Rhode Island
Constitutional convention’s benefits outweigh cost | Opinion
J.H. Snider is the editor of The Rhode Island State Constitutional Convention Clearinghouse.
Many have correctly said that Donald Trump has weird obsessions with crowd sizes and other matters. Well, Rhode Island government has a weird obsession with constitutional convention costs, albeit one that merely mimics the talking points of convention opponents who oppose a “yes” vote on Rhode Island’s Nov. 5 referendum on whether to call a convention.
Experts who do serious public policy analysis usually try to explicitly balance the potential benefits and costs of a proposed policy. But that’s not how Rhode Island’s legislature, via its appointed and constitutionally mandated “preparatory commission,” has framed the problem. The same goes for the secretary of state, who is responsible for summarizing the convention referendum in a voter handbook mailed at taxpayer expense to all registered voters.
More: Should RI have a Constitutional Convention? The cases for and against
In their 2004 and 2014 reports to Rhode Island’s people, the last two preparatory commissions quantified the potential costs but not benefits of a convention. Rhode Island’s secretary of state then mimicked that type of biased analysis in his ballot summary mailed to all Rhode Island voters.
The government’s cost findings were then ubiquitously cited in the media and, most influentially, cited in the “no” side’s pervasive advertising in the weeks before the referendum. The message was: if a convention has only costs and risks, only a fool would vote for one.
I don’t object to the government’s attempt to quantify a convention’s potential costs if it makes a similar attempt to quantify its potential benefits. For example, the state’s budget for the 2025 fiscal year, excluding local government, is $14 billion, which translates to $140 billion over the 10-year budgeting cycle between convention calls. This should raise the question: what is a convention’s break-even point if it reduces government waste? For example, how much waste could a truly independent inspector general eliminate? (The legislature has repeatedly refused to create such an inspector general.)
More: Rhode Island is no stranger to calls for constitutional conventions | Opinion
Using the current preparatory commission’s heroic assumptions to arrive at a top $4.8 million cost for a convention, that would imply a convention break-even cost of just .000034%. Thus, if a convention’s efforts at improving democratic accountability reduced government waste by just .1%/year, that would result in a 292 times (29,200%) return on investment. And this, mind you, when the Gallup poll has found that Americans think their state governments waste 42% of every dollar spent.
So what’s the strategy used to justify discounting a convention’s potential benefits? The primary one is the claim that the legislature can do everything a convention can without those costs. But this is a bald-faced distortion of both the convention’s democratic design and purpose since Massachusetts pioneered the first convention in 1779. This convention featured independently elected convention delegates to propose constitutional changes followed by popular ratification because the people recognized their legislature would have a blatant conflict of interest designing its own powers and those of competing branches of government. This argument was so compelling that Congress soon mandated conventions for all new states.
Even in the current era of constitutional amendment rather than inauguration, the convention process remains, in most states, the legal gold standard for constitutional change-making. To take the extreme example, New Hampshire, which had 10 unlimited conventions during the 20th century, wouldn’t even allow the legislature to propose constitutional amendments until 1964. U.S. states have held 236 conventions.
More: RI lawmakers conclude final constitutional convention report
As evidenced by a 2023 University of Rhode Island poll that found only 10% of Rhode Islanders had a lot or great deal of trust in the state legislature, there remains a compelling reason for this institution, which, like the popular initiative available in 24 states, prevents the legislature from having monopoly power over constitutional change proposals. The preparatory commission’s just-released 2024 report has once again studiously ignored this legislature bypass purpose of a convention.
So the legislature’s taxpayer-funded obsession with a constitution’s cost should be called out as not only weird but biased to preserve its power at the people’s expense.
Rhode Island
R.I. leading multi-state lawsuit against Trump administration housing policy – The Boston Globe
Rhode Island and other states had recently won a ruling against HUD’s attempt to overhaul a federal homelessness grant program in fiscal year 2025.
US District Court Judge Mary S. McElroy found that HUD acted arbitrarily and capriciously in imposing illegal conditions on billions of dollars in funding for the Continuum of Care program, through which HUD distributes billions of dollars to state, local, and nonprofit agencies to support housing and services for people facing homelessness.
