Compromises on assault weapons, casino smoking and CRMC reform mark end of 2025 session

You can't always get what you want, but if you try some time, you might not even get what you need

On some key issues, General Assembly opts for baby steps

By Nancy Lavin, Christopher Shea and Alexander Castro, Rhode Island Current

Rep. Teresa Tanzi, a South Kingstown Democrat, speaks in
the House chamber on Friday, June 20, 2025.
(Photo by Nancy Lavin/Rhode Island Current)

Explosive debate over assault-style weapons — what types of guns and owners to restrict, if any — carried through the final day of the 2025 legislative session Friday.

After a series of failed attempts to weaken and strengthen a proposed limit on assault-style weapons, a ban on sales and manufacturing — but not possession —  ultimately prevailed.

True to form, lawmakers found plenty more to debate and discuss over the marathon day that stretched late into the evening. 

As the sun went down, the temperature inside the airless second-floor chambers seemed to rise. On what was the first full day of summer, lawmakers quenched their thirst with Del’s frozen lemonade and an endless carousel of caffeinated beverages.

Senate Majority Leader Frank Ciccone donned shorts in an unusually casual fashion choice, displaying a rarely seen calf tattoo of his late dog, Gunther.

Senate softens state’s aim on assault weapons 

You can still own an assault-style weapon in Rhode Island, but can’t buy or sell it. That’s the gist of the legislation approved by both chambers in an eleventh-hour rework aimed at appeasing at least some of its critics.

The rewrite was led by the Senate, which kicked off its marathon session with an hour-long debate, culminating in a 25-11 vote, to approve the bill banning the manufacture and sale of semi-automatic rifles, shotguns, and handguns with military-style features beginning July 1, 2026. It does not address inheritance of these weapons.

“The expectation over time is the proliferation of assault-style weapons, as specified in the bill, will go down,” Sen. Lou DiPalma, a Middletown Democrat and bill sponsor, said. “We need to get this done today.”

The Senate’s checkmate forced the House, which had already approved a more restrictive version that also banned possession, to reconsider. The lower chamber eventually caved to the Senate’s less stringent counterpart by a 43-28 vote just before 9:30 p.m.

The House’s vote came after a nearly two-hour break likely marked by behind-the-scenes negotiations, and an additional, five-minute recess for representatives to familiarize themselves with the Senate’s changes.

“This bill cuts off the supply of weapons of war for the long haul at the point of sale,” Rep. Jennifer Boylan, a Barrington Democrat and gun safety advocate, said. 

Rep. Jason Knight, a Barrington Democrat, also backed the Senate version, despite its significant changes from the more sweeping ban he had successfully advanced through the House chamber already.

“The two bills in their effect on the ground are closer to each other than you think,” Knight said, noting that the difficulty in procuring a new assault-style weapon even in other states prevents expansion of the “universe” of such weapons in Rhode Island.

Yet, the compromise was met with some dissatisfaction from both sides. The Rhode Island Coalition Against Gun Violence had denounced the “watering down” of what had been a much more sweeping ban on assault-style weapons. 

Sen. Pamela Lauria, a Barrington Democrat, sought to amend DiPalma’s bill to mirror the House version, despite the Senate Committee on Judiciary opting to hold the stronger option for further study on Wednesday. 

“As we look to pass critical legislation regarding assault weapons, we should have taken the opportunity to pass the best version of this bill,” Lauria said.

But after Senate Republicans, along with Ciccone, raised objections, Senate President Valarie Lawson ruled that Lauria was out of order.

Republicans, along with some conservative Democrats, and gun rights groups maintained that no ban at all was the answer. All four Senate Republicans, plus some conservative Democrats, voted against the ban on the manufacture and sale of assault-style weapons.

Across the rotunda, Cranston Rep. Charlene Lima, a conservative Democrat, also denounced the compromise bill for going too far. Her critiques were met with raucous applause from yellow T-shirt-wearing Second Amendment supporters seated in the gallery. House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi issued a stern rebuke, noting the seriousness of the topic before them.

“We will not have interruptions,” Shekarchi told onlookers. “If there is another uproar, I will close the gallery and you can watch on TV.”

Despite the warning, gun rights advocates booed after the House passed the amended bill.

The final version drew support from Everytown for Gun Safety, which maintained the language still covers the majority of the assault-style weapons frequently used in mass shootings. The Rhode Island AFL-CIO, a strong supporter of Lawson, also backed the proposal in a statement Thursday pointing to the union’s February poll that found 64% of residents support “banning the sale and manufacture of military-style assault weapons” in the state. 

Gov. Dan McKee, who had posed the weapons ban as a budget issue earlier in the year, confirmed via social media he will sign the measure into law.

