Governor and General Assembly Fail to Complete Implementation of 2004 Separation of Powers and Undermine 1994 Judicial Reforms
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Common Cause rhode island Report providing a b l u e p r i n t for better government summer 2008 2007-2008 legislative scorecard edition Governor and General Assembly fail to complete implementation of 2004 Separation of Powers and undermine 1994 judicial reforms. n this eighth Common Cause Rhode Island Legislative Scorecard, lawmakers’ scores fell below their 2006 level, which was the lowest on record. Although state officials I were focused on addressing the budget crisis they still passed legislation that thwarts the voters’ will on two major Constitutional reforms: Separation of Powers (SOP) and Judicial Merit Selection. Separation of Powers highly qualified candidates to be considered for each judicial Four full legislative sessions after voters approved the vacancy. SOP amendment, the Rhode Island House of Representatives This is not the first attempt to scuttle Merit Selection. continues to push the state Supreme Court for an advisory Since 1994, the General Assembly has created 17 magistrate opinion that would preserve its leverage on the Coastal positions --all exempt from the merit selection process. In Resources Management Council (CRMC). Common Cause 2007, the General Asembly prospectively eliminated life commends the Senate for passing legislation in 2008 that tenure, unified terms, and required Senate confirmation would have reconfigured the CRMC to largely comply for magistrates. However, the General Assembly did not with Separation of Powers. The legislation was sent to the require that magistrates be appointed through the merit House but never received a hearing. selection process. Common Cause believes that magistrates Judicial Reform performing the functions of judges should be selected In 2007, Governor Donald L. Carcieri sought and through the public process endorsed by voters in 1994. received lawmakers’ clearance for “look-back” lists that defy the central purpose of the 1994 Constitutional Amendment Open Records Common Cause was encouraged that the first signifi- establishing Merit Selection of all Rhode Island judges. The cant Open Records bill since 1998 passed both the Senate “look-back” allows the governor to choose from all of the and House after years of being stalled in committee. nominees presented for vacancies in the same court for We were disappointed that Governor Carcieri vetoed this up to five years past. Common Cause opposed the change important legislation, claiming it might compromise public arguing that longer lists enhance opportunities for well- safety. Access RI, a coalition (including Common Cause) connected candidates to defy the merit selection process. dedicated to improving access to public records, reached The provision has the potential to allow Rhode Island several compromises that addressed concerns about public governors to enjoy a pool of thirty to forty candidates for safety while preserving the public’s right to know. Common some judicial vacancies instead of the more restrictive Cause hopes the General Assembly will override this veto approach mandated by Rhode Island voters in 1994. The and improve access to public records in Rhode Island. national model, supported by Common Cause, calls for 3-5 Read more about these issues and what happened during the 2007-2008 legislative session inside the newsletter. Computing Votes Our Mission n Noting Abstentions, Absences, and Considerations Common Cause Rhode Island is a nonpartisan organization ommon Cause counted sixteen Senate votes (weight equals whose mission is to promote representative democracy 22) and fourteen House votes (weight equals 22) from the by ensuring open, ethical, Senate and House Journals in this two year scorecard. Our accountable, effective C government processes at local, lobbying, testimony, printed communications, or emails laid out Common Cause positions on most state and national levels by of the issues. In some cases, amendments proposed on the floor of the House and Senate focused educating and mobilizing the citizens of R.I. the issue more clearly than final votes. In these instances, a motion to amend (add to or change) or a motion to table (kill) the amendment is counted. Only votes on the House and Senate floors were n state governing board Kevin McAllister, President counted. Because some votes showed blatant contempt for constitutional amendments approved Charles Sturtevant, V. President by voters, this scorecard modifies the scoring weight in the following way: Joan Temkin Gray, Treasurer Tory McCagg, Secretary 1 Point - Routine pro-votes or anti-votes based on positions advocated by Greta Abbott, Jane Austin, common cause; Thomas R. Bender, Susan Blume, Vickie Cummings, Frank DiGregorio, Lara