner Diane Hurley to buy the slots parlor -- contingent upon table games garnering approval by voters in November.

Squeaking by with approval at the Newport City Council level, and now with the Senate having gone back for a special session to ensure the necessary votes to put the question before voters in November, Paolino will look to be the "big winner" come November by winning voter approval Statewide and in the town of Newport -- the former of which prevailed last time when the question was put before voters in 2012, but was shot down by local residents.  Will Paolino's bet pay off in 2014?  November 4 -- Election Day -- will be the day of reckoning.

Winner

Ken Block, Gubernatorial Candidate

Block, who had consistently called for abolishing the master lever in RI elections, saw his efforts along with others come to fruition as the straight ticket voting option was eliminated during the 2014 Assembly session.

Block, along with other advocates, may have in the process proven that a Governor can impact the General Assembly.  Block's persistent effort to reform Rhode Island’s elections manifested itself with the legislature eliminating master lever voting.

Whether this will parlay an advantage to Block during the election cycle, or whether it lays the groundwork for effective advocacy campaigns moving forward, Block along with others won big -- a big plus during an election cycle year. 

Loser

Gordon Fox, Former Speaker of the House

The fall from grace for former speaker Gordon Fox was swift, shocking and game changing -- both for the General Assembly and Fox himself.  Having risen to the top rank with the passage of marriage equality one of his crowning achievements, the controversy surrounding 38 Studios, and the historic State House raid, sealed Fox' fate to become one of the highest to fall from grace RI political history.

Fox was absent during the days and weeks following the revelation that there as an investigation involving State Police, the U.S. Attorney's Office, the FBI, and the IRS.  Fox eventually returned to much fanfare and applause in his support on the floor of the House, but quietly slipped into the role of rank and file lawmaker after having wielded the indisputably most powerful political position in Rhode Island state government.

Winner and Loser

Taxpayers

The Rhode Island taxpayer saw some wins during the 2014 General Assembly session, but also some new fees -- giving the average resident a tie for the category.  

While the reduction of the corporate income tax and changes to the estate tax made headlines, the decision to eschew the tolls on the Sakonnet River bridge for an increase in motor vehicle fees saw the RI taxpayer still footing the bill to take tolls off the table. 

The scheduled $12.5 M payback of the 38 Studios bonds had advocates saying it was win for Rhode Islanders -- so that bond agencies didn't downgrade the state, but a vocal chorus of opponents decried the move on the grounds that taxpayers should not be on the hook for moral obligation bonds -- and while a 38 studios lawsuit and investigation are still pending. 

Winner

Bob Walsh, NEARI Executive Director

In the war over using the NECAP as a graduation requirement, the unions prevailed during this year's battle, as the General Assembly voted to delay using any standardized test as a graduation requirement until 2017 -- when a new test is slated.

GoLocal MINDSETTER John Perilli, in an opinion piece entitled, "Don't Just Delay the NECAP, Get Rid of It", quoted NEARI Executive Director Walsh as saying, “I oppose the death penalty because sometimes the wrong people die. I oppose high stakes testing because sometimes the wrong kids fail."

Governor Chafee had yet to sign the moratorium into law as of Friday June 27.  Stay tuned for the future of high stakes testing in Rhode Island.


 

Losers

Progressives

With the shift of power from the more liberal-to-moderate Fox to a moderate-to-conservative Mattiello, the tone and tenor of the General Assembly immediately changed as well.

Following a 2013 year that saw a huge win for progressives which included the passage of gay marriage in Rhode Island, speculation swirled as to whether Rhode Island might mount as serious campaign to legalize marijuana during the 2014 session to try and follow suit behind Washington state and Colorado, with the Edie Ajello and Josh Miller sponsoring legislation to tax marijuana like alcohol.  That lost its steam as soon as Mattiello took the helm, with the question now if or when will be heard looking ahead to the next session.  

The Economic Progress Institute pointed to what they viewed, however, as two of the session's highlights for their agenda. 

"While many of our priorities and concerns are decided in the budget process, we are pleased to see the passage of bills that continue two pilot programs that increase access to child care assistance.  One allows working parents who are using child care assistance to earn more without losing their assistance and the second allows parents to use child care assistance while participating in short-term job training.  These programs not only allow parents to move up the job ladder or get training needed to start a job, but are good for employers who can hold on to good workers and have an increased pool of adults who are ready for work."

Winner

John Hazen-White, TACO CEO

The TACO owner, business leader, and LOOKOUT RI writer threatened in May to move out of state over the estate tax, having pointed out in February that Rhode Island was the "#2 least friendly place to die."

In Febuary, Hazen White wrote, "Rhode Island’s estate tax has been called “punitive” and even “near criminal,” strong terms indeed, because of the way it intentionally pillages income from a deceased resident with total assets starting at just a few million dollars."

During the 2014 General Assembly session, the estate tax threshold was bumped from $922,000 to $1.5 million. 

Winner and Loser

Governor Lincoln Chafee

Governor Lincoln Chafee's final budget, with business friendly measures including the reduction in the corporate income tax, was praised by groups such as the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce. 

The final budget contained Chafee's proposed $12.5 million bond payment for 38 Studios, which was a "win" for the Governor, despite being highly contested. 

However, RI still leads the nation in unemployment, and the General Assembly session was short on much needed job creation measures. How will the Chafee Administration be viewed? Only time will tell. 

Loser

Superman

The city's iconic skyscraper at 111 Westminster Street came up short during the 2014 General Assembly session, when developers were unsuccessful in their attempt to secure $39 million in state funding for redevelopment of the historic building.

The Senate instead approved a nine-member panel to study the challenges facing redevelopment of historic buildings, putting the brakes on redeveloping the Superman building -- for now.

While the Superman building fell short in its attempt to secure funding, however, the developers remained committed to moving forward.