“I’m proud that Rhode Island took an important step forward in protecting our communities from gun violence,” he posted to X at 9:50 p.m.

Clearing the air in R.I.’s two casinos

Bally’s two Rhode Island casinos will be slightly less smoky starting in 2027 — 18 months later than its advocates wanted.

The delayed start combined with a second, late-in-the-session clawback prompted longtime advocate and sponsor Rep. Teresa Tanzi to withdraw her name from her own bill after the opposite chamber added a carveout for smoking bars within casinos. Tanzi was one of four Democratic representatives to vote against the bill she introduced, though it prevailed with 67 supporters in the House Friday.

Tanzi, a South Kingstown Democrat, railed against the revised proposal, declaring it was “nothing like” her original, which had called for the smoking ban to start July 1, 2025, with no exceptions.

Rather than banning smoking in Bally’s Corp.’s Lincoln and Tiverton casinos altogether, the amended legislation adds an exemption for smoking lounges with a new, hazy definition, Tanzi argued.

“This does not prevent Bally’s from expanding cigarette smoking or cigar smoking or vaping or, I don’t know, cannabis,” Tanzi said. “It’s really not clear to me what this new definition is because there’s all of a sudden a brand-new definition about smoking lounges.”

Existing state law defines “smoking bars” as businesses where tobacco sales are greater than 50% of its total revenue. The amended version offers new meaning for a – “pari mutual facility smoking lounge,” defined as any kind of smoking bar with a “proper ventilation system” that will “prevent the migration of smoke to nonsmoking areas.”

In Tanzi’s interpretation, that means any walled-off section of the casino floors could remain a smokers’ paradise.

The Senate already approved the modified smoking ban under a unanimous vote Wednesday. Though Sen. V. Susan Sosnowski sponsored her chamber’s version, Senate Majority Leader Frank Ciccone brokered the compromised legislation after initially seeking to reach an agreement between Bally’s and union leaders to expand existing nonsmoking areas at the Lincoln facility. 

Bally’s Corp. officials had opposed the proposed smoking ban, citing a potential annual revenue loss of $30 million to $60 million. Company spokesperson Patti Doyle thanked legislators for the compromise.

“Confining smoking to an existing smoking lounge at our Lincoln venue and allowing for a delayed transition away from smoking on the gaming floor will hopefully mitigate a portion of that anticipated revenue loss to the state,” Doyle said in a statement late Friday.

Union workers who for years have decried the health consequences of smoke-filled working conditions reluctantly agreed to the compromise version as “the best we could get,” Tanzi said Friday. However, the union wants to revisit the topic when lawmakers reconvene, either in a possible fall session in October or when it starts its next regular session in January, Tanzi said.

“I had a lot more faith in our legislators,” Vanessa Baker, an iGaming manager at Bally’s Twin River Casino in Lincoln, said in a phone interview Friday. “I thought they thought we were people.”

15th time’s a charm on payday lending reform

Cracking down on predatory payday lending practices drew strong support in the Rhode Island Senate Friday. The 27-6 vote came swiftly and with little debate — a stark contrast to the 15-year battle to move the legislation out of committee to the chamber for a vote.

Having already passed in the House with unanimous support Monday, the Senate’s endorsement sets the stage for the long-awaited end to triple digit interest rates on short-term, small-dollar loans — though not as soon as some advocates had hoped. A last-minute revision delayed the start date till January 2027 in an effort to give time to the “deferred deposit providers” like Advance America to wind down operations, and for their employees to find new jobs.

Under existing law, these storefront lenders had been able to take advantage of a loophole in state law to charge an annual percentage rate up to 360%. The legislation caps the annual interest and fees at no more than 36%, mirroring policies already adopted by 22 states and the federal government.

Kicking the can on a bottle bill

Rather than start prescribing specifics of a deposit-refund program for recyclable bottles, glasses and cans, both chambers approved a modified bottle bill Friday that advances only a small component of the original calling for yet another study of the policy. 

The 53-11 and 36-0 votes in the House and Senate, respectively, came with reluctant support from Democratic backers who blamed opposing retailers and beverage manufacturers for mounting a misinformation-laden opposition campaign.

“There is still a great deal of conflicting data as to the implementation of best practices to address the problems of improving and disposing of our recyclable products, as well as enhancing our anti-littering efforts,” Shekarchi said in a statement earlier this week.

Rep. Carol McEntee, a South Kingstown Democrat and bill sponsor, also expressed disappointment, stating outright that the watered-down version is not a bottle bill at all, calling just for a series of studies.

Instead, the legislation calls for a “statewide implementation analysis” to be conducted by a third-party consultant hired by the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management. The study would now be due no later than Dec. 1, 2026, with an interim status report due April 1, 2026. The state-hired consultant would consider the conclusions drawn by an 18-month legislative study commission, and the original bottle bills.

