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2020 Rhode Island legislative session

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Some states made changes to 2020 state legislative sessions and legislative activity in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
For a full list of changes, visit: Changes to state legislative session dates in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020.
Rhode Island: The Rhode Island State Legislature suspended its session, effective March 16, 2020, through June 17, 2020.
Rhode Island General Assembly

Seal of Rhode Island.svg.png
General information
Type:   State legislature
Term limits:   None
Session start:   January 7, 2020
Website:   Official General Assembly Page
Leadership
Senate President:  
Dominick Ruggerio (D)
House Speaker:  Nicholas Mattiello (D)
Majority Leader:   Senate: Michael McCaffrey (D)
House: K. Joseph Shekarchi (D)
Minority Leader:   Senate: Dennis Algiere (R)
House: Blake Filippi (R)
Structure
Members:  38 (Senate), 75 (House)
Length of term:   2 years (Senate), 2 years (House)
Authority:   Art VI, Section 2, Rhode Island Constitution
Salary:   $15,414/year
Elections
Last election:  November 6, 2018
Next election:  November 3, 2020
Redistricting:  Rhode Island General Assembly has control

In 2020, the Rhode Island State Legislature was scheduled to convene on January 7 and adjourn on August 30.

Several state legislatures suspended their sessions or otherwise limited legislative activity in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Democrats had a veto-proof supermajority this legislative session, just as they did in 2019. Following the 2018 election, Democrats had a 33-5 supermajority in the Senate and a 66-9 supermajority in the House. The party also controlled the governorship, creating a Democratic state government trifecta.

At the beginning of the 2020 legislative session:
  • Democrats held a veto-proof supermajority in the Rhode Island state House and state Senate.
  • Rhode Island was one of 15 Democratic state government trifectas.
  • Rhode Island’s governor was Democrat Gina Raimondo.

    • Black.png Click the links to read more about the 2020 state Senate and state House elections.
    Black.png Click the links to read more about the 2018 state Senate and state House elections.

    Partisan control in 2020

    See also: State government trifectas

    Rhode Island was one of 15 Democratic state government trifectas at the start of 2020 legislative sessions. A state government trifecta occurs when one political party holds the governor's office, a majority in the state Senate, and a majority in the state House. For more information about state government trifectas, click here.

    Rhode Island was also one of 22 state legislatures where one party had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers. Veto overrides occur when a legislature votes to reverse a veto issued by an executive such as a governor or the president. If one party has a majority in a state legislature that is large enough to override a gubernatorial veto without any votes from members of the minority party, it is called a veto-proof majority or, sometimes, a supermajority. To read more about veto-proof supermajorities in state legislatures, click here.

    The following tables show the partisan breakdown of the Rhode Island State Legislature in the 2020 legislative session.

    Rhode Island State Senate

    Party As of January 2020
         Democratic Party 33
         Republican Party 5
    Total 38

    Between 1992 and 2020, partisan control of the Rhode Island State Senate shifted in favor of the Democratic Party. After the 1992 elections, Democrats held a 39-11 majority. Democrats held a 33-5 majority after the 2018 elections. The 2000 redistricting process reduced the number of seats in the chamber from 50 to 38. As such, it can be helpful to compare partisan control in terms of percentages. In 1992, Democrats controlled 78 percent of the chamber, while they held 87 percent of the chamber in 2018. The table below shows the partisan history of the Rhode Island State Senate following every general election from 1992 to 2018. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.

    Rhode Island State Senate election results: 1992-2018

    Year '92 '94 '96 '98 '00 '02 '04 '06 '08 '10 '12 '14 '16 '18
    Democrats 39 40 41 42 44 32 33 33 33 29 32 32 33 33
    Republicans 11 10 9 8 6 6 5 5 4 8 5 5 5 5

    The most significant change in partisan balance in the state Senate occurred after the 2000 redistricting process. Democrats maintained a 44-6 majority after the 2000 elections. The size of the chamber was reduced by 12 seats after redistricting and, as a result of the 2002 elections, Democrats lost twelve seats while Republicans held the same number of seats as they did previously. The chamber went through minor changes in partisan balance between 2004 and 2018, with the balance returning to a 33-5 Democratic majority in 2018.


