PROVIDENCE — Rhode Island lawmakers opened the 2026 legislative session this week with a focus on health care affordability, housing costs and economic stability, as leaders in both chambers warned of uncertainty tied to federal budget changes.

House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi outlined House priorities centered on expanding access to health care while lowering costs, calling it the chamber’s top agenda item for the year. He also said lawmakers will continue addressing housing shortages and rising home energy costs, emphasizing the need for community input as policy decisions move forward.

In the Senate, President Valarie J. Lawson convened the chamber by urging bipartisan cooperation and announcing plans to introduce legislation supporting education, small businesses and the state’s health care system. Stabilizing hospitals and strengthening the primary care workforce were identified as key goals.

Both chambers paused to honor victims of the Dec. 13 shooting at Brown University, passing resolutions recognizing the victims and commending first responders. Lawmakers also observed a moment of silence.

New legislation introduced by Rep. Joseph M. McNamara would require the Department of Education to adopt a zero-tolerance hazing policy in partnership with the Rhode Island Interscholastic League, mandating clear and consistent discipline statewide.

Meanwhile, Reps. David Morales and Jennifer Stewart called on Gov. Dan McKee to fully fund public libraries in the upcoming state budget.

Speaker Shekarchi also announced several committee leadership changes, appointing Rep. Carol Hagan McEntee as chairwoman of the House Judiciary Committee and Rep. Mary Ann Shallcross Smith as chairwoman of the House Small Business Committee.

The week also marked the first Senate session for Sen. Stefano V. Famiglietti, who received committee assignments following his election to fill a vacant seat.

Legislative leaders capped the week by joining faith leaders at the 18th annual Rhode Island Interfaith Poverty Vigil at the State House, calling attention to legislation aimed at reducing poverty statewide.

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Brattleboro Memorial Hospital has reached a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice over allegations that the hospital violated the Americans with Disabilities Act during patient visits dating back to at least 2018.

The U.S. attorney for the District of Vermont received a complaint from a patient who said Brattleboro Memorial failed to provide qualified sign language interpreters and appropriate auxiliary aids and services during visits to the emergency department.

After an investigation, the U.S. attorney’s office said it discovered other patients, whose primary means of communication is American Sign Language, who did not receive adequate services from the hospital.

Under terms of the agreement, the hospital says it will provide qualified interpreters, create a new grievance procedure, provide training to its staff personnel on effective communication, and designate a program administrator who will coordinate 24/7 access to auxiliary aids and services.

“BMH believes the agreement represents a positive step forward and aligns with the Hospital’s ongoing commitment to accessibility, inclusion, and high-quality care for all patients,” hospital spokesperson Gina Pattison wrote in a prepared statement. “The agreement reflects improvements BMH has implemented over the past several years to better serve patients who are deaf or hard of hearing.”

Pattison wrote that the hospital worked cooperatively with the Department of Justice throughout the investigation, and that over the past few years a series of new steps have been taken to better serve the deaf and hard of hearing community.

Since 2023, Brattleboro Memorial has been working with the group Deaf Vermonters Advocacy Services to update policies, procedures, staff education and clinical practices, according to Pattison.

Pattison said the hospital now has an on-call, in-person interpreter program along with access to video remote interpreting services.

The settlement agreement also requires the hospital to establish a fund to compensate people who have been affected by the failure to provide appropriate communication services from 2018 through 2025.

“For the average person, going to the ER during a medical emergency is scary. Deaf individuals have the added stress and worry that they will not be able to communicate their symptoms, understand the doctor’s questions, or give consent because they do not have effective communication,” Deaf Vermonters Advocacy Services Director Rebecca Lalanne wrote in an email. “It is everyone’s hope that this agreement will change that experience and that BMH will assess and accommodate in accordance with the law.”

The U.S. attorney’s office will not pursue further legal action, according to the agreement.

Any person who visited the hospital and failed to receive appropriate services can contact the U.S. attorney’s office to fill out a civil rights complaint form.

“It is well settled under the ADA that patients have the right to effective communication in hospitals and doctors’ offices,” the Department of Justice press release said. “BMH has already taken steps to comply with its obligations under the ADA. And with the resolution agreement, BMH will timely provide qualified interpreters when necessary to ensure effective communication with patients and companions.”

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is set to earn nearly $260,000 a year, in line with the salary paid to his predecessor.

The figure is based on public payroll records showing that former Mayor Eric Adams earned $258,750 in total pay.

Mamdani previously earned about $142,000 as a state assemblyman, according to Ballotpedia, an increase of roughly 80%.

Mamdani’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on whether he plans to accept the full salary or donate a portion of it.

NEW YORK CITY IS ABOUT TO TEST MAMDANI’S PROGRESSIVE ECONOMIC VISION

New York City consistently ranks among the most expensive cities in the country, with housing costs far above the national average.

An annual salary of about $260,000 would place Mamdani among the city’s top earners, more than three times New York City’s median household income of roughly $80,000, according to the most recent Census Bureau data.

Mamdani posted on his Instagram account in December that he and his wife Rama would move from their home in Astoria, Queens, to Gracie Mansion, the official, rent-free residence of the mayor on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, in January.

MAMDANI DISPUTES ANTISEMITISM DEFINITION AMID BLOWBACK FROM JEWISH COMMUNITY ABOUT DAY 1 EXECUTIVE ORDERS

“This decision came down to our family’s safety and the importance of dedicating all of my focus on enacting the affordability agenda New Yorkers voted for,” he wrote.

Mamdani was sworn in Jan. 1 as the 112th mayor of New York City, becoming the first Muslim to hold the office.

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“City Hall will deliver an agenda of safety, affordability and abundance—where government looks and lives like the people it represents, never flinches in the fight against corporate greed, and refuses to cower before challenges that others have deemed too complicated,” Mamdani said in his inaugural address.

“In so doing, we will provide our own answer to that age-old question—who does New York belong to? Well, my friends, we can look to Madiba and the South African Freedom Charter: New York ‘belongs to all who live in it.’”