McEntee, who co-chaired the prior study commission, has already indicated she’s planning to introduce a full-fledged bottle bill again next session, even though the state analysis will not be finished yet.

CRMC membership changes on the horizon

Change is coming to the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council, though not the sweeping reform advocates wanted. Rather than abolishing the politically appointed council and reshaping the agency as an administrative authority, lawmakers in both chambers narrowly agreed to a more modest update.

The bills, approved by 49-19 and 25-10 votes in the House and Senate, respectively, Friday, reduce the size of the council from 10 to seven members, simultaneously shrinking the quorum requirement in a nod to the vacancy issues that have plagued the existing panel. And it adds new professional qualifications for the powerful coastal regulatory body, specifically requiring an engineer, a coastal biologist and an environmental organization representative to sit on the new council. 

The existing council does not have any expertise requirements, though members must represent a variety of municipalities based on size and coastal proximity.

How fast the refresh occurs depends largely on how fast new candidates can be found; the legislation calls for Gov. Dan McKee to name six appointees (the seventh is designated as a DEM representative) no later than March 1, 2026. But the bill also says existing members can continue to serve until their replacements are named.

Progressive Democrats and Republicans joined in opposition, with the former insisting the membership changes fell too far short of more comprehensive reforms needed.

Legislators reprimand McKee with anti-bid rigging bill

McKee just can’t seem to escape the stain left by a 2021 state education contract scandal, with an anti bid-rigging bill included on the legislature’s final calendar of the session.

The Rhode Island Senate’s unanimous approval Friday, following passage in the House two days prior, aims to close a loophole in state procurement law by expressly forbidding public officials and administrators from intentionally interfering with the process by which the state awards competitive contracts to outside vendors. 

The need for specificity was laid bare by an investigation by Attorney General Peter Neronha’s office and Rhode Island State Police into a state education contract awarded to the ILO Group. State investigators ultimately found insufficient evidence to charge McKee for steering the $5.2 million school reopening contract to one of his former adviser’s friends — in part because there was nothing in state law saying that he could not.

The newly approved legislation, however, imposes strict penalties on state officials and vendors who participate in future collusion or bid-rigging activities: a felony charge punishable by up to three years in prison and a $1 million fine (or three times the value of the contract, whichever is greater). Vendors found to have participated in bid-rigging or steering activities are also no longer able to perform work for the state for up to five years.

McKee still needs to sign the legislation for it to become law — uncertain given documented attempts by his aides to dismantle the bill earlier in the session. McKee’s office did not immediately respond to inquiries for comment later Friday.

Opposition couldn’t break levy bill

The General Assembly OK’d Providence Mayor Brett Smiley’s request to exceed the state’s annual 4% tax levy cap, clearing the way for a 7.5% increase in the amount of property taxes the city can collect in fiscal year 2026.

Providence Democrats Rep. Rebecca Kislak and Sen. Sam Zurier introduced the bound-to-be unpopular bill in their respective chambers. 

The House was the first to grant the city’s wish, passing Kislak’s bill in a 56-17 vote on May 27. The Senate passed Zurier’s version 30-7 on Wednesday. On Friday night, each chamber voted to concur with the other’s version of the bill, finalizing its passage out of the State House and toward McKee’s desk.

In the House, Zurier’s bill passed 57-14, with opposition from all 10 Republicans plus four Democrats, including Providence Reps. Enrique Sanchez and David Morales. In the Senate, Kislak’s bill passed 27-7, with Providence Democratic Sens. Sam Bell, Tiara Mack and Ana Quezada expressing disapproval similar to their House colleagues.

The extra revenue from the tweaked levy cap is meant to help resolve a budget shortfall introduced last November by a $15 million settlement between the city and the state’s education department over Providence’s public schools. The mayor, with the Providence City Council’s somewhat reluctant approval, has been counting on the levy measure as the critical piece in the city’s fiscal 2026 budget. While the mayor’s budget technically lowers property tax rates, new property valuations mean many homeowners will still see higher tax bills.   

WPRI-12 reported Wednesday that Smiley has asked McKee to sign the legislation as soon as it arrives on his desk. But even with the General Assembly’s blessing, it’s not clear if the added tax revenue will arrive in time to shore up the city’s fiscal 2026 budget, Smiley told the news station. 

Kratom clears Senate

For the second year in a row, a bill to regulate the psychoactive drug known as kratom arrived at the final night of the legislative session. Unlike last year, when the bill provoked a fierce debate in the Senate, it sailed through the chamber with a 22-9 vote.

