Rhode Island legislature leaders K. Joseph Shekarchi (of the House) and Michael McCaffrey (of the Senate) – both Warwick Democrats – are looking ahead to a new year of challenges as they prepare to enter their second legislative sessions in their respective positions.

Overall, the makeup of the State House is pretty much exactly the same as last session, with Democrats adding two additional seats to bring their supermajority in the House up to 66 out of 75 seats. Although one Republican and Democratic seat switched parties during the election, the net makeup of the Senate remains the same at 33 Democrats to just five Republicans.

The real interest within the local political scene, as seen during the election, is the appearance of a split within the Democratic party between those more “traditional” Democrats and the self-proclaimed “progressives,” who have been outspoken about supporting legislation such as much stronger gun control and codifying the federal abortion laws of Roe v. Wade into state law to safeguard against any potential changes coming from the current administration and Supreme Court.

However, neither Shekarchi nor McCaffrey said during an interview on Thursday that they believe there is any real substance to the progressive argument in Rhode Island – a state that, as mentioned above, features no true opposition to what many consider to be core Democratic ideals.

“The Democratic Party is a big tent, and everybody is invited into the tent. There’s this side of the tent and this side of the tent, but 95 percent of us all agree on the issues,” said McCaffrey, who brought up issues such as his criminal justice overhaul bill that passed into law last session as a good example of a bi-partisan, progressive issue that brings all sides together.

McCaffrey brought up issues of pay equity and extending the statute of limitations for sexual assault survivors as other areas of Democratic consensus that would continue to be discussed next session. Shekarchi brought up his bill guaranteeing mastectomies be covered by insurance in the state as another example of the kinds of legislation all Democrats can expect to continue working towards.

“That wasn’t a progressive issue or a Democratic issue or a House issue – it was a people issue. It was good for people,” Shekarchi said. “We have a big caucus, and there’s people of different points of view within the caucus, but at the end of the day we’re all Democrats and we’re all going to pass a responsible budget and work on good legislation.”

Neither leaders felt that the progressives – including a large group of nearly 20 legislators that made headlines in their open opposition to re-electing Nicholas Mattiello as Speaker of the House – would have an impact on who eventually retained leadership of the House and Senate.

“It was an election year, and people felt that for constituencies they had to say certain things. It doesn’t necessarily mean they’re going to govern that way,” Shekarchi said. “I feel very confident Speaker Mattiello will get re-elected again. I think the Senate President [Dominic Ruggiero] will get reelected again and they should be, they’ve both done a good job for the people of Rhode Island.”

Still, despite their points of view, the fact remains that there does exist disputes among state Democrats on two issues that will certainly be in focus again come the next session on the first of January – abortion rights and gun control.

As reported by the Providence Journal, there are 26 members of the House, including Mattiello, who have been endorsed by advocacy groups for their stance on being pro-life, versus 31 House members who have been endorsed by Planned Parenthood. A crucial 18 members could potentially swing either way.

In terms of gun control, 31 House seats belong to politicians who have been highly ranked by the National Rifle Association, including Mattiello, while 34 belong to those who have been labeled as a threat to the Second Amendment by the controversial lobbying group. The situation is similar in the Senate, where 17 seats are held by those held in contempt by the NRA versus 19 held by those rated highly.

In an era where continued public pressure mounts to ramp up gun control to prevent mass shootings – and following a year that saw a controversial “red flag” law get signed into law – this will certainly be an area to watch.

Rhode Island to turn green this year?

Unsurprisingly, the first issue that came to Shekarchi’s mind was about passing a budget. As reported in late November, the state faces a roughly $160 million budget deficit over the next year and a half, with $48 million of that coming from the current fiscal year that ends on June 30. With current projections, a forecast of a nearly $300 million deficit by FY23 is certainly something to think about.

However, what may be surprising is that the second thought that came to Shekarchi was in regards to recreational marijuana, and what Rhode Island may be faced with as Massachusetts’ legalized recreational industry kicks into gear this year, with some dispensaries set to open close to the Rhode Island border in places like Fall River, Oxford and New Bedford.

“We’ll continue to look at it. We want to see what the ramifications are,” McCaffrey said. “Obviously, there is substantial revenues to come in, but what are the long-term effects? We’re inching closer to it, and maybe with Massachusetts opening theirs up, we’ll speed the process up to see where we’re going.”

