2019 Legislation
I was the Lead Sponsor of the following bills:
BY Cortvriend, Donovan, Edwards, Canario
RELATING TO TAXATION – LEVY AND ASSESSMENT OF LOCAL TAXES (Allows local tax assessment to be based on last revaluation or current FMV, whichever is greater.)
H5562
BY Cortvriend, Shekarchi, Canario, Ruggiero, Tanzi
ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT — PRESERVATION OF FAMILIES WITH DISABLED PARENT ACT (Precludes the disability of a parent from serving as a basis for denial or restriction in matters involving a child’s welfare, foster care, family law, guardianship and adoption.)
H5564
BY Cortvriend, Canario, Fogarty, Tanzi, Caldwell
ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO EDUCATION — SUICIDE PREVENTION – THE NATHAN BRUNO AND JASON FLATT ACT (Creates the “Nathan Bruno and Jason Flatt Act” which requires training of teachers and school personnel regarding suicide awareness and prevention and establishment of a conflict resolution process between teachers or school personnel and students.)
H5605
BY Cortvriend, Fogarty, Carson, Amore, Canario
ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO EDUCATION — THE EDUCATION EQUITY AND PROPERTY TAX RELIEF ACT (Redefines extraordinary costs associated with the education of special education students to be costs that are above the core foundation amount.)
H5606
BY Cortvriend, Carson, Fogarty, Canario, Tanzi
ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION – COMPLIANCE OF PUBLIC EMPLOYEES WITH STATE INCOME TAX (Eliminates requirement that political subdivisions provide list of employees as of July 1 of preceding year to take administrator by August 1 of each year.)
BY Cortvriend, Edwards, Ruggiero, Canario, Speakman
ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO PROPERTY — DRY DOCK FACILITIES (Amends the lien and notice procedures for facility operators of dry dock facilities.)
Co-Sponsored
H5117 passed 2/6/19
BY Ruggiero, Cortvriend, Abney
ENTITLED, AN ACT VALIDATING AND RATIFYING AN AMENDMENT TO THE HOME RULE CHARTER OF THE TOWN OF MIDDLETOWN {LC504/1} (Validates and ratify amendments to the Home Rule Charter of the town of Middletown, which amendments were adopted and approved by the electors of the town of Middletown on November 6, 2018.)
BY Shanley, Ruggiero, Barros, Cortvriend, Cassar
ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT — ESTABLISHING AN OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL (Establishes the office of inspector general as an independent administrative agency charged with the responsibility to investigate, detect, and prevent fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement in the expenditure of public funds.)
BY Canario, Edwards, Donovan, Johnston, Cortvriend
ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO MOTOR AND OTHER VEHICLES-MOTOR VEHICLE OFFENSES (Imposes $300 substance abuse education assessment for conviction of driving under the influence or a violation for refusal to submit to a breathalyzer. Funds would be allocated to department of behavioral health and used to fund substance abuse programs.)
H5306
BY Ruggiero, Casey, Amore, Cortvriend, Marszalkowski
ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION – BUSINESS CORPORATION TAX (Exempts a corporation from the minimum corporate tax for the first two (2) years following the date of incorporation.)
H5342
BY Shanley, Tanzi, Cortvriend, Shekarchi, Lyle
ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS – FAIR EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES (Creates a reporting requirement for state agencies and departments for violations of the fair employment practices chapter and the equal opportunity and affirmative action chapter.)
H5398
BY Carson, Cortvriend
ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION –- STATE TAX OFFICIALS — SALES AND USE TAXES — ENFORCEMENT AND COLLECTION (Provides that a tax payment shall be paid by midnight on the date in which the tax becomes due and payable, and reduces the amount of penalty for taxes unpaid from a maximum of twenty-one percent (21%) to ten percent (10%).)
H5425
BY Fogarty, Amore, Cortvriend, Donovan, McEntee
ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO EDUCATION — COUNCIL ON ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION (Requires the council of elementary and secondary education take into consideration the time and cost of transporting students across municipal boundaries.)
H5558
BY Tanzi, Fogarty, Cortvriend, Carson, Hawkins
ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO BUSINESSES AND PROFESSIONS – PHARMACIES (Authorizes a licensed pharmacist, who successfully completes a course on tobacco cessation therapy, to prescribe and dispense tobacco cessation drug products to a qualified patient pursuant to rules adopted by the board of pharmacy.)