The House version encountered more vigorous resistance when it went up for a floor vote on May 29. It passed 40-24, with a mix of Republicans, Democrats and one independent lawmaker decrying easier access to the plant-derived drug, which can be used as an opioid substitute or a stimulant.  

The bill was sponsored by Rep. Brian Patrick Kennedy, a Westerly Democrat, and Sen. Hanna Gallo, a Cranston Democrat, with the intent of bringing kratom — a product already available in gray markets like gas stations or head shops — into the sphere of regulation and taxation. This year’s bill is 25 pages, compared to last year’s six, and it would mandate strict labeling, testing, and age restrictions around kratom commerce, as well as limitations on what products could be sold mixed with kratom.

Last year, McKee vetoed the legislation — an outcome sponsors tried to avoid this year by working with the governor and the state health department to craft a more agreeable bill.

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Flip is out

Goodbye and good riddance to Blake Filippi

By Will Collette

Flip tweeted this photo last Sunday

Charlestown’s state Representative Blake “Flip” Filippi has announced he will NOT run for re-election in November. For many, this was a big surprise.

Filippi won in 2014, defeating effective incumbent Rep. Donna Walsh (D) with the support from the Charlestown Citizens Alliance (CCA).

Filippi ran as a libertarian but without any fixed beliefs or principles, a trait that characterized his eight years in office. Not surprisingly, he finally came out as a Republican.

He couldn’t seem to give an actual fixed address with official documents listing him as living in Lincoln, Providence and various Block Island addresses.

That was our first inkling that Flip has a very loose relationship with the truth. Over his time in office, I have documented numerous occasions where he said one thing but did something entirely different. CLICK HERE for a prime example of his casual relationship with the truth.

He has close historical ties to the far-right armed militia group, the Oath Keepers, who led the storming the Capitol on January 6.

Virtually none of legislation sponsored by Filippi was ever enacted, though he did take credit for legislation sponsored by others, such as a bill to limit quarry dust (actually Rep. Brian Patrick Kennedy’s bill) and lowering state income tax on Social Security (which was Rep. Bob Craven’s bill).

He botched this year’s push for a modest shoreline access bill by failing to line up any support in the Senate. Serious legislators almost always get a sponsor for a companion bill in the other house in order to expedite legislative success, but Flip has never been a serious legislator, always more interested in personal publicity than achievement.

Flip tweeted this photo on Monday. I'm not sure if this is a before or after snap

It didn’t help that in 2015, Filippi blocked public access to the beach in front of one of the family properties, Ballard’s, on Block Island with a fence that ran down to the water and with a dumpster blocking the path used by Block Island Rescue to get to emergency calls on the beach.

Filippi was known to sponsor downright goofy legislation, such as numerous efforts to pass amendments to the Rhode Island Constitution and for Rhode Island to secede from the Eastern Time zone and join the Canadian Maritime Provinces in the Atlantic zone.

Filippi voted against every single gun bill (other than those proposed by gun nuts) and tried to block Rhode Island from codifying Roe v. Wade. Yep, that’s our Flip.

For all the support the CCA gave him, what do they have to show for it? 

Even though the CCA disliked Donna Walsh because she is a Democrat, Donna knew how to get things done and served her constituents well.

In his farewell remarks, Filippi singled out obstructionism as his only achievement. As WPRI described it:

“Filippi said his proudest moments included refusing to suspend the House rules during the final stages of the 2019 session, reining in the speaker’s powers; filing a lawsuit over the management of the committee that handles the Assembly’s budget; fighting the proposed Lifespan-Care New England hospital merger; and working on an effort to clarify Rhode Islanders’ rights of access to the shoreline.”

Filippi was vague about his reasons for leaving saying only that after eight years, he decided to make way for somebody new.

His colleague Mike Chippendale who immediately takes over as Republican Minority Leader did little to help to clarify. Chippendale said he wasn’t being pushed out and said it could have just been personal or business related.

In recent years, Filippi fought his mother and brother Steve in court over the family businesses. His mother accused him of deception and manipulation in court filings. So, yeah, maybe it’s business.

Whatever it is, he announced his departure with no apparent Republican contender to run for his seat. Since the one consistent thing about Filippi was his thirst for publicity, his abrupt departure from office raises a lot of questions about why he decided to leave when some conservative sources called him the RI GOP's "top star."

As of this writing, the only candidate is Democrat Tina Spears of Charlestown who has just won the party’s endorsement for House District 36.

The deadline for candidates to declare for office is Wednesday.

Finally we have some new common sense gun control bills going on the books

Gun-nuts and Republicans fight a pitched battle for their right to kill...and lose!