    Rhode Island House of Representatives

    Party As of January 2020
         Democratic Party 65
         Republican Party 9
         Vacancies 1
    Total 75

    Between 1992 and 2020, there was little change in the partisan control of the Rhode Island House of Representatives. After the 1992 elections, Democrats held an 85-15 majority. Democrats held a 66-9 lead after the 2018 election. The 2000 redistricting process reduced the number of seats in the chamber from 100 to 75. As such, it can be helpful to compare partisan control in terms of percentages. Democrats controlled 85 percent of the chamber after the 1992 elections and 88 percent after the 2018 elections. The table below shows the partisan history of the Rhode Island House of Representatives following every general election from 1992 to 2018. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.

    Rhode Island House of Representatives election results: 1992-2018

    Year '92 '94 '96 '98 '00 '02 '04 '06 '08 '10 '12 '14 '16 '18
    Democrats 85 84 84 86 85 63 59 60 69 65 69 63 64 66
    Republicans 15 16 16 13 15 11 16 15 6 10 6 11 10 9

    The most significant change in partisan balance resulted from the 2008 elections, when Democrats gained nine seats. Republicans' largest gains came when they picked up five seats in 2014. Most other years saw minimal changes to the partisan balance of the chamber.


    Leadership in 2020

    Rhode Island State Senate

    Rhode Island House of Representatives

    Regular session

    The following widget shows up to 25 pieces of legislation in the 2020 legislative session that most recently passed both chambers of the legislature, were signed by the governor, or were approved by the legislature in a veto override. If no bills are displayed below, no legislation met these criteria in 2020. This information is provided by BillTrack50.

    Standing legislative committees

    See also: Standing committee and List of committees in Rhode Island state government


    A standing committee of a state legislature is a committee that exists on a more-or-less permanent basis, from legislative session to session, that considers and refines legislative bills that fall under the committee's subject matter.

    At the beginning of the 2020 legislative session, there were 24 standing committees in Rhode Island's state government, including three joint legislative committees, 10 state Senate committees, and 11 state House committees.

    Joint legislative committees


    Senate committees


    House committees


    Legislatively referred constitutional amendments

    In every state but Delaware, voter approval is required to enact a constitutional amendment. In each state, the legislature has a process for referring constitutional amendments before voters. In 18 states, initiated constitutional amendments can be put on the ballot through a signature petition drive. There are also many other types of statewide measures.

    The methods by which the Rhode Island Constitution can be amended:

    See also: Article XIV of the Rhode Island Constitution and Laws governing ballot measures in Rhode Island

    There are two paths by which the Rhode Island Constitution can be changed: the legislatively referred constitutional amendment and the constitutional convention. Rhode Island residents do not have the power of initiated constitutional amendments.

    Legislature

    See also: Legislatively referred constitutional amendment

    A simple majority vote is required during one legislative session for the Rhode Island State Legislature to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 38 votes in the Rhode Island House of Representatives and 20 votes in the Rhode Island State Senate, assuming no vacancies. Amendments do not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot.

    Convention

    See also: Convention-referred constitutional amendment

    According to section 2 of Article XIV of the Rhode Island Constitution, a simple majority vote in one legislative session is required for the state legislature to place a constitutional convention question on the ballot. A simple majority vote of the electorate is required to call the convention. The state constitution also requires that a state constitutional convention question is provided to voters at least 10 years after the prior question. Rhode Island is one of 14 states that provides for an automatic constitutional convention question.

    The table below shows the last and next constitutional convention question election years:

    State Interval Last question on the ballot Next question on the ballot
    Rhode Island 10 years 2014 2024


    Historical partisan control

    The table below depicts the historical trifecta status of Rhode Island.

    Rhode Island Party Control: 1992-2025
    Sixteen years of Democratic trifectas  •  No Republican trifectas
    Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

    Year 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
    Governor D D D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R I I D D D D D D D D D D D D D
    Senate D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D
    House D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D

    See also

    Elections Rhode Island State Government State Legislatures State Politics
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    External links

    Footnotes

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