PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Rhode Island's legislature is returning to work this week to take on several matters, including a 20-year, no-bid Lottery deal, an early-voting option during November's election, and a plan to drop the word “plantations” from the state's formal name.
Votes are scheduled on all except the reworked Lottery deal, according to The Providence Journal.
The General Assembly has been on hiatus for most of the past three months because of the coronavirus pandemic.
On Tuesday, the House and Senate Finance Committees have both scheduled no-vote hearings on the latest version of Gov. Gina Raimondo’s plan to extend IGT’s Lottery contracts for 20 years.
A bill to give voters another chance to weigh in with a referendum to remove the words “and Providence Plantations” from the state’s official name has overwhelming legislative support during a time of social unrest.
Lawmakers are also scheduled to work out a rules for emergency ballot voting ahead of the fall elections. The original bill met opposition from the ACLU and Common Cause Rhode Island. But a newly introduced version of the bill has been posted.