By Will Collette

Sign shown by yellow-shirted gun nuts

The RI General Assembly has passed three common-sense gun control bills that will help reduce the threat and reality of gun violence. These bills will raise the age limit for buying guns and ammunition from 18 to 21; ban open carry; and ban high-capacity magazines. 

A bill to ban AR-15 military-style weapons was spiked by the Democratic leadership in both the House and Senate before it could come up for a vote. I understand their political calculations to go with a package where they knew they had the votes, though I disagree. 

Filippi tells these two 4^th graders they might have to die
to protect the Second Amendment

Yellow-shirted gun nuts were all over the State Capitol during the committee debates and then the floor votes screaming that any new gun control measures were an infringement on their sacred Second Amendment rights. 

And they did have some allies, such as Sen. Elaine Morgan (R-Lalaland) who represents the northern half of Charlestown who said: 

“It’s little by little by little by little. You can’t just take your Second Amendment away, our Second Amendment away. But you can whittle it down, whittle it down and whittle it down, until it doesn’t exist. It’s like throwing a frog in boiling water.”

The House opposition was led by another Charlestown representative, Rep. Blake “Flip” Filippi, leader of the 10-member House Trumplican caucus. Flip took a few hours off from whipping up his gun-nut caucus and allied DINOs to visit a local 4^th grade.

Flip stumped by question from 4^th graders asking why he cares more
about gun rights than about them.

Coincidence or not, the 19 murdered children in Uvalde, Texas were all 4^th graders. Yet Flip gave these children his smarmiest smile while fighting against measures to keep these kids from suffering the same fate as their fellow 4^th graders in Uvalde. There is a special place in hell for creatures like Flip Filippi.

One small surprise to me was the tactical decision by the gun nuts, Flip and his Trumplicans and their Dino allies, to hold their fire (no apology for the deliberate metaphor) for the bill to ban high-capacity magazines, defined as more than 10 bullets. 

Under this bill, according to WPRI, 

"Rhode Islanders who already own [high-capacity magazines] have 180 days to comply with the ban. They can either modify their magazine so it does not hold more than 10 rounds, surrender it to police, or sell it to people in other states where they’re still legal.” 

Most of the votes were pretty solid in approving the three bills, except there was a surprise hang-up in the Senate Judiciary Committee where the gun nuts mounted their last stand. The ban on high-capacity magazines failed to get out of committee on a 6-6 tie vote. 

This despite Senate President Dominic Ruggerio, rated “A” by the NRA, who cast an ex officio vote YES for passage. If retiring state Senator Dennis Algiere (R-Westerly and southern Charlestown) had exercised his ex officio right and voted his conscience, the final committee vote would have been 7-6 to pass. 

Blocking the high-capacity magazine in the Senate committee gave the yellow-shirts something to cheer about, at least for a few hours. Then Ruggerio invoked a parliamentary maneuver to bring the bill directly to the Senate floor where it passed along with the two companion bills. 

Local state Senators Dennis Algiere and Elaine Morgan. He took a walk
while she took a hissy fit. Shame on them both.

In the final vote, it came down to Republicans and DINOs voting against the bills and everyone else voting for common-sense gun control. 

Local Republicans all voted no: Flip of course, his wingnut colleague Justin Price (R-QAnon) in the House and Elaine Morgan in the Senate. Two Westerly DINOs, Sam Azzinaro and Brian Patrick Kennedy, joined them to vote NO against the bill banning high-capacity magazines. 

Dennis Algiere took a walk as he did when the Judiciary committee voted, not voting in the floor on any of the gun bills. That’s a pretty sad way for a decent person like Algiere to end his legislative career. 

The Rhode Island GOP issued a statement claiming the high-capacity magazine bill is “MAKING LAW-ABIDING CITIZENS CRIMINALS.” 

“Yesterday, the Senate passed a bill that will cause law-abiding citizens to be charged with a felony for possessing a semi-automatic firearm magazine capable of holding more than ten rounds of ammunition. 

“This is rather breathtaking. (Editor's note: WTF?) In just a few months (ED: Six months to be accurate), tens of thousands of Rhode Island gun owners could become felons…Never have so many law-abiding citizens been put at risk for jail time since the days of Prohibition when possession of alcohol was a crime.” (OK, to be clear, if you deliberately possess something that is illegal to possess, you are no longer law-abiding, whether you agree with the law or not).

The tirade continued for several more paragraphs that cataloged things that are no longer illegal, such as cannabis possession as if that had any relevance. Then the Trumplicans launched into personal attacks against Democrats who voted for these gun control bills. 

In closing, state Trumplicans said: 

There is something fundamentally wrong in a state where politicians, who have difficulty following the law, can pass a law that makes people, who never broke a law in their lives, into potential felons.” 

