Statehouse to reopen June 1 with some COVID-19 precautions

Update at 4:37 p.m.

THE R.I. STATEHOUSE will reopen to the public and employees on a limited basis June 1. / PBN FILE PHOTO / NICOLE DOTZENROD
THE R.I. STATEHOUSE will reopen to the public and employees on a limited basis June 1. / PBN FILE PHOTO / NICOLE DOTZENROD

PROVIDENCE – The Statehouse will reopen to the public and employees on June 1 but on a limited basis and with some safety measures, state officials announced Tuesday.

The center of the state’s government has been closed to the public for more than a year during the COVID-19 pandemic. The House and Senate have also held sessions at Veterans Memorial Auditorium and Rhode Island College, respectively.

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The House will resume holding sessions in the Statehouse on June 1 but the Senate will stay at RIC through the end of the legislative session.

Gov. Daniel J. McKee, Secretary of State Nellie M. Gorbea, House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi, D-Warwick, and Senate President Dominick J. Ruggerio, D-North Providence, jointly announced that all offices reached a consensus during a May 18 joint planning meeting on how to safely reopen the Statehouse. Officials said the building will be open to the public from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday.

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Even though the state has rescinded its mask mandate – not requiring those who are fully vaccinated to wear a mask outdoors or indoors – anyone entering the Statehouse will be required to wear a mask in all common spaces “as an additional precaution” as the state will not be requiring proof of vaccination for Statehouse visitors and employees. All visitors will be subject to a temperature check and must sign a visitors’ log, the state said.

Common areas will be generally open to the public, the state said, but specific wings will be roped off for health, safety and security purposes, and wedding photo appointments will also resume June 1. Statehouse offices, at their discretion, can also resume tours, hybrid work models and other in-person scheduled activities, the state said.

(ADDS third paragraph with House, Senate plans.)

James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter at @James_Bessette.

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