H5561
BY Carson, Cortvriend, Ruggiero
ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO MILITARY AFFAIRS AND DEFENSE — TRAINING OF ELECTED OFFICIALS IN THE EVENT OF DISASTER EMERGENCIES (Requires state and municipal elected officials to attend a one-day biennial training seminar in emergency management for disaster emergencies.)
H5565
BY Marszalkowski, Cortvriend, Caldwell
ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY – PFAS IN FOOD PACKAGING (Prohibits PFAS, a class of fluorinated organic chemicals, from being used in food packaging.)
H5602
BY Tanzi, Fogarty, McEntee, Cortvriend, Donovan
ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO EDUCATION – HEALTH AND SAFETY OF PUPILS (Provides that the state would reimburse the school committees for the costs of providing student transportation services to public and private school pupils.)
H5603
BY Tanzi, Caldwell, Cortvriend, Millea, Cassar
ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES — TOBACCO AND NICOTINE PRODUCTS–CHILDREN (Provides certain restrictions on the sale of tobacco products, enhance the definition of “tobacco products”, and would raise the minimum age to purchase tobacco products and nicotine delivery systems from 18 to 21 years of age)
H5604
BY Tanzi, Fogarty, Cortvriend, Carson, Donovan
ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO HUMAN SERVICES — HEALTH CARE FOR ELDERLY AND DISABLED (Increases the income eligibility limit for medical assistance coverage for seniors and disabled individuals from one hundred percent (100%) to one hundred thirty-three percent (133%) of federal poverty level.)
H5631
BY Marszalkowski, Cortvriend, Morin, Shanley
ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT – STATE FLEET REPLACEMENT REVOLVING LOAN FUND (Requires the state to phase in the use of zero emission vehicles beginning in 2020 using state fleet replacement revolving loan funds.)
H5669
BY Carson, Cortvriend
ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO EDUCATION — SCHOOL WASTE RECYCLING AND REFUSE DISPOSAL (Requires schools to comply with recycling and composting laws and promotes food donation and local food service contracts.)
H5686
BY Carson, Abney, Cortvriend, Ruggiero
ENTITLED, HOUSE RESOLUTION RESPECTFULLY REQUESTING THAT THE RHODE ISLAND DIVISION OF PUBLIC UTILITIES AND CARRIERS IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE RHODE ISLAND ATTORNEY GENERAL AND NATIONAL GRID INVESTIGATE AND DETERMINE THE CAUSES FOR THE RECENT LOSS OF GAS UTILITY SERVICE ON AQUIDNECK ISLAND
H5726
BY Kislak, Blazejewski, Donovan, Lyle, Cortvriend
ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO ELECTIONS — RHODE ISLAND CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS AND EXPENDITURES REPORTING (Creates public funding for legislative candidates, would limit contributions of public funds for all candidates for governor, statewide office holders and legislators.)
H5730
BY Carson, Cortvriend
ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO BUSINESSES AND PROFESSIONS — REAL ESTATE SALES DISCLOSURES (Requires real estate sellers to provide buyers with an annual building energy cost estimate and imposes a duty on sellers to conduct real estate condition inspections.)
BY Donovan, Serpa, Lima, Shekarchi, Cortvriend
ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY — BALLOONS (Prohibits the release of balloons inflated with lighter-than-air gas.)
BY Edwards, Kennedy, Casimiro, Cortvriend, Cassar
ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO HOLIDAYS AND DAYS OF SPECIAL OBSERVANCE (Expands definition of “employee” to include a caterer licensed by the department of health and division of taxation and food truck.)
BY Lyle, Newberry, Casimiro, Cortvriend, Nardone
ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY — LICENSING OF HEALTH CARE FACILITIES — SEPSIS SCREENING PROTOCOLS (Requires licensed health care facility medical staff to adopt, implement, periodically and update evidence-based protocols for the early recognition and treatment of patients with sepsis, severe sepsis and septic shock.)
BY Handy, Bennett, Cortvriend, Serpa, Kazarian
ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO BUSINESSES AND PROFESSIONS – LICENSE PROCEDURE FOR SOCIAL WORKERS (Defines the educational requirements necessary to qualify an individual as a social worker, and further exempts social workers from the license procedures for licensed clinical social workers and licensed independent clinical social workers.)
BY Caldwell, Shekarchi, Cortvriend, McEntee
ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO INSURANCE — INSURANCE COVERAGE FOR MENTAL ILLNESS AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE (Requires insurance coverage for at least ninety (90) days of residential or inpatient services for mental health and/or substance-use disorders for American Society of Addiction Medicine levels of care 3.1 and 3.3.)