Some key facts were omitted in the GOP screed: owners of high-capacity magazines have 180 days (that’s six months) to comply and they are offered options to do that. Also, their guy Donald Trump holds the title for the most lawless politician ever.

Mass shooters love high-capacity magazines for both handguns and rifles since it means you can kill more people before you have to reload. 

I’ve read some sources that say the cost to comply by modifying a ammo clip is around $5. But during the final debate in the Senate, the yellow-shirts were screeching “We will not comply.” 

Wouldn't these guys look great in a trench in the Donbas region?

If all these yellow shirts really want to fire off automatic weapons, why not volunteer for Ukraine’s International Legion. Be sure to bring all your guns, especially your assault rifles, high capacity magazines and all your ammo. Ukraine needs you. Seriously. Although if you’re a Putin supporter and want to fight for Russia, never mind. 

No piece of legislation, no executive order, no amount of money can resolve our gun violence problem. It will take a wide-range of approaches to address the fact that the US has more than 400 million guns in circulation and gun deaths far in excess of other industrialized countries. While the three bills just passed may be baby steps, they are baby steps definitely headed in the right direction. 

I’ll save the final words for friend and neighbor Rep. Teresa Tanzi (D-Peacedale), prime sponsor of two of the three gun bills that passed. She has championed sensible gun control for her entire legislative career. 

Teresa explained the rationale for one of her bills that raises the purchase age to 21: 

“When our existing law prohibiting people under 21 from buying handguns was enacted in 1959, AR-15s were weapons that even the military didn’t have…No one envisioned that 63 years later, there would be millions of these high-velocity, extraordinarily lethal weapons in the hands of civilians. Certainly no one ever imagined that a teenager would go out and legally buy two of them on his 18th birthday along with hundreds of rounds of ammunition, then use them to massacre 19 innocent children and two teachers at school. 

“In 2022, we need laws that recognize the incredible killing capacity of modern weapons, and the serious gun violence epidemic we have in this nation. We need to put an end to the years of political inaction that is enabling mass shootings. I’m proud that today in Rhode Island, we are moving in the right direction.”

After years of dittering, the Charlestown Citizens Alliance has re-discovered quarries

They plan to do the same thing they did before expecting different results

By Will Collette

In 2013-5, Charlestown’s big story was the Copar quarry operations on the Bradford-Charlestown town line and also the former Morrone site in Charlestown, with a third operation starting up in Richmond. Copar’s owner had served federal prison time for racketeering and most of the company executives had serious criminal, civil or ethical records.

They ran their quarries like criminal enterprises. They ran up more debt than any other business of its size I have ever researched. Ultimately they went out of business when the crooks running the company started to steal from each other and the business imploded.

Convicted felon and Copar owner Phil Armetta (photo courtesy of the
The Middletown Eye and Stephen DeVoto)

All the while, the town councils of Charlestown and Westerly looked inept and stupid in their feckless attempts to stop Copar.

Despite being told by Town Solicitor Peter Ruggiero that Charlestown had more than enough “police power” at its disposal to curb Copar, the CCA-controlled council, publicly citing fear of lawsuits (and perhaps had other, more private reasons), decided to try to get state legislation giving them permission to regulate operating quarries.

They counted on then newly elected state Rep. Blake “Flip” Filippi to get that legislation for them after botching their first attempt (see below). Flip had also filed a lawsuit for the neighbors, promising them that this too would bring Copar to heal. Predictably, neither of these approaches worked. As has been the case with Filippi, Flip simply flopped.

But now in 2022, another CCA-controlled council is going to try once again with the strategy that failed almost a decade ago – getting state legislation that gives Charlestown permission it really doesn’t need to regulate quarries - in the hope that they will get a different result.

Ah, the questions this raises!

👉The first is where the hell has the CCA been on this issue in the ensuing years?

👉Why did the town allow a new operator to re-start the old Morrone sand pit after it had been abandoned by Copar?

👉And why not go back to the original proposal from our town solicitor to use town police power to deal with the nuisance and noise caused by recently initiated quarrying operations?

We already have an ordinance for that:

§ 147-2 License and fees.
B. All licenses granted under the provisions of this section shall be granted subject to the condition that the licensed premises shall be kept open to the inspection of the Chief of Police and the Town Council at all times during the business hours and subject to the provisions of the Charlestown Code of Ordinances and Rhode Island General Laws and also subject to such rules and regulations as the Town Council may from time to time promulgate with reference to such licensed premises.

👉Is there no institutional memory at all in the CCA where lessons learned may be found? Maybe that ties in with the CCA’s inability to ever admit it isn’t perfect and does indeed make mistakes. After all, this new initative is being spearheaded by CCA Council member Bonnie Van Slyke.

