Woonsocket Radio News Room

This week at the

General Assembly

 

STATE HOUSE — Here are the highlights from news and events that took place in the General Assembly this week. For more information on any of these items visit http://www.rilegislature.gov/pressrelease

 

§  Assault weapons ban introduced

Rep. Jason Knight (D-Dist. 67, Barrington, Warren) and Sen. Louis P. DiPalma (D-Dist. 12, Middletown, Little Compton, Newport, Tiverton) introduced legislation (2025-H 5436) to prohibit assault weapons including certain semi-automatic shotguns, rifles and pistols. All five of the state’s general officers and gun safety advocates called for the passage of the ban, which Gov. Dan McKee also included in his proposed 2026 budget bill.
Click here to see news release.

§  Ujifusa, Potter sponsor bill to prohibit 'junk fees'
Sen. Linda Ujifusa (D-Dist. 11, Portsmouth, Bristol) and Rep. Brandon Potter (D-Dist. 16, Cranston) are sponsoring legislation (2025-S 0017, 2025-H 5247) to prohibit “junk fees” by making it a deceptive trade practice to advertise, display or offer a price for a good or service that does not include all mandatory fees or charges other than government taxes and shipping.

Click here to see news release.

 

  • Euer bill would help Rhode Islanders pass on their homes without probate
    A bill (2025-S 0092) introduced by Sen. Dawn Euer (D-Dist. 13, Newport, Jamestown) would allow Rhode Islanders to avoid the costly and complex process of probate when leaving their home to a loved one after their death.

Click here to see news release.

 

  • Urso, Handy aim to boost Rhode Island’s main streets
    Legislation (2025-S 0174, 2025-H 5477)  introduced by Sen. Lori Urso (D-Dist. 8, Pawtucket) and Rep. Arthur Handy (D-Dist. 18, Cranston) would launch a pilot statewide Main Street Coordinating Program to aid the success of Rhode Island’s main streets, downtowns and city centers.

Click here to see news release.

 

  • Felag, Boylan bill would waive VIN check fees for veterans and military
    Senate Special Legislation and Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Walter S. Felag Jr. (D-Dist. 10, Warren, Bristol, Tiverton) and Rep. Jennifer Boylan (D-Dist. 66, Barrington, East Providence) introduced legislation (2025-H 5081, 2025-S 0075) to waive the fee for vehicle identification number (VIN) inspections for veterans and active-duty military personnel.

Click here to see news release.

 

  • Morales, Kallman bill would help victims of wage theft in construction industry
    Rep. David Morales (D-Dist. 7, Providence) and Sen. Meghan E. Kallman (D-Dist. 15, Pawtucket, Providence) introduced legislation (2025-H 5366, 2025-S 0069) to help the victims of wage theft who work in construction receive the payments they are owed.

Click here to see Morales release.

Click here to see Kallman release.

 

  • Chairmen Craven and LaMountain introduce V.I.C.T.I.M. Act

House Judiciary Chairman Robert E. Craven (D-Dist. 32, North Kingstown) and Senate Judiciary Chairman Matthew L. LaMountain (D-Dist. 31, Warwick, Cranston) joined advocates at the State House on Wednesday to introduce the Victims of Crime Trauma Informed Mobilization (V.I.C.T.I.M.) Act (2025-H 5390, 2025-S 0258), which would establish a VICTIM Fund grant program to support nonprofit organizations providing victim services in Rhode Island.

Click here to see news release

 

§  House, Senate oversight committees hear update on Washington Bridge
The House Committee on Oversight met jointly with the Senate Committee on Rules, Government Ethics and Oversight to hear an update on the demolition and reconstruction of the westbound side of Washington Bridge from Department of Transportation Director Peter L. Alviti. The westbound span of the Washington Bridge was closed on Dec. 11, 2023, after the Department of Transportation announced the critical failure of some original bridge components.
Click here to see news release.

 

  • Legislators and Working Families Party announce ‘Working Families Agenda’
    A diverse group of legislators announced their Working Families Agenda, a list of top priorities for the 2025 legislative session.

Click here to see news release.

 

  • Shekarchi, Bissaillon mark opening of ECHO Village
    Speaker of the House K. Joseph Shekarchi (D-Dist. 23, Warwick) and Sen. Jacob E. Bissaillon (D-Dist. 1, Providence) joined other officials to mark the opening of ECHO Village, the first pallet shelter village in Rhode Island, designed to help address the state’s homelessness crisis. The project was supported by state fiscal recovery funds, a Community Development Block Grant, and funding from the city of Providence.
    Click here to see news release.                                              

 

President Trump is touting the "great meeting" he had with New York Mayor elect Zohran Mamdani at the White House. It was all smiles as the two spoke to reporters from the Oval Office, with Trump saying he feels very confident Mamdani will do a effective job. He added that the better Mamdani does, the happier he is because he loves New York. Both men brushed off questions about trading insults when Mamdani was running for office.        President Trump says he wants a group of Democrats to be punished, but not put to death. Trump was asked by Fox News' Brian Kilmeade about his post saying a group of Democrats should be tried for "seditious behavior, punishable by death" for a video they made, telling military members to ignore orders issued by Trump if they're illegal. Trump said those Democrats did a "horrible" thing.        The Coast Guard is clarifying its policy regarding hate symbols. In a policy released late Thursday, the Coast Guard said, "divisive or hate symbols and flags are prohibited" and added that includes nooses, swastikas "and any symbols or flags co-opted or adopted by hate-based groups." This comes after multiple reports said the Coast Guard was moving to label such symbols as "potentially divisive." A policy that was put in place in 2019 had called the display of symbols like swastikas and nooses "a potential hate incident."        Wall Street is closing higher to end the week. Stocks rebounded from Thursday's sell-off after New York Federal Reserve President John Williams said he expects the central bank has more room to lower interest rates. Even with Friday's gains, the three major averages chalked up weekly losses of one percent or more. At the closing bell, the Dow Jones gained 493 points to 46-245.        Millions of Amazon Prime customers will get refunds as a result of the company's two-point-five-billion-dollar settlement with the Federal Trade Commission. You should get an email from Amazon asking you to claim the money through Paypal or Venmo if you're entitled to an automatic refund. Or you can choose to get a check in the mail. This applies to people who enrolled in Prime between June 2019 and June 2025, and didn't use the service more than three times in a year.        "Wicked: For Good" is already going gangbusters at the box office. The sequel to last year's smash hit earned 30-point-eight-million dollars from preview screenings. That surpasses "Superman" for the biggest pre-opening total this year. "Wicked: For Good" is expected to challenge April's "A Minecraft Movie" for the biggest opening of the year by bringing in somewhere between 150-and-180-million dollars this weekend.       

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