Issues
Protecting the Environment
- David sponsored landmark legistation to allow National Grid to promote effecient, clean energy without jeopardizing profits. Read the general assembly press release
- Voted in favor of this year’s renewable energy bill - Allowed residents, businesses and municipalities to benefit from the extra energy they produce (net metering).
- Co-Sponsored legislation that make it more beneficial for residential energy production.
- Co-Sponsored legislation making the waterways safer by granting the Narragansett Town Council the power to regulate by ordinance all outhauls used within the towns public waters.
Tough on Crime
- Sponsored legislation requiring purchasers of second-hand materials (i.e. copper) to maintain identification records of the sellers of second-hand materials.
- Co-Sponsored legislation requiring law enforcement officials to take a DNA sample from anyone arrested for a felony whether or not they are convicted.
- Co-Sponsored legislation establishing strict standards relating to Identity Theft Protection.
- Co-Sponsored legislation with Representative Lally that protects our privacy by defining video voyeurism and impose fines and/or penalties for a person found guilty of this offense. Read the general assembly press release
- Supported a bill strengthening the state’s drunk driving laws. The bill lowered the blood-alcohol level to .08 and toughened the penalties on drunk driving.
- Voted to protect our neighborhoods by strengthening the state’s social host laws extending the language to include stiffer penalties for the manufacture and distribution of fake IDs, the possession and use of a fake ID but anyone under the age of 21, and extended the reach of the language to make adults liable for underage drinking anywhere on their property.
Fishermen
- Led a multi-year effort to reform commercial fishing licenses to protect out local fishermen with the cooperation of several industry organizations and state organizations.
For the Community
- Co-Sponsored legislation that would allow the town of Narragansett to limit the number of unrelated individuals that may reside in a single-family dwelling to not less than three. Read the Bill
- Co-Sponsored legislation establishing a Junk Mail opt-out list Read the Bill
- Sponsored legislation to keep our neighborhoods peaceful by prohibiting overnight camping at Scarborough State Beach.Read the Bill
- Co-Sponsored allowing a tax assessor to prorate the tax classification of owner-occupied structures which contain both commercial and residential units. Read the Bill
Reforming our Government
- Sponsored significant open government legislation requiring the Legislature to provide disclosure on line, in real time all transactions it authorizes, including expenditures, hiring and payroll. This act would also require that all meetings be subject to the open meetings law. Read the Bill
- Co-Sponsored legislation prohibiting elected officials and legislators from accepting any gift in relation to their position.
Health and Welfare
- Co-Sponsored Legislation that would provide individuals who sustained traumatic brain injury with comprehensive instate services. Read the Bill
Protecting our Children
- Co-Sponsored House Bill No. 5354 that would protect children from the harmful effects of secondhand smoke by restricting drivers from smoking in their vehicles while a child is present. Read the Bill
- Co-Sponsored the Sexual Offender Registration and Community Notification Act.
Strengthening Education
- Fighting for a fair funding formula that protects education funding for Narragansett and South Kingstown and provides the necessary means to keep Wakefield Elementary School open.
- Co-Sponsored legislation that would mandate all proceeds from the Rhode Island State Lottery to be placed in a restricted receipts account to be used only for state aid to education. Read the Bill
- Co-Sponsored legislation authorizing the Town of Narragansett to finance renovations, remodeling, additions, improvements and related equipment for schools. Read the Bill
- Co-Sponsored legislation that would mandate that the state pay up to forty thousand dollars ($40,000) per student toward special education costs. Read the Bill
Respecting our Veterans
- Voted to create the Rhode Island Department of Veterans’ Affairs. The bill would move oversight of the 100,000+ veterans living in Rhode Island from a small division within the Department of Human Services to a larger department with one purpose - tending to the needs of Rhode Island veterans.
- Co-Sponsored legislation that would provide tax relief for our Veterans making veteran pensions exempt from the RI Personal Income Tax.