Rhode Island House of Representatives

This Week at the General Assembly.... House Speaker @CBlazejewski announced that he will introduce legislation to create an Office of the Independent Inspector General to detect fraud, waste, abuse or mismanagement in state and quasi-state agencies, as well as municipal governments utilizing state funds. He sponsored such a bill a decade ago (2015-H 5164) and has been a cosponsor of it in other years. More details, plus other highlights from the past week: rilegislature.gov/pressrelease/W…

The House today approved legislation sponsored by @AlexDistrict52 that would protect tax filers from fraudulent or illegal tax preparation services. “Improperly or fraudulently filed taxes can come with severe consequences and penalties for unsuspecting tax filers. This is an important consumer protection bill that will protect tax filers from being taken advantage of or seriously harmed from nefarious tax preparers,” said Representative Marszalkowski (D-Dist. 52, Cumberland). More information: rilegislature.gov/pressrelease/_…

Rep. Lauren Carson hosted staff from @AcadiaCtr for a State House briefing on energy cost drivers and a dialogue on solutions today. The event can be viewed online: capitoltvri.cablecast.tv/show/12165

Earlier today, Rep. Jennifer Boylan hosted a group of students from Riverside Middle School at the State House. Rep. Boylan led a mock legislative session for the students, where they debated several bills.

Thank you to all who attended today's Healthcare Day at the State House. This #NationalHospitalWeek & every week, we are grateful to our hospitals, health systems & the dedicated professionals who power them for the essential care they provide to our communities every day.

"When I read it, I almost fell off my seat," said Republican Senate leader @JessicaforRI, who said she is "ecstatic" about the inspector general proposal bostonglobe.com/2026/05/14/met…

@Globe_RI: Rhode Island’s new House speaker is pushing for the creation of an inspector general to investigate waste, fraud, and abuse in state government, citing the Washington Bridge failure and other high-profile recent government missteps. Speaker @CBlazejewski, a Providence Democrat who was elevated to the House’s top job last week after Speaker Joe Shekarchi left to apply for a seat on the Rhode Island Supreme Court, announced he and Majority Leader State Representative Katherine Kazarian will introduce the legislation on Tuesday. “The time is now,” Blazejewski told reporters on Thursday, citing “high-profile state failures” including the Washington Bridge crisis, the recent partial collapse of an on-ramp over Amtrak lines, and the botched rollout of a $99 million new payroll system. Full story: bostonglobe.com/2026/05/14/met…

Happening now: the House Finance Committee, chaired by Rep. Marvin Abney, is meeting to hear testimony on a variety of legislation. The meeting is airing live on @RICapitolTV and is livestreaming at capitoltvri.cablecast.tv, where a recording will be available to view on demand. The agenda is online: status.rilegislature.gov/documents/agen… More details: rilegislature.gov/pressrelease/_…

Happening now: the House Committee on Education, chaired by @RIDemChair, is meeting. The agenda is online: status.rilegislature.gov/documents/agen… The meeting will air on @RICapitolTV and is live streaming at capitoltvri.cablecast.tv, where a recording will be available to view on demand.

Happening now: the House Committee on Judiciary, chaired by @repmcentee33, is meeting to consider and hear testimony on several bills. The full agenda is online: status.rilegislature.gov/documents/agen… The meeting will air on @RICapitolTV and is live streaming at capitoltvri.cablecast.tv, where a recording will be available to view on demand. More details: rilegislature.gov/pressrelease/_…

The Independent Caucus endorses this legislation wholeheartedly.

Speaker @CBlazejewski will be introducing legislation to create an Office of the Independent Inspector General. “Rhode Island is facing a moment that demands a new approach. With the passage of HR1, our federal government has made drastic changes to essential programs, and Rhode Island families will feel it,” said Blazejewski. “Cuts to Medicaid, to food assistance, to the federal programs helping those who are struggling -- these changes mean our state will be asked to get by with far less federal support, at the same time that federal oversight of how we spend every remaining dollar is tightening. The margin for error is far less than it has ever been before. “Additionally, our state has recently experienced a series of high-profile failures -- in our infrastructure, in our technology systems, in our ability to deliver basic services to the people who depend on us,” he added. “A major bridge in the heart of our state deteriorated past the point of safety. Portions of a highway ramp collapsed onto active rail lines. A costly new state payroll system produced months of errors, wrong tax forms, and harm to our own state employees. None of these failures happened overnight, and all of these problems went unaddressed for far too long. Rhode Islanders deserve better.” More information: rilegislature.gov/pressrelease/_…

RI's new House speaker backs idea for independent inspector general for RI providencejournal.com/story/news/pol… via @projo

In his first major move, Rhode Island House Speaker Chris Blazejewski is looking to create an inspector general's office. Full story by @tednesi: wpri.com/news/politics-…

Majority Leader @rep_kazarian frames inspector general proposal as a way to better monitor state funds amid widespread affordability concerns

@NBC10: The new speaker of the Rhode Island House of Representatives, @CBlazejewski, said Thursday that he's introducing legislation to create an office of state inspector general. "Cuts to Medicaid, to food assistance, to the federal programs helping those who are struggling -- these changes mean our state will be asked to get by with far less federal support, at the same time that federal oversight of how we spend every remaining dollar is tightening. The margin for error is far less than it has ever been before," Blazejewski said in a release. Full story: turnto10.com/politics/house…

@projo: Newly-minted House Speaker @CBlazejewski is proposing to create an independent office of inspector general, championing a long-term priority of government reform advocates. “Rhode Island is facing a moment that demands a new approach," Blazejewski said Thursday, May 14. "Cuts to Medicaid, to food assistance, to the federal programs helping those who are struggling − these changes mean our state will be asked to get by with far less federal support, at the same time that federal oversight of how we spend every remaining dollar is tightening. The margin for error is far less than it has ever been before." Blazejewski, who was elected speaker a week ago when predecessor K. Joseph Shekarchi stepped down to pursue a seat on the state Supreme Court, sponsored inspector general legislation back in 2015, but it did not pass. Full story: providencejournal.com/story/news/pol…

In-person viewings of one of Rhode Island's copies of the Declaration of Independence will be available throughout the state in recognition of America’s semiquincentennial. Read the full release here: ri.gov/press/view/508…

R.I. House Speaker Chris Blazejewski announced Thursday he will introduce a bill to establish an independent inspector general in Rhode Island, throwing the weight of his office behind a long-held goal of reformers. Story by @tednesi: wpri.com/news/politics-…

#breaking House speaker @CBlazejewski’s first major move: Create a Rhode Island inspector general oceanstatemedia.org/politics/house…