👉Why is Charlestown so afraid to regulate operating quarries when they do not hesitate to drop new ordinances and regulations on existing businesses all over town? Lawsuits? Hey, Charlestown gets sued all the time and often for less worthy issues than exercising proper police powers.

👉What makes quarries so special that Charlestown will not touch them without state permission?

During the Copar crisis, hopes were expressed that someone, somewhere would do something. 

But there are no federal laws and agencies with express jurisdiction over quarries, with one exception. 

The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) does have jurisdiction over health and safety conditions that affect workers within the facility. They have no authority outside the mine. And MSHA did cite Copar and other Charlestown quarries for violations.

EPA and the state DEM have the power to enforce against violations of the Clean Air, Clean Water and waste disposal laws. Copar was in fact cited by both the EPA and DEM, but that didn’t slow them down.

Waiting for federal or state enforcement can be frustrating even when the law is clearly on your side. As for getting new laws, it’s worth looking back at Charlestown’s 2014 experience especially since the CCA-controlled Council is counting on passage of unnecessary new state legislation. Let’s review what happened last time.

After months of dithering, the Council, then led by CCA leader Boss Tom Gentz, called a special meeting on June 20, 2014 to review, approve and authorize sending draft legislation up to Providence.

Rep. Donna Walsh warned the Council that this was the last day of the General Assembly when new bills almost never get introduced, never mind passed.

Such was the fate of this bill although Gentz did get some legislators to hear the bill and was given a list of flaws to fix ASAP if there was to be any hope of passage. Boss Gentz sat on this information for five weeks. The bill did not pass. Naturally, Boss Gentz blamed the General Assembly, not the CCA's or his own incompetence.

The CCA tried again in 2015 with their new magic man, Blake “Flip” Filippi who defeated Donna in the 2014 election. 

They sent Flip to introduce the bill Charlestown really wanted, the one that failed in 2014. House Bill No. 5676 would give the town of Charlestown powers it already has to regulate quarries. But as often happens, Flip’s bill died in committee while being “held for further study” never to emerge.

The one piece of state legislation on quarries that was enacted after Copar is a 2015 law that required DEM to write regulations to bring about effective dust control measures at mines. Yet the DEM acknowledges that it can't enforce this law.

An added irony is that Flip Filippi claimed credit for the anti-dust bill even though it was Rep. Brian Patrick Kennedy’s bill. Filippi’s two bills failed to get out of committee.

Recently, Charlestown Zoning Officer Joe Warner issued a cease-and-desist order against the Miozzi quarry for illegal expansion and other violations. The company is claiming it is above any town regulation because the quarry has been in constant operation for decades. The case is tied up in court.

Miozzi claims immunity from regulation because his operation is “grandfathered” due to uninterrupted operation for decades. But the Miozzi claim of continuous operations is simply not true as the following MSHA records show the site was abandoned after Copar left the scene. 

When Miozzi re-started operations, MSHA issued him a new mine number as they do when any NEW mine opens up.

Note under “Mine Status,” the classification is “Abandoned.” Also note the mine number is 3700201.

Here’s the new MSHA listing and the new mine number, 3700232.

Same site, new and different mine and thus illegal under Charlestown current mining ordinance that prohibits NEW quarries.

Now what?

It is necessary to review and understand what has happened since 2013 to figure out the smartest steps to take.

The Council should have listened to Peter Ruggiero in 2014 when he told them to first use the town’s police powers to stop a nuisance. Sure mine operators will sue as do most businesses when faced with regulation that cuts into their bottom line.

We should go back to the old drafts of town ordinances to regulate mining with a special emphasis on making sure quarries and sand pits are bonded and will reclaim their sites when mining ends. 

We need a “Bad Actor” ordinance to block permits and licenses to businesses and individuals with shady records.

In other words, we should avoid doing those things that have failed us in the past and use approaches that have some track record of success.

NIMBYs win, blocking plan to remove last dam on the Pawcatuck

Westerly Town Council Decides Potter Hill Dam to Survive Mill Demolition

By CYNTHIA DRUMMOND/ecoRI News contributor

The Potter Hill Dam in Westerly, R.I., is the only remaining dam on the Pawcatuck River. (Cynthia Drummond photos)

Members of the partnership planning the removal of the Potter Hill Dam and mill were surprised when Town Council members voted Jan. 31 to demolish the derelict mill but leave the dam alone.

Funded by an initial $100,000 grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the project, which originally included removing the dam as well as the mill, has also received more than $100,000 in in-kind donations.

The goal of the dam removal was to restore the river to its natural flow, which would in turn revive wetlands drowned by the water impoundment and allow migratory fish to swim freely up the river. Partners in the project, in addition to the Town Council, are the Westerly Conservation Commission, The Nature Conservancy, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS), the U.S. Geological Survey, the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (RIDEM), the Southern Rhode Island Conservation District, the Wood-Pawcatuck Watershed Association and the Rhode Island Saltwater Anglers Association.

