On May 19, my 'Bird Flu Bill' passed both the House and Senate Chambers. This legislation will help control outbreaks of animal diseases, including bird flu. I am grateful to DEM for being very proactive and working closely with us on this urgent legislation. With this bill, we will have the tools in place to quickly contain animal diseases, protecting our state’s farms and animals from devastation.
Let RI Vote Act Passes the RI Senate
Last week the RI Senate passed my voting rights bill, also known as the Let RI Vote Act (2007 SUB A).
The vote passed with a 29-6 majority. If it passes in the house, this bill will codify voting measures that were put in place during the 2020 election during the pandemic, such as expanding access to early voting and vote-by-mail.
Free and fair elections are a foundational pillar of our democracy. Unfortunately, the past few years have given rise to an unprecedented level of disinformation about our elections which have been used in attempts to roll back voting rights across the country. Given these attacks, I'm incredibly proud that the RI Senate advanced this legislation to expand voting rights.
The Boston Globe did a great job covering the Senate floor debate and the contents of the legislation. Read the full article here.
2022 Re-Election Campaign Announcement
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 2, 2022
Contact: Dawn Euer - dawn@electdawneuer.com
Senator Dawn Euer Announces Re-Election Campaign
NEWPORT, RI – Senator Dawn Euer announced today that she is running for re-election to the state senate in District 13, representing Newport and Jamestown. She is currently serving her second full-term in the Rhode Island Senate.
“This past year brought many challenges to Rhode Island, but it also brought chances for progress. In the 2021 session, I introduced more legislation than ever before on a wide range of issues that affect my constituents’ everyday lives,” said Euer, who was first sworn into office in August 2017. “As I reflect on the laws that were passed and the work that is ahead, I am optimistic for our community. I am committed to building a brighter future for Newport, Jamestown, and Rhode Island.”
In 2021, Euer sponsored a wide range of bills that became law including a short-term rental regulatory law, which creates a database of short-term rental units and requires third party hosting platforms to register short-term rentals with the State; extending the historic preservation tax credit; protecting victims of sexual assault; and preserving open space. Also signed into law in 2021 was the landmark Act on Climate. Euer says, “While passage of last year’s Act on Climate, a law which sets mandatory, enforceable climate emissions reduction goals leading the state to achieve net-zero emissions economy-wide by 2050, was a huge accomplishment, the work has just begun. The work to implement the Act on Climate has highlighted the need to focus on advancing environmental climate legislation in coordination with utility reform and consumer protection. My goal is to protect consumers through the transition to clean energy while meeting our collective climate goals and creating local jobs.”
2022 has been just as busy, with Euer’s Let RI Vote Act passing the Senate and currently awaiting a vote in the House – this bill will expand access to early voting and vote-by-mail, while ensuring the integrity of our election system.
“I’m grateful to have the opportunity to leverage my legal and community experience to serve the people of Jamestown and Newport, and while I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished together, I know we have so much left to do,” added Euer. “It’s been an honor to represent Senate District 13’s residents at the State House and I humbly ask for their support in this year’s election.”
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Dawn Euer Named One of USA Today's 2022 Women of the Year
Meet USA TODAY’s Women of the Year
Staff USA TODAY Network
5:14 AM EDT Mar. 28, 2022
Updated: 5:14 AM EDT Mar. 28, 2022
These honorees are strong and resilient women who have been champions of change across the country, leading and inspiring as they promote and fight for equity, and give others a place to seek help and find hope.
National Grid opposes offshore wind bill, says ratepayer-funded incentives are too low
Alex Kuffner The Providence Journal
PROVIDENCE — Rhode Island’s dominant energy utility is pushing back against legislation requiring it to solicit offers for more offshore wind power, saying that it needs more money from ratepayers than state leaders would allow.
In a hearing this week, representatives of National Grid, which serves 780,000 gas and electric customers in the state, came out against the bill, telling legislators that a financial incentive in the measure falls short of what the company would need to protect its bottom line.
The legislation, submitted on behalf of Gov. Dan McKee, would set the incentive payment to the utility at 2% of the total value of a power-purchase agreement. With recent offshore-wind contracts worth billions of dollars, the payment to the utility would be in the tens of millions of dollars. All of it would be paid by electric ratepayers and would come on top of what they pay for the energy delivered to them.
Pushing for Changes in RI Voting Laws
by Katherine Gregg
PROVIDENCE — The campaign has begun anew to make permanent a series of pandemic-era moves that allowed early voting and mail-ballot voting without the need for a witnesses or a notary.
The “Let RI Vote” campaign centers on two reintroduced pieces of legislation backed by a coalition of unions and advocacy groups, ranging from the AARP to the AFL-CIO to the Rhode Island Latino PAC to the Providence branch of the NAACP.
The bills would: allow a voter to apply for a mail ballot online; waive the requirement that a mail ballot be filled out and signed in the presence of two witnesses or a notary; and allow nursing home residents to opt in to automatically receive an application for a mail ballot.