(Attorney General/General Treasurer) Signed into Law by Governor 07/2019
BY McNamara, Alzate, Amore, Cortvriend, Newberry
ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS — STUDENT LOAN BILL OF RIGHTS ACT (Creates the “student loan bill of rights act” which establishes guidelines for the issuance of postsecondary loans.)
H6005
BY Fogarty, Carson, Caldwell, Cortvriend, Messier
ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO INSURANCE — ACCIDENT AND SICKNESS INSURANCE POLICIES (Requires insurance carriers, nonprofit hospital service plans, nonprofit medical service corporations and health maintenance organizations to cover the costs of breast ultrasounds and or MRI breast exams.)
H6064
BY Speakman, Cortvriend, Knight, Donovan, McEntee
ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO WATERS AND NAVIGATION — PFAS IN DRINKING AND SURFACE WATERS (Establishes process to set maximum contaminate levels of polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).)
H6107
BY Kislak, Lyle, Cortvriend, Blazejewski
ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT — ADULT EDUCATION (Establishes office of adult education literarcy/employment advisory committee within GWBRI for adult education and literacy services/repeals adult education act and aid for evening schools eff. 12/1/19.)
H6204
Act 108
BY Carson, Cortvriend, Ruggiero
ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO SOLEMNIZATION OF MARRIAGES (Allows John F. Fulone to join Lauren Penta and Nicholas Candela in marriage on or about September 21, 2019, within the Town of Middletown, Rhode Island.)
H6208
Chapter 222 Signed by Governor 07/15/2019
BY Speakman, Cortvriend, Donovan, Fogarty, McEntee
ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT — TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURIES (Adds six members to the commission on traumatic brain injuries.)
Resolutions
Lead Sponsor
H5563
BY Cortvriend, Fogarty, Carson, Tanzi, Caldwell
ENTITLED, HOUSE RESOLUTION RESPECTFULLY REQUESTING THAT THE RHODE ISLAND DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION DEVELOP A SET OF KEY ENVIRONMENTAL AND CLIMATE PRINCIPLES AND CONCEPTS TO BE INFUSED IN ALL SUBJECTS FOR K-12 PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENTS
H5529
Resolution 101 read and passed 2/16/2019
BY Cortvriend, Canario, Edwards, Donovan, Shekarchi
ENTITLED, HOUSE RESOLUTION CONGRATULATING JEFFREY M. ROSE, HEAD COACH OF THE GIRLS’ CROSS COUNTRY TEAM PORTSMOUTH HIGH SCHOOL ON RECEIVING THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF STATE HIGH SCHOOL ASSOCIATIONS’ 2017-2018 RHODE ISLAND COACH OF THE YEAR AWARD
H6063
BY Cortvriend, Blazejewski, Williams, Almeida, Diaz
ENTITLED, HOUSE RESOLUTION CREATING A SPECIAL LEGISLATIVE STUDY COMMISSION TO STUDY AND PROVIDE RECOMMENDATIONS ON THE METHOD AND NECESSARY PROCEDURES FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF RHODE ISLAND’S ACTION PLAN TO STAND UP TO CLIMATE CHANGE (Creates a 16 member commission to study the methods and procedures for the implementation of Rhode Island’s Action Plan to Stand Up to Climate Change, and would report back to the House by April 15, 2020, and expire on May 15, 2020.)
