By, Gordon D. Fox
Over the past several weeks, there has been much speculation about why Rhode Island voters reelected an overwhelmingly Democratic General Assembly. Some have said it was dissatisfaction with Iraq and anti-Bush sentiment; others have claimed it was voters who couldn’t think for themselves and voted a straight Democratic ticket.
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Couldn’t it be that the people of this state elected representatives who care about the things that are important to them and are responsive to the issues that affect their communities? Not once were Rhode Island voters given this benefit of the doubt. Not one analyst considered that Rhode Islanders might have carefully considered their choices and overwhelmingly decided to elect a Democratic General Assembly.
I believe that Rhode Islanders did think before they voted.
Over the past two years, under our leadership team, the House of Representatives has passed legislation that will improve the lives of Rhode Islanders. Our focus has been on building a strong economy, tax reform, quality education, affordable health care, and a healthy environment.
When Rhode Island’s economy was lagging, we created the Jobs Growth Act, sponsored by Rep. Ray Church, which we believe will produce hundreds of new high-paying jobs without resulting in any loss of tax revenue for the state. In addition, Finance Committee Chairman Steven Costantino spearheaded the Biotechnology Jobs Growth Act, which has already resulted in 450 new jobs at Amgen.
To address the energy crisis, we passed a comprehensive energy bill that addresses the state’s long-term needs by investing in efficiency and conservation, encouraging more consumer input and creating an affordable energy fund for low-income customers. I was proud to be recognized as an “Energy Star” by the Environmental Council of Rhode Island for my work on this legislation.
We also have been reexamining the tax system and working to provide tax relief for Rhode Islanders. Under the leadership of Rep. Joanne Giannini, we increased the automobile tax exemption, another step toward our goal of eliminating the excise tax. This will directly reduce the amount of property tax that citizens pay.
In fact, the General Assembly has not passed a personal income-tax increase in the past 10 years. Last year, we reduced the highest tax rate, to make us more competitive with our neighboring states. And to help low-income workers, we increased the earned-income tax credit, putting more money in their pockets.
Moreover, we recognize that we need to continue to improve our state’s schools. Despite a tough budget year, we increased funding to schools by almost 5 percent over the last year and passed legislation, sponsored by Rep. Joseph McNamara, to encourage schools to spend that money wisely by pooling their purchasing of insurance and supplies. Currently, a joint committee of members of the House and Senate members is researching how to fairly and adequately fund our school system.
In an effort to make health insurance more affordable for small businesses and their employees, we passed the Health Insurance Affordability Act. It will help to reduce these costs by creating a new, lower-cost benefit plan for individuals and businesses with fewer than 50 employees.
When the quality of care of Rhode Island’s nursing homes was called into question, after the unfortunate death of Germaine Morsilli, we passed the Long-Term Care Reform Act. This law will protect our most vulnerable citizens by improving the state’s oversight of nursing homes and expediting the handling of complaints about care.
Finally, to protect Rhode Island’s most precious resource – our environment – the House passed legislation to reduce toxins by regulating the amount of electronic waste discarded in our landfills, sponsored by Rep. Arthur Handy; and another measure requiring car manufacturers to develop a program to recycle mercury in old automobiles, sponsored by Rep. Peter Ginaitt.
We were able to accomplish all of this by working together and remaining focused on our common goal: improving the quality of life for all Rhode Islanders.
There were definitely challenges along the way – bumps in the road that are expected when 75 people are working together. But I am proud of the goals we have achieved, and I think Rhode Islanders recognized our accomplishments when they went to the polls on Nov. 7.
Rhode Islanders have put their trust in us. And our leadership team knows that with this trust comes enormous responsibility. We will continue to work hard for a stronger Rhode Island.
R.I. House Majority Leader Gordon D. Fox represents District 4 in Providence.
