Woonsocket Radio News Room

 

McEntee, DiMario bill extending
outdoor dining passes Senate
Bill heads to governor’s desk

 

            STATE HOUSE – The Senate today passed a bill sponsored by Rep. Carol Hagan McEntee and Sen. Alana DiMario that allows restaurants to continue approved outdoor dining until Feb. 15, 2024. The legislation passed the House on March 16 and now heads to Governor McKee’s desk for his signature.

            “The take it outside campaign has proven to be very popular with residents, tourists and business owners alike,” said Representative McEntee (D-Dist. 33, South Kingstown, Narragansett). “With confusing zoning ordinances that vary from town to town, the process of providing outdoor dining can be costly and overly burdensome on small businesses. Passing this bill provides a window of relief while Senator DiMario and I work with all the stakeholders, including the hospitality association, the league of cities and towns, and individual business owners, to find a long-term solution to keep outdoor dining going strong.”

            During the COVID-19 pandemic, the state imposed a moratorium on some local ordinances that prohibited outdoor dining, allowing more restaurants around the state to serve customers outdoors. That moratorium is currently scheduled to end on April 1, 2023.

The legislation (2023-S 0683, 2023-H 5264A) would extend that moratorium to Feb. 15, 2024. Both Senator DiMario and Reprehensive McEntee have introduced legislation (2023-S 0300) to make outdoor dining permanent, which they say they will continue to pursue.

“With the warm weather coming, our small-businesses deserve clarity and certainty,” said Senator DiMario (D-Dist. 36, Narragansett, North Kingstown, New Shoreham).  “By passing this extension, we ensure restaurants can plan for this spring and summer as we continue to work with local leaders and small business owners to make outdoor dining permanent.”

The bill passed the Senate by a vote of 36 to 0.

 

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer says amendments to legislation to raise the debt limit will be voted on Thursday night. There will be 11 amendments to the bill being voted on, with votes limited to ten minutes to ensure a speedy process as efforts continue to pass the bill as early as Thursday night. The legislation suspends the debt ceiling and cuts non defense discretionary spending over the next two years.        President Biden appears to be ok after taking a fall while standing onstage during the U.S. Air Force Academy graduation in Colorado today. The president gave the commencement speech and shook hands with graduates as they walked across the stage to receive their diplomas. Toward the end of the ceremony, the president appeared to trip and fall on stage and was helped up by people standing close by.       Former President Trump is hitting the campaign trail in Iowa today. While speaking from Des Moines, Trump laid out how he helped U.S. farmers during his time as president. He railed against President Biden and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who's challenging Trump for the 2024 Republican nomination.        The city of Tulsa is marking the one-year anniversary of a hospital shooting that left four people dead, before the gunman killed himself. Since the shootings, Saint Francis Hospital President and CEO Dr. Preston Phillips says they have looked at areas where security can be increased. As the anniversary approached, the hospital set up a blog for employees to express their feelings and to support each other.        Teen birthrates are at another record low in the U.S. The CDC reports teen birthrates dropped three-percent last year. That's a smaller drop than previous years as teen birthrates have fallen an average of eight-percent each year since 2007.        Journalists for Gannett are walking off the job next week in a strike. The company's workers union is calling on the media giant, which owns USA Today and hundreds of local and metro daily newspapers, to issue a vote of no confidence in its CEO. They're accusing Mike Reed of "gross mismanagement" ahead of the company's annual shareholders meeting on June 5th.        

Old News Archives