The Rhode Island General Assembly got a sub-par grade on the Green Report Card
issued by the Environment Council of Rhode Island.
The council gave General Assembly members a collective "D" for their
work on environmental issues, noting the failure of such proposed legislation
as Renaissance Development Zone, which would have established development projects
at least 400 acres in size and designated them a tax free zone. The council
also pointed to the lack of approval for habitat restoration funding.
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"The General Assembly got a ‘D’ mainly because of things such as not passing
habitat restoration," said Alicia Karpick, of the Rhode Island Chapter
of the Sierra Club. "For the third consecutive year this bill has unanimously
passed the Senate and has been stopped in the House."
A coalition of organizations and individuals, the environmental council serves
as a voice for developing, advocating and lobbying for policies and laws that
protect and improve the environment.
"We as a council represent over 50,000 people," said Topher Hamblett,
director of Advocacy for Save the Bay and a member of ECRI. "We are the
eyes and ears of the citizens, we communicate with legislators and look out
for their interests."
Karpick said though Rhode Island’ s policy makers did receive a "B"
for their commitment to environmental program funding, even that could be improved.
"We were upset about the funding for the open space bonds," she said.
"It was supposed to be $50 million and it ended up being $34 million. That
one was a big disappointment."
In all the group studied more than 19 proposed bills covering topics from alternative
fuel vehicles to an urban investment tax credit. But unlike past years, where
the group has graded legislators individually, this year they were forced instead
to grade the body as a whole.
"It was felt by our board that there were so few environmental votes in
this session that it would be hard to rate," said Jeffrey Kos, president
of ECRI. "In our eyes there wasn’t a full session of environmental issues,
but we strongly felt that there major pieces of legislation and people that
distinguished themselves both positively and negatively."
According to Karpick fewer votes meant both good and bad results for the General
Assembly.
"We definitely didn’t want the Renaissance Zone, but that could still come
back," she said. "On the other hand there were things that we thought
should have been heard and they weren’t."
Hamblett agreed. "This was the fourth consecutive year of not funding the
habitat restoration," he said. "There was a lot of interest in the
House Finance Committee and in the end it died in the last week of the session.
It’s very frustrating."
Karpick said the House and Senate earned good marks for approving the addition
of two members to the state planning council – a measure that became law without
Governor Almond’s signature.
Other positive votes Karpick said included the passage of a building code reform,
which essentially established a unified building, code for the state. According
to EPIC, one of the major benefits includes a marked reduction in the average
cost of rehabilitation projects.
Karpick said the organization would like to see the General Assembly pass a
refunding bottle bill, under which residents would get cash back for turning
in their recyclable – something many surrounding states already have in place.
"This type of thing promotes recycling," she said. "Not only
do people consciously separate, but many people go out and try to find them."
Though the marks may seem dismal, Hamblett said some progress has been made.
"I do think there is a growing awareness about the importance of environmental
issues over the past few years," he said. "But I think the General
Assembly clearly needs to do more."
Kos said it’s the hope of the organization that the report will be a stepping
stone for increased communication.
"It’s like a report card in school," he said. "We hope to take
that card and move on from here to address some of the issues. It tells us where
(the General Assembly) is and where they can improve."