H6082
Resolution 275 read and passed 05/08/2019
BY Cortvriend, Mattiello, Shekarchi, Filippi, Edwards
ENTITLED, HOUSE RESOLUTION CONGRATULATING TEAM 78, AIRSTRIKE, ON QUALIFYING FOR THE NEW ENGLAND “FOR INSPIRATION AND RECOGNITION OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY” (FIRST) ROBOTICS COMPETITION DISTRICT CHAMPIONSHIP AND COMPETING AT THE FIRST WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
Co-Sponsored
H5055
Resolution 023 read and passed 1/9/2019
BY Ruggiero, Cortvriend, Canario, Shekarchi, Noret
ENTITLED, HOUSE RESOLUTION CONGRATULATING MIDDLETOWN POLICE CHIEF ANTHONY PESARE ON HIS RETIREMENT AFTER FORTY-FOUR DEVOTED AND DISTINGUISHED YEARS OF SERVICE TO THE CITIZENS OF RHODE ISLAND AND THE TOWN OF MIDDLETOWN
Resolution 157 read and passed 3/20/19
BY Kislak, Corvese, Cassar, Cortvriend, Ranglin-Vassell
ENTITLED, HOUSE RESOLUTION EXPRESSING PROFOUND SYMPATHY ON THE TRAGIC LOSS OF FIFTY LIVES AT MOSQUES IN CHRISTCHURCH, NEW ZEALAND ON FRIDAY MARCH 15, 2019
Resolution 183 read and passed 4/02/19
BY Caldwell, Cortvriend, Cassar, Shekarchi, Kennedy
ENTITLED, HOUSE RESOLUTION PROCLAIMING SATURDAY, APRIL 13, 2019, TO BE “HISTORIC CEMETERY RESTORATION/AWARENESS DAY” IN THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND
Resolution 195 read and passed 04/03/2019
BY Carson, Ruggiero, Cortvriend, Abney, Shekarchi
ENTITLED, HOUSE RESOLUTION CONGRATULATING AND THANKING NEWPORT WAVES AND RHODE ISLAND WAVES FOR THEIR CAMPAIGN TO MAKE OUR STREETS SAFER FOR PEDESTRIANS AND DRIVERS AND HELPING TO AVERT NUMEROUS TRAGEDIES AND SAVING MANY LIVES
Resolution 193 read and passed 04/03/2019
BY Cassar, Kislak, Phillips, Canario, Cortvriend
ENTITLED, HOUSE RESOLUTION PROCLAIMING THE WEEK OF APRIL 1-7, 2019, TO BE “NATIONAL PUBLIC HEALTH WEEK” IN THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND
H5963
Resolution 198 read and passed 04/04/2019
BY Ruggiero, Carson, Azzinaro, Abney, Cortvriend
ENTITLED, HOUSE RESOLUTION PROCLAIMING APRIL, 2019, TO BE “THE MONTH OF THE MILITARY CHILD” IN RHODE ISLAND
H5965
BY McNamara, Kislak, Jackson, Corvese, Cortvriend
ENTITLED, HOUSE RESOLUTION RESPECTFULLY REQUESTING THE RHODE ISLAND DEPARTMENT OF BEHAVIORAL HEALTHCARE, DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES AND HOSPITALS (BHDDH) TO FULLY ADDRESS ALL PREVIOUS VIOLATIONS AND TAKE ALL NECESSARY ACTIONS TO ENSURE ONGOING COMPLIANCE WITH THE FEDERAL MENTAL HEALTH PARITY AND ADDICTION EQUITY ACT OF 2008
H6050
Resolution 250 read and passed 05/01/2019
BY Speakman, Caldwell, Cortvriend, Cassar, Walsh
ENTITLED, HOUSE RESOLUTION COMMEMORATING MAY OF 2019 AS “MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS MONTH” IN THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND
H6141
Resolution 302 read and passed 05/22/2019
BY Ruggiero, Cortvriend, Abney, Shekarchi, Carson
ENTITLED, HOUSE RESOLUTION CONGRATULATING ANDY ANDRADE, CHUCK PAIVA AND CHRIS PATSOS ON BEING INDUCTED INTO THE GEORGE D. DONNELLY SUNSET LEAGUE CLASS OF 2018 HALL OF FAME
H6170
Resolution 335 read and passed 05/30/2019
BY Mattiello, Shekarchi, Filippi, Edwards, Cortvriend
ENTITLED, HOUSE RESOLUTION CONGRATULATING MOLLY ANDRADE ON BEING NAMED “MISS RHODE ISLAND 2019”
H6225
Resolution 377 read and passed 05/22/2019
BY Canario, Mattiello, Cortvriend, Edwards, Donovan
ENTITLED, HOUSE RESOLUTION HONORING COLONEL THOMAS F. LEE ON THE OCCASION OF HIS RETIREMENT AS POLICE CHIEF OF THE PORTSMOUTH POLICE DEPARTMENT
Resolution 410 Passed as amended 06/28/2019
BY Serpa, Shekarchi, Cortvriend, Edwards, Phillips
ENTITLED, HOUSE RESOLUTION CREATING A LEGISLATIVE STUDY COMMISSION TO EXAMINE AND RECOMMEND GUIDELINES FOR STEP THERAPY PRESCRIPTION DRUG PROTOCOLS