For more than two decades, HUD had followed a “Housing First” model, which prioritizes rapid placement in permanent housing without requiring people to first meet conditions such as sobriety or a minimum income threshold.
However, on June 1, the Trump administration moved forward with new rules for fiscal year 2026 that seek to re-implement a cap on permanent housing. The new Notices of Funding Opportunity will set aside $1.3 billion for transitional housing and supportive service-only grants — which the coalition of states say will have the effect of capping permanent housing projects at about 68 percent of the funds.
HUD Secretary Scott Turner announced the new terms on June 1, saying the old model didn’t work.
“The ‘housing first’ experiment failed Americans by warehousing the vulnerable without results. This ideology promised to end homelessness. Instead, billions of taxpayer dollars were spent while homelessness increased to record levels,” Turner said in a statement. “Housing alone will not solve a crisis driven by addiction and mental illness. Under President Trump’s leadership, HUD is making necessary reforms to put recovery first.”
HUD said that the new Notice of Funding Opportunity for $4.04 billion through the Continuum of Care homelessness assistance program would support organizations that facilitate treatment and recovery and “prohibit funding the widespread use of illicit drugs and distribution of paraphernalia.”
The lawsuit alleges that the new conditions will mean a large number of permanent housing projects funded by the Continuum of Care program will lose funding, which will lead to people being evicted, placing further strain on state and local governments.
“Instead of investing in programs that help people stay safe and housed, the Trump Administration has embraced policies that risk trapping people in poverty and punishing them for being poor,” the 44-page lawsuit alleges.
The shift threatens housing for at least 97,000 residents of CoC-funded permanent housing across the country according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness.
The states argue that HUD’s actions violate the Administrative Procedure Act for failing to proceed with notice-and-comment rulemaking, and for being arbitrary and capricious. They ask the court to declare that the challenged conditions are illegal and to block HUD from implementing them.
Along with Neronha, attorneys general from all New England states except for New Hampshire have joined the lawsuit. The coalition also includes attorneys general from Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia, as well as the governors of Kentucky and Pennsylvania.
Amanda Milkovits can be reached at amanda.milkovits@globe.com. Follow her @AmandaMilkovits.
(WJAR) — Thirty-two years ago was the commissioning of a Navy submarine named after the Ocean State.
Maria Stephanos was on board the USS Rhode Island on July 9, 1994.
Rhode Island was the Navy’s 15th Trident class ballistic submarine.
It was commissioned in Newport and was the first to be christened in its namesake state.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WJAR) — They come from all walks of life, including many professionals in the community, taking time out of their busy days to welcome students to school with enthusiasm and handshakes.
“We learn a lot of new handshakes, too,” Kobi Dennis said. “High-fives. Pounds with an explosion. We get a little bit of everything.”
It’s the Handshake Initiative, the brainchild of now Central Falls Police Chief Anthony Roberson.
Everybody can use some encouragement, and students in Rhode Island get that the minute they head toward the school building.
Initially, the students and parents didn’t know what to think.
“I was confused because I thought it was going to be a normal day,” said one student.
“Their parents were getting out of their cars trying to see what’s going on,” Reservoir Avenue School Principal Cynthia Torres said.
But now, they crave it.
“It makes me feel motivated,” another student said.
Dennis adds in an etiquette component.
“Teaching the kids how to shake hands, look one another in the eyes with a firm grip — girl or guy — firm grip and say ‘hello’ and introduce yourself, that’s part of the initiative as well,” Dennis said.
Providence school superintendent Dr. Javier Montañez said it sends a strong message.
“We hear you, we see you, and we’re here for you,” Montañez said.
Torres strategically uses them on standardized test days.
“They say, ‘I’m going to do really good today,’” she said.
“It makes me feel encouraged to do better in school,” a student said.
They’ve connected with thousands of students across Rhode Island.
“It’s about shaking hands and building relationships, but it’s also about letting young people know that there are professionals in the community cheering for them every single day,” Dennis said.
Do you know of a nonprofit organization or volunteers doing great work in your community? Fill out a short nomination form for “Community Treasures.”
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