GA Notes: EG Legislators Submit Fire District Takeover Bills

It's unclear whether Fire District Commissioners will support the legislation.

The next chess piece has been moved: legislation to abolish the East Greenwich Fire District and establish a town fire department was submitted to the General Assembly last week. State Sen. Dawson Hodgson (R-N.K., E.G., S.K., Narr.) and Lou Raptakis (D-Coventry, EG) introduced bill S-0739 on Wednesday, March 13. The intro of the bill – which was referred to the Senate Finance Committee – reads, "Authorizing the Town of East Greenwich to acquire the property, assets and personnel of the East Greenwich Fire District." State Rep. Anthony Giarrusso (R-E.G.) has also submitted a EGFD bill. According to Chuck Newton of the House Minority Office (and also the chair of the EG GOP), the bill is "in the hands of the Clerk of the House" and should …

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General Assembly Notes

Senate Passes Raptakis Bill On Alcohol Sales; Newton Takes State House Job

News from the General Assembly as it relates to East Greenwich.

The state Senate approved legislation last Tuesday to amend a new reporting requirement on alcohol sales in the state. The bill was introduced by Sen. Leonidas Raptakis (D-Dist. 33, Coventry) and now goes to the House of Representatives for consideration. Raptakis represents part of western East Greenwich as well as part of West Greenwich. Raptakis decried the reporting requirement – which was passed last session. He said restaurant and bar owners received notification from the Division of Taxation early in January that they had until Feb. 1 to provide this new report, a detailed two-page form that requires businesses to compile their total alcoholic beverage sales for the previous year. Currently, restaurants and bars have to file a …

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