Shekarchi said that even observing states from afar that legalized long ago has revealed how truly uncharted the recreational marijuana territory is, which shows the need for cautious steps forward.

“It’s a very unsettled area of law,” he said. “Colorado legalized by referendum 10 years ago, and for 10 straight years the Colorado legislature has changed the law. They keep modifying it and changing the law. So, they haven’t perfected it yet and it’s been 10 years of case study.”

Also on the topic of “green” initiatives is the ongoing conversation of green energy. Solar energy has increased significantly in Rhode Island, booming from just 31 megawatts of solar power installed in the state to over 71 megawatts through the first three quarters of 2018, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association most recent data. The state projects to produce nearly 300 megawatts of solar by 2023.

While the benefits of solar are clear, some controversy has surfaced due to some recent projects requiring widespread clear cutting of trees. An 8.1 megawatt project for Natick Avenue in Cranston is currently under scrutiny for the potential danger it may pose to a natural gas pipeline.

When asked if there is a need for a more comprehensive, long-term plan when it comes to solar and wind energy, Shekarchi emphasized that the local municipalities – and their citizens – still hold the real power.

“Every one of these projects are all subject to local control,” he said. “Every one of them has to go to a city council meeting, a zoning board meeting, a planning board meeting. Ultimately, like any other development, the local community will decide if they want it or if they don’t want it, how big or small it is or if they want to modify it. So, you have local control over it.”

Issues affecting Warwick

On the Warwick’s relationship with T.F. Green Airport, both leaders expressed their hopes that this might be the year that Warwick is able to squeeze some additional revenue from the Rhode Island Airport Corporation, either through increased payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) collections or through re-development of their properties that could become fruit-bearing, taxed establishments.

“Obviously there is a lot of growth around the airport with the hotels, but I feel, and I’m sure Joe feels, that the airport should give a little bit more money to the city,” McCaffrey said. “We do provide services to them and we are the host city.”

Shekarchi did agree that, since the airport has expanded, he hopes there is room for Warwick to get a bit more financially out of the relationship. He said that, while he understands the airport is tied to strict federal regulations on how they can raise revenue from their operations, getting surplus properties back onto the city’s tax rolls and developing vacant parcels should be a priority.

Another issue that will likely be seen again this session is the so-called “evergreen contract” bill, which posits that collective bargaining agreements would become much less tumultuous if the terms of a prior agreement extended in perpetuity while the terms of a new deal are struck. Opposition to the concept say the concept is wildly irresponsible and would give unions no incentive to ever strike a deal that conceded or compromised on terms favorable to their members.

“I think that it’s an evolving issue,” said Shekarchi. “I think it will come back but it’s all about the details and what’s in the bill.”

Touching on the possible expansion of the Rhode Island Promise program, which currently serves students who wish to attend the Community College of Rhode Island after exhausting other forms of financial aid, Shekarchi said that it was “just a matter of dollars and cents” if the state could expand the program to include Rhode Island College, as Governor Gina Raimondo had indicated.

Listed as a top priority, the continued demolishment of the vehicle excise tax – an initiative spearheaded by Mattiello – was mentioned by Shekarchi as well.

On tax incentives and business development

A key argument by Republican candidates during the recent election was Governor Raimondo’s practice of offering incentive packages, including tax breaks, to outside companies in the hopes to bring them to Rhode Island and steer them away from local competing states, primarily Massachusetts and Connecticut.

Shekarchi defended the practice, saying that although he is not a huge fan of offering incentives, he realizes the reality of the situation as well.

“If we don’t do it, Massachusetts is doing it and Connecticut is doing it. We’re not going to unilaterally disarm ourselves. It’s a competitive game to bring in businesses and jobs,” he said, adding that General Electric choosing elsewhere to house its corporate headquarters and the PawSox departure from the state for Worcester provided two examples of the kind of competition the state is up against. Now, the state is faced with potentially losing Hasbro.

“Massachusetts, which really some could argue don’t need to incentivize anything – they have [Route] 128, colleges and universities and it’s a world class state with a world class city in Boston – but they also have tremendous incentive packages,” he said. “So, we have to incentivize to bring these companies here and keep them here and grow them here.”