Ewens, Robert 2 Points - Votes that uphold or attack long-standing, clearly enunciated G. Flanders, Jr., Alan Flink, common cause principles; and Doree Goodman, Brian Heller, Burt Hoffman, Tim Kuhner, 3 Points - Votes that uphold or attack principles of great public interest Scott Metcalfe, Eugene Mihaly, adopted as constitutional amendments supported by common cause. Don Pryor, Nancy Rhodes, Helen Sebesta, Daniel G. Siegel We recognize that several tabulated votes were crammed into the chaotic last night of the leg- islative session when fatigue may have made it difficult for lawmakers or the public to recognize n presidents emeritus Natalie C. Joslin, James C. Miller, what was happening. Caught in the tsunami of last-night bills, some well-intentioned lawmakers Nancy Rhodes, Daniel G. Siegel, unintentionally may have cast harmful votes. We hope they will support rules changes to end such Cathy Speer overwhelming agendas. n advisory council Doree Goodman, Chair Additionally, as Common Cause has done in the past, this scorecard also takes into consider- ation factors that contributed to the overall General Assembly activity. In 2007-2008, the General John Gardner Fellows Alan G. Hassenfeld, Natalie C. Assembly took steps toward addressing one of the most severe budget crises in state history. In rec- Joslin, Lila & John Sapinsley, ognition that the legislature and Governor attempted to make significant headway on Rhode Island’s Henry D. Sharpe, Jr. structural deficit, the Common Cause RI Governing Board credited each legislator with bonus points. Phil Anderson, Gerry Billings, This bonus equals one quarter of the total possible in each chamber. These bonus points are not an David A. Brown, Helen endorsement or criticism of the final budget passed but an acknowledgement of the work under- Buchanan, Joseph L. Dowling, Jr., Thomas Ewens, Fred taken by the General Assembly as a whole. Franklin, Patricia Fuller, Warren Galkin, Artemis Joukowsky, Within issue areas, the number of pro-votes is divided by the total possible in that area (e.g. 3 Robert Kilmarx, James C. Miller, pro-Common Cause votes out of 4 renders 75%). When a lawmaker abstains because of potential Jack Partridge, Tom Quill, Ford Sayre, Neil Severance, Richard conflicts of interest, he/she is required by law to note the reason on a recusal statement in House Silverman, Cathy Speer, Rob and Senate Journals. In this scorecard the formulas have been adjusted so that recusal neither hurts Walker, Richard Worrell nor helps that lawmaker’s final score. n staff Christine Lopes, Half of each lawmaker’s absences or failures to vote are factored into the final average under Executive Director this formula: Deborah Jones (Pro-votes) / ((Pro-votes+anti-votes)+(nonvoting/2))= (Final Average) common cause rhode island As explained above, and as highlighted in the narrative, the Common Cause RI Governing Board 245 Waterman Street weighed several votes more heavily because of their extraordinary importance. The full spreadsheet Suite 400A Providence, Rhode Island with individual votes is available online at: www.commoncauseri.org. 02906 T: 401.861.2322 Common Cause never endorses candidates for any public office. This F: 401.331.9676 www.commoncauseri.org scorecard reports only how members of the general assembly voted on particular bills of concern to Common Cause. Scoring does not consti- tute opposition or endorsement. SOP & Gov. Oversight n SOP continued... In 1994, Common Cause RI established Separation of Powers (SOP) as its • 07-S 0041 by Senator Stephen D. highest priority. After a decade-long battle, the General Assembly placed a con- Alves lowered the thresholds (from stitutional amendment on the 2004 ballot. An unprecedented 78.3 percent major- five to three years and from $500,000 ity of Rhode Island voters approved the amendment, thereby finally establishing to $ 300,000 per year) for the state Separation of Powers in the Rhode Island Constitution. Most of the boards and purchasing committee to receive commissions where lawmakers exercised executive powers have been reconfigured approval from the General Assembly to comply with the SOP Amendment, but several remain unchanged. to sign a lease for state occupancy. As reported in previous newsletters, Common Cause, and its allies, are Senate voted (31-5) on 6/13/07. S0041 awaiting a decision on the House of Representatives advisory question before the was referred to the House Finance RI Supreme Court. Common Cause has also advocated for the General Assembly Committee and held for further study. to conduct legislative oversight and was encouraged by the work of the Senate Common Cause believes the prac- Government Oversight Committee, chaired by Senator J. Michael Lenihan, over tice of requiring General Assembly the past two years. approval for executive actions is a violation of Separation