It would also allow early in-person voting 20 days ahead of an election.
The matching bills introduced in the House by Majority Whip Katherine Kazarian, and in the Senate by Sen. Dawn Euer, were born out of Rhode Island's 2020, mid-pandemic attempt to make voting easier.
In 2020 that year's general election, 62% of Rhode Islanders voted early in person or by mail, compared to 38% at a polling place on Election Day.
A Jan. 6 reminder: ‘All elected officials have a responsibility to rise above politics, demand accountability and speak truth’
From the Boston Globe:
A year after the 2021 insurrection in Washington, D.C., two Rhode Island lawmakers reflect on the need to protect democracy, especially when it’s politically tough to do so
By Dawn Euer and Brandon PotterUpdated January 6, 2022, 5:00 a.m.
A full year has passed since our nation suffered a historic assault on our democratic republic. The peaceful transition of power is a hallmark of American democracy, and when rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, they did more than violently attempt to prevent the certification of what has been proven to be a legitimate, free and fair election. They undermined the very integrity of our democracy, deepened the divides between us, and displayed the real danger of misinformation.
Most importantly, they showed our country just how fragile our democracy can be, and why all elected officials have a responsibility to rise above politics, demand accountability and speak truth — especially when it’s politically tough — to protect it.
The insurrection of Jan. 6, of course, did not happen by accident. Years of stoked resentments, distortions and lies spread by partisan news networks and on the internet laid the groundwork. Ironically, at a time when we have quicker and easier access to information than ever, misinformation has twisted our politics and been weaponized by opportunists seeking political and financial gain.
But only by officials legitimizing fringe conspiracy theories — either by embracing them in a dangerous game of politics, or by ignoring them and minimizing their effect — do we arrive at a point when supporters of the former president were willing to launch a deadly assault, including sacrificing their own lives, for a lie.
The danger of Jan. 6 didn’t end last year. A coup attempt that inches us further toward authoritarianism continues. The former president and his enablers still persist with baseless claims of voter fraud. Some connected to the plot have flagrantly refused to respond to congressional subpoenas. Elected officials around the nation have also been complicit, enacting laws restricting voting rights and replacing impartial elections officials with partisan appointees. And the voices we most need largely remain silent.
We are grateful to the U.S. House of Representatives and to the federal agencies working to hold accountable those responsible — both those who stormed the Capitol and those who worked behind the scenes or publicly to incite them. But we all bear some responsibility to create the change that is necessary to stop the crumbling of our democracy.
It’s incumbent upon all of us — and particularly leaders and influencers — to take responsibility for our actions and words. We all must stop spreading false narratives for politically expedient reasons. Creating or even just sharing explosive content that cannot be verified is irresponsible — and as we’ve seen, dangerous.
We also must seek opportunities to step out of our social circles and truly listen to individuals from other parts of the political spectrum. When you hear only the messages of like-minded people, you lose valuable perspective, and inevitably become blind to the reason, and even the humanity, of those with whom you disagree politically.
True leaders must responsibly use their power, including the power of communication, and not stoop to using manipulative tactics to further our goals. Restoring — or more accurately, earning the public’s trust — will require intentional work. Those of us at the state level are particularly well-positioned to do that work, since we often know a great many of our constituents personally. Every one of us — Democrats, Republicans, and independents alike — must do his or her part to distance ourselves from inflammatory rhetoric and lies perpetuated to divide Americans.
Because protecting our democracy cannot be a partisan issue.
Rhode Island state Senator Dawn Euer is a Democrat representing Senate District 13. R.I. state Representative Brandon Potter is a Democrat representing House District 16.
General Assembly overrides veto of bill to register all short-term rentals offered by third-party hosting platforms
Courtesy WhatsUpNewp:
The General Assembly today voted to override the governor’s veto of legislation sponsored by Rep. Lauren H. Carson (D-Dist. 75, Newport) and Sen. Dawn Euer (D-Dist. 13, Newport, Jamestown) to require every short-term rental property listed for rent on the website of any third-party hosting platform that conducts business in Rhode Island to be registered with the Department of Business Regulation.
“Short-term rentals have become a thriving industry. In places like our districts in Newport, investors have been buying up housing to rent in this way, and the state is not tracking where these businesses are operating. It’s impossible to ensure safety or compliance with laws when we don’t even know where the rentals are. Rhode Island needs to keep up with the evolving rental industry and adopt a statewide registry,” said Senator Euer in a statement.
Rent & Mortgage Relief – Virtual Panel Discussion
What’s Up Newp will hosted live virtual housing relief program panel discussion at 1 pm on Wednesday, September 1. The conversation will include Senator Dawn Euer; Christine Hunsinger, Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer at RI Housing; Angela Downing, Director of Social Services; and Cindy Nemet, Family Advocate Safety Net.
Click HERE to view the panel.