Built in the 1780s, the Potter Hill Dam is the only remaining dam on the Pawcatuck River. The mill, which was recently the focus of a failed private redevelopment plan, continues to decay and crumble into the river. Both the dam and the mill are currently in receivership.

Less than a year ago, the dam removal seemed a certainty when state and municipal officials and residents attending a public information meeting were presented with several options for its removal.

At that meeting, the town’s director of public services, Lisa Pellegrini, described the site as “a big, expensive problem” which, in addition to posing a public safety hazard, put the town at an increased risk for flooding.

There's a reason why no meaningful environmental legislation has been passed

Study: Speaker Mattiello blocks “real and impactful” climate change bills

By Steve Ahlquist 

Mattiello wearing a Donald Trump-brand tie (source: Reddit)

It should come as no surprise to anyone that Speaker of the House Nicholas Mattiello (Democrat, District 15, Cranston), the legislator who infamously said, “there’s nothing Rhode Island can do to address climate change in a way that’s real or impactful” is the legislator who has blocked every real and impactful bill that’s come before the Rhode Island General Assembly, according to a new analysis from RI Rank. 

That analysis places Speaker Mattiello dead last in the House for his environmental voting record.

The poor performance of House Leadership on environmental issues was aptly illustrated during testimony in the House Environmental Committee on the Act on Climate 2020 bill. 

Mattiello’s close allies, Representative Brian Patrick Kennedy (Democrat, District 38, Westerly, Hopkinton) and Representative Robert Phillips (Democrat, District 51, Woonsocket), did everything they could to cast the bill in a negative light.

Representative Phillips allowing an opponent of the bill to testify via text message and Representative Kennedy doubling down on the Speaker’s earlier comments about their being nothing Rhode Island could do about climate change. saying:

“It is not the State of Rhode Island, per se, that is producing all of this pollution,” said Kennedy “So unless the industrial states like Ohio, and Illinois and Pennsylvania do something to take action on climate change, all we’re doing is forcing the people here to have pain and perhaps higher bills in the form of taxes if in fact they’re not doing anything and we are doing something.”

Over at ecoRI, Tim Faulkner noted that Kennedy “in the mid-1990s led an assault to weaken the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management.”

Thanks to business lobbyists, no deposit – no return

Proposed R.I. Bottle Bill Stalled by Business Interests

By TIM FAULKNER/ecoRI News staff

Advocates for a circular economy agree that a bottle-deposit program is a staple for reducing plastic waste.

Despite so-called “bottle bills” in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New York, and Vermont, Rhode Island has for decades resisted enacting a take-back program, much as it does mandating motorcycle helmets. 

Although there is a lack of public opposition, elected officials and businesses cry foul of a system proven to increase recycling and reduce litter.

Some of the state’s most influential trade groups object.

Westerly legislator Brian Patrick Kennedy takes the point to stop effective legislation on climate change

Advocates Told to Slow Down on R.I. Climate Action

By TIM FAULKNER/ecoRI News staff. Lots of video in Tim's original article.

Rep. Christopher Blazejewski, right, D-Providence, sponsored the
Act on Climate 2020 House bill. He spoke at the March 5
hearing before the House Committee on the Environment and
Natural Resources. DEM director Janet Coit, center, and Amy Moses
of the Conservation Law Foundation sit with him.
(Tim Faulkner/ecoRI News staff)

A climate bill, championed by environmental groups as a top and urgent priority, received another slowdown signal during its initial hearing at the Statehouse.

The House bill bolsters the state emission-reduction targets while making them legally binding.

Supporters, who filled the House committee room and an overflow meeting room, had to wait for up to four hours for the hearing to start and get a chance to speak. 

The hearing was delayed by a full House update on the coronavirus. 

After the briefing, it was still a challenge for the House Committee on the Environment and Natural Resources to gather a quorum to start the hearing.

Once the witnesses had a chance to testify, they emphasized the growing volume of research that calls for more aggressive steps to reduce greenhouse gases, such as reports by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

Kendra Anderson, past president of Climate Action Rhode Island, chided the House committee for balking at past bills that aimed to make the goals enforceable.

“We’re Rhode Islanders. We’re smart. We’re scrappy. We’re used to being small, but getting things done,” she said.

The legislation, called Act on Climate 2020, was labelled a priority bill by the Environment Council of Rhode Island, the Audubon Society of Rhode Island, and Save The Bay. It ratchets up the state emission-reduction goal set in 2014 from 45 percent to 50 percent by 2035 and net-zero by 2050.