Announcing My 2024 Campaign

I am excited to announce that I am running for a fourth term representing District 13, Newport and Jamestown, at the Rhode Island Senate.

Each year as we make progress on a variety of critical issues at the State House, it is made clear that impactful state policy has the ability to make a difference in people’s daily lives.

At a time when there are intense pressures on household budgets and people are feeling disenfranchised and distrustful of our government institutions, I am more committed than ever to push for policies with everyday Rhode Islanders in mind.

I hope you will help support my campaign with a signature, contribution, and most importantly – your vote.

The 2024 session was very full and I can’t wait to share all of the General Assembly’s accomplishments with you.

I will be collecting signatures soon and will let you know other ways you can support my campaign as it evolves.

Thank you,

Dawn

Department of Defense Juvenile Jurisdiction

On May 7, the Senate passed my bill (2024 -- S 2457) that would give Rhode Island Family Court concurrent jurisdiction on juvenile cases arising from military bases and installations located in Rhode Island. I introduced this legislation in coordination with the Department of Defense. It's especially timely given the recent news about the new NOAA facility and the intention of the Coast Guard to expand their operations at Naval Station Newport. Currently, military bases are subject to exclusive federal jurisdiction, which means that all juveniles involved in cases end up in the federal system, which doesn’t have all the support services and diversion programs that we have in Rhode Island. This bill allows Family Court to handle the cases it was designed for and keeps these cases out of a federal system that the Department of Defense agrees is ill-suited to handle them.

Extended Producer Responsibility & Bottle Deposit Legislation

I recently returned from a trip with the National Caucus of Environmental Legislators and the Ocean Plastics Leadership Network, touring recycling facilities across the Pacific Northwest. On the tour, we learned about the impacts of Extended Producer Responsibility (ERP) and bottle deposit legislation. ERP is the idea that producers of products are ultimately responsible for the end of life of those products. We looked at the effect these policies have on the ability to recycle different materials. We toured facilities in Vancouver, BC, Seattle, WA, and Portland, OR. In addition to the tours, I was able to speak with local legislators, environmentalists, and industry lobbyists. One thing that was striking to me was listening to the lobbyists talk about how in places that had EPR they would check with the recycling centers to find if the new packaging that was being developed would be recyclable in existing plants with existing technology. Additionally, there was a lot of concern about how single-stream recycling (like what we have in Rhode Island) contaminated otherwise recyclable materials like glass and paper which ultimately gravely reduced their value as a commodity. Recently, the joint Senate & House Study Commission to study "Plastic Bottle Waste" held its final meeting and is expected to issue a report soon. I look forward to reviewing that report and sharing the information I learned on my trip to advocate for improvements to RI's recycling infrastructure.

Protecting Healthcare for All

In early May, the Senate passed my bill, the Healthcare Provider Shield Act, designed to protect doctors and other healthcare providers from hostile legal action from outside of the state when they are providing legal, evidence-based care here in Rhode Island.  This legislation received overwhelming support from major medical associations such as the Rhode Island Medical Society, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American College of Emergency Room Physicians and was highlighted as a key priority.
 
Why does this matter now? The fall of Roe changed everything. It emboldened extremists, who are using novel tactics to cross state lines and force their perspective into other states, threatening our healthcare providers and our healthcare infrastructure. The most notorious of these is Texas’s SB 8, which allows ANYONE to file a civil suit against anyone who is believed to have “abetted” abortion and get a cash award for doing so.

While numerous states have passed aggressive laws like SB 8 restricting and even criminalizing reproductive and gender-confirming healthcare, jurisdictions where this critical care is still legal, have implemented "shield laws" safeguarding in-state providers administering lawful care. Rhode Island's Healthcare Provider Shield bill mirrors protective measures recently enacted in Maine and Massachusetts to shield providers engaged in critical healthcare procedures. 

This bill is fundamentally about access to health care. This bill means our healthcare providers can continue delivering high-quality, standard-of-care healthcare, and RI law continues to govern healthcare practice and access in RI without hostile interference from other states.

I will continue to fight to protect comprehensive, safe, evidence-based healthcare access for all. Click here to read more from the Boston Globe.

Enhancing Nursing Home Safety

The Senate passed my bill (2024 -- S 2263) that would permit nursing home residents to install cameras in their room. This would allow electronic monitoring of residents or private living unit in nursing or assisted living facility with certain restrictions. The benefit would be peace of mind to residents and their families as a way of contact, oversight, and protection. This would open up the opportunity for residents to install a camera if they so choose, it does not require them in any room and all parties would be fully consenting. Click to read more from What's Up Newp.

Glazing

I have introduced a bill (2023 -- S 0660) that would ensure safe glazing in public works in Rhode Island (glazing is the process of installing glass in a building's fixed openings, such as windows and doors). Last year the General Assembly passed a bill ensuring that glazing work on public projects would be done by certified professionals at the highest quality. This bill clarifies that question by giving the Department of Labor the authority to enforce these provisions and ensure taxpayers are getting quality work for their money. We have a lot of construction coming up in the next few years across Rhode Island, including here on Aquidneck Island. It’s important to make sure that this work is done to the highest standards when using public dollars. Click to learn more.

Expanding Caregiving and Parental Leave

At the end of March, the Senate passed a bill that that would expand Rhode Island’s Temporary Caregiver Insurance (TCI) program from six weeks to twelve. This would bring Rhode Island into line with other states and allow new parents more time for parental leave and caregivers more time to care for a critically ill family member. The bill now moves to the House. Learn more here.

Coastal Access Bills

This year, there were three coastal access bills introduced. I was happy to co-sponsor these bills introduced by my colleague from Charlestown, Sen. Victoria Gu. The bills include educating buyers of oceanfront property about public access laws to prevent disputes, preserving and enhancing access on abandoned roads, and preserving historic rights-of-way. You can read more about the bills here from Jamestown Press.