The Hummel Report: Proposed Bills Will Leave You Wondering

Nearly 2,000 bills have been filed since the beginning of this year’s general assembly session. Only a fraction have made it to the governor’s desk so far and the majority of those are bills that would allow certain individuals to perform marriage ceremonies. So The Hummel Report decided to take its annual look at some proposed bills that may have you asking the question: Really?

OMG: The cell phone police are back with a bill that would make it illegal for students to use cell phones on a school bus unless it is an emergency. Not the driver, the kids. Apparently the sponsors don’t have teenagers. If they did, it would be obvious the kids don’t actually talk on the phone; they text. If lawmakers are really worried about public safety, why don’t they ban loud talking and spitballs?

Speed it Up: Another bill would require local building officials to either approve – or reject – permit applications within 30 days of the time they receive them, just like they do in Massachusetts. Now this is a common sense bill that we actually like. But that sound you just heard is building officials across the state of Rhode Island collectively throwing up.

Double Dip: Then there’s the proposal to increase the days retired state employees can come back and work while continuing to collect their pensions. The increase is from 90 to 180 days. You might call it The Double Double Dip.

Back to the Future: How about one lawmaker’s proposal to create a commission to streamline business permitting and report back in January 2015? Great idea, but we shouldn’t we have been doing that in 1915?

It’s Electric: Okay all of you owners of electric vehicles, we know how proud you are of saving money and saving the environment all at the same time. Well, apparently those I’m electric decals on the rear window aren’t enough. A pending bill would create a special category of license plate just for you — right up there with the chief emeritus plate, war veteran and Red Sox lover plates.

Where’s the Love?: A bill filed last year, and again this year, would allow the town of Smithfield to take over maintenance of grounds and fields like the one from the Smithfield School Department. We need a law to get this done?

Get the Lead Out: Attention all hunters: a house bill would mandate that you use non-toxic ammunition whenever it’s available. Maybe not so good for Bambi in the long run, but the rest of us can all feel good about the environment.

Full Disclosure: Next time you go out for a meal, think about this bill that would make all restaurants list the total number of calories and ingredients for each item on the menu. Well that takes all of the fun out of going out, doesn’t it?

The good news that this is an election year, so most of the people up at the state house want to pack up early and get going on their campaigns. That and an unprecedented mid-term change in the leadership means the vast majority of these bills will never make it out of committee. Who said there’s no good news coming out of the general assembly these days?

The Hummel Report is a 501 3C non-profit organization that relies, in part, on your donations. If you have a story idea or want make a donation go to www.hummelreport.org, where you can also see the video version of this story. You can email Jim directly at jim@hummelreport.org.