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12/5/2017
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Senate Finance Committee to issue report, bring forward revised legislation on Thursday
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STATE HOUSE, Providence – The Senate Finance Committee will meet on Thursday to issue a report and bring forward revised legislation to enable a public-private-partnership to construct a new PawSox ballpark. The committee will meet this Thursday, December 7, at 4 p.m. in Room 313 of the State House. They will not be voting on the legislation at this time.
“In keeping with our commitment to conduct this process in the most open and transparent manner possible, the committee will be bringing forward and posting revised legislation, but not voting on it. The legislation will therefore be available for the public to review prior to committee consideration in early January,” said Senate Finance Committee Chairman William J. Conley, Jr. (D – Dist. 18, East Providence, Pawtucket).
He continued, “The revised legislation will address concerns raised by the public and the committee during the seven hearings held around the state over the past three months, including addressing how the city of Pawtucket’s debt obligations are met.”
President of the Senate Dominick J. Ruggerio said that he will seek a vote by the full Senate early next month, once the Legislature reconvenes for its 2018 session.
President Ruggerio said, “I am extremely grateful to Chairman Conley and the all the members of the Finance Committee for their exceptional diligence on this legislation. They met for 28 hours over the course of seven hearings, often well into the evening. They heard from hundreds of everyday Rhode Islanders. They asked probing questions of team officials and independent financial experts, and their diligence will result in improved legislation.”
President Ruggerio continued, “Throughout the process, the committee kept their word about openness and transparency, and they established a dedicated website where every single document related to their review is posted. With their meeting on Thursday, they are continuing to demonstrate their commitment to full transparency as well as rigorous review and analysis of the proposal.”
The Finance Committee conducted seven meetings to review the proposal, at the State House and across the state, beginning on September 14. At those meetings, 324 members of the public signed in to testify. Another 366 members of the public submitted testimony electronically, through the committee’s www.PawSoxHearings.com web portal.
Invited presentations to the committee were made by 19 officials, including team executives, representatives of the City of Pawtucket, and independent financial experts.
Yesterday, the Senate President’s office received letters from the Auditor General and the Commerce Corporation. Following their separate, independent reviews of the team’s financial information, they determined that the team will be able to meet its debt obligations under the proposal.
Thursday’s hearing will be broadcast live on Capitol TV (Cox HD 1013, Cox and Full Channel 15, Verizon Fios 34), streamed live via the General Assembly’s website, and later posted to both the General Assembly website and www.PawSoxHearings.com for on-demand viewing.
For more information, contact:
Greg Pare, Press Secretary for the Senate
State House Room 314
Providence, RI 02903
(401) 276-5558
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