The House of Representatives today approved two pieces of legislation from Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi’s seven-bill housing package. “I am thrilled that my colleagues recognize the urgency of Rhode Island’s housing crisis. The legislation passed tonight is a big step forward in our housing push,” said Speaker Shekarchi. “We know that we need more housing, but…

Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi joined Senator Jack Reed, along with Brenda Clement, Director of HousingWorksRI, and Jennifer L. Wood, Executive Director of the Center for Justice, to announce additional federal housing assistance for Rhode Islanders. Since December, Senator Reed has helped direct over $425 million in federal funding to Rhode Island for rental assistance, foreclosure prevention…

House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi today announced that the House of Representatives will focus its efforts on addressing the state’s housing crisis, introducing a package of legislation aimed at making housing more available and affordable in Rhode Island. Saying housing is among the most critical challenges facing Rhode Island, he also urged Rhode Islanders to…

House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi (D-Dist. 23, Warwick), Rep. Anastasia P. Williams (D-Dist. 9, Providence) and Sen. Tiara Mack (D-Dist. 6, Providence) announced a Walmart Foundation grant to the Rhode Island Black Heritage Society to develop a Rhode Island African Heritage History Education curriculum for all public schools.  The announcement was held during a virtual…

House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi and Senate President Dominick Ruggerio introduced legislation to permanently enact the Rhode Island Promise program, which provides up to two years of free tuition for eligible Rhode Islanders at Community College of Rhode Island. The program is currently set to expire with the class entering CCRI in September 2021. President…

Rep. K. Joseph Shekarchi was elected Speaker by the Rhode Island House of Representatives as it began the 2021 legislative session. House members voted 59-9, with four abstentions, for Speaker Shekarchi, who had previously served as the chamber’s Majority Leader. Prior to being elected Majority Leader in November 2016, he served as Chairman of the…

House Speaker-elect K. Joseph Shekarchi expressed hope and satisfaction with a $30 million-plus settlement announced today between members of the failed St. Joseph pension plan and several of the defendants they sued for its mismanagement. Said Speaker-elect Shekarchi (D-Dist. 23, Warwick), “Every member of the St. Joseph’s pension system is an innocent victim who trusted…

The Rhode Island House of Representatives voted 59-6 today to approve a pared down state budget for the 2021 fiscal year that restores funding to cities and towns, uses federal coronavirus relief funds to aid struggling Rhode Islanders and does not raise taxes or fees. While it does include seven bond referendums that will be…

House Speaker-elect K. Joseph Shekarchi announced that the Mickey Stevens Sports Complex in Warwick has been selected to receive a grant of more than $419,000 to assess and remediate environmental issues there. The grant comes from the Brownfields Remediation and Economic Development Fund and made available through the Green Economy Bonds authorized by the General…

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has issued proposed regulations affirming a workaround initiated by House Speaker-nominee K. Joseph Shekarchi to help small-business owners who were negatively affected by the Trump administration’s 2017 tax changes. The IRS issued a notice that it is proposing regulations that will clarify that state and local taxes paid by a partnership or…