by J.H. Snider | Nov 2, 2024 | Blog
The coalition opposing a constitutional convention has promoted bogus arguments to the public, writes the editor of the Rhode Island State Constitutional Convention Clearinghouse The “no” coalition opposing a Rhode Island constitutional convention — Question 1 — has...
by J.H. Snider | Oct 19, 2024 | Blog
By now you should have received the Rhode Island Secretary of State’s 2024 Voter Information Handbook, as it was mailed to all registered voters before early voting started on Oct. 16. The Handbook includes an ‘explanation and purpose’ of Question 1: Shall...
by J.H. Snider | Oct 17, 2024 | Blog
Constitutional convention opponents warn of out-of-state money pouring into Rhode Island. But look who the biggest spenders really are leading up to Election Day. Who are the major funders of state constitutional convention referendums? The leaders of Rhode Island’s...
by J.H. Snider | Oct 7, 2024 | Blog
The well-funded coalition of labor and civil liberties groups opposing the calling of a Rhode Island constitutional convention is using the history of Rhode Island’s 1986 convention to make its case. In doing so, the Rhode Island Citizens for...
by J.H. Snider | Oct 3, 2024 | Blog
On Nov. 5, Rhode Islanders will vote on whether to call a constitutional convention. Convention opponents argue that a convention will be as corrupt as the legislature because the legislature and the special interests that excel at influencing it will have excessive...
by J.H. Snider | Sep 7, 2024 | Blog
Many have correctly said that Donald Trump has weird obsessions with crowd sizes and other matters. Well, Rhode Island government has a weird obsession with constitutional convention costs, albeit one that merely mimics the talking points of convention opponents who...
by J.H. Snider | Jun 23, 2024 | Blog
Rhode Island’s Constitution mandates that decennially, next on Nov. 5, 2024, the people of Rhode Island can call a state constitutional convention via a popular referendum. It also mandates that prior to that referendum the state legislature must convene an...
by J.H. Snider | May 12, 2024 | Blog
J.H. Snider is the editor of The Rhode Island State Constitutional Convention Clearinghouse. Gary Sasse served as the Rhode Island director of the departments of Administration and Revenue, and executive director of the Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council. Once a...
by J.H. Snider | Nov 8, 2014 | Blog
On November 4, 2014, the referendum to convene a Rhode Island state constitutional convention lost by 55.1% to 44.9%. On October 23, Brown University’s Taubman Center published a poll, the results of which were reported in the Providence Journal and Governing...
by J.H. Snider and Beverly Clay | Oct 31, 2014 | Blog
On Monday, October 27, RenewRI, the coalition leading the yes campaign on the constitutional convention referendum in Rhode Island, filed a complaint with the Rhode Island Board of Elections concerning the campaign finance disclosures of The Coalition for Responsible...
by J.H. Snider and Beverly Clay | Oct 29, 2014 | Blog
In seemingly every daily newspaper in Rhode Island (e.g., see Providence Journal, GoLocalProv, Valley Breeze, IndependentRI.com, and Warwick Beacon; for links, go to Rhode Island’ConCon.info’s op-ed page), the Rhode Island ACLU’s Steve Brown has...
by J.H. Snider and Beverly Clay | Oct 11, 2014 | Blog
In early October, Rhode Island’s Secretary of State mailed at taxpayer expense to hundreds of thousands of registered voters a printed copy of the 2014 Voter Information Handbook. The Handbook includes what is supposed to be an impartial explanation of all the...
by J.H. Snider | Sep 7, 2014 | Blog
On November 4, 2014, Rhode Islanders will vote on a referendum for or against convening a state constitutional convention. On April 30, 2014, Citizens For Responsible Government was publicly launched to support a no vote. On August 20, 2014, RenewRI was publicly...
by J.H. Snider and Beverly Clay | Sep 4, 2014 | Blog
On August 26, 2014, the Commission met for the fifth and last time. The purpose of the meeting was to approve the Commission’s Report, which it did (well, sort of). The Commission Report was publicly released on September 3—eight days after the wording had...
by J.H. Snider | Aug 23, 2014 | Blog
On August 19 and August 21 the Bi-Partisan Preparatory Commission wrapped up its public testimony with its 2nd and 3rd public hearings. The Commission has scheduled a meeting next Tuesday at 3:30 pm to discuss its draft report. No public comment will be allowed. A...
by J.H. Snider | Aug 8, 2014 | Blog
The Bi-Partisan Preparatory Commission met on August 7. It made two important announcements before beginning with public testimony. The first was that the Commission’s report would be published by August 25. This date was premised on the need to get the...
by J.H. Snider | Aug 7, 2014 | Blog
At today’s hearing of the Bi-partisan Preparatory Commission, the Rhode Island Center for Freedom & Prosperity released a report, The Path to a Constitutional Convention, which provides a well packaged addition to the discussion of why and how to convene a...
by J.H. Snider and Beverly Clay | Aug 2, 2014 | Blog
On July 29, 2014, one day before its report was due, the General Assembly’s legislative leaders appointed the final two members of the Bi-Partisan Preparatory Commission to Assemble Information on Constitutional Convention Questions. Two-thirds of the Commission...
by J.H. Snider | Apr 25, 2014 | Blog
RhodeIslandConCon.info has launched an FAQ to address questions about both Rhode Island’s upcoming state constitutional convention referendum and state constitutional conventions more generally. State constitutional conventions are a subject on which popular...
by J.H. Snider | Apr 18, 2014 | Blog
Patrick Conley has joined RhodeIslandConCon.info’s Advisory Committee. Dr. Conley was a delegate to Rhode Island’s 1973 Constitutional Convention, where he drafted and championed Article XIV, Section 2, providing for a periodic, self-executing constitutional...
