Government
Public services and government action
RI's Flock Divide: State Expands, Towns Pull Out
Rhode Island State Police have 22 of 39 Flock license-plate cameras live under a $597,000 contract, even as Narragansett, South Kingstown and Little Compton reject the technology — and the General Assembly has killed regulation bills four sessions running.
Narragansett Council Cancels Flock Safety Camera Contract Immediately
Judge Voids Johnston's Seizure of Housing Site
39 More Plate Readers, and No Law to Govern Them
State Budget Closes RIPTA's $14M Gap — For Now
The state budget that took effect July 1 closes RIPTA's projected $14 million deficit using recurring gas tax and highway account revenue, averting another round of service cuts. The 2025 reductions across 46 routes remain in place.
The Israel Defense Clause - Does it Merge the US Military with the IDF?
Section 1217 of the Senate's FY27 defense bill would permanently fuse U.S. and Israeli defense research and production pipelines — and Rhode Island's Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse has said nothing publicly about it, even as six Senate colleagues line up against the provision.
ICE Bought Body Cameras After Saying It Had
Federal contracting documents show ICE ordered $30.9 million in body cameras on July 17 and 20 — three days after border czar Tom Homan told CNN the agency bought them "as soon as they had the funding." Rhode Island has seen nearly 700 ICE arrests, none of them reliably recorded.
South Kingstown Pulls Plug on Flock Cameras
South Kingstown's Town Council voted 5-0 Monday to terminate its contract with Flock Safety and asked that the license plate readers come down as soon as possible, after hundreds of resident emails raising privacy concerns.
A Maine Killing, and RI's Own Vetting Blind Spot
An ICE officer with a documented history of abuse allegations shot and killed a Colombian delivery driver in Biddeford, Maine, on July 13 — raising questions about federal hiring shortcuts, and about Rhode Island's long refusal to create a police decertification process.
Approved for Release, Still Dying in Prison
A new national analysis and a peer-reviewed Rhode Island study show medical parole rarely frees sick prisoners — and even when the parole board approves release, nursing homes refuse to take them.
RI in the Dark as ICE Deportation Data Goes Silent
ICE has not released its mandated detention and deportation data since April, leaving Rhode Island — home to New England's primary ICE detention hub in Central Falls — unable to verify the Trump administration's sweeping deportation claims.
New RI Law Lets Pharmacists Run Blood Tests
A law signed by Governor McKee and effective July 1 lets Rhode Island pharmacists perform simple screenings like A1c and cholesterol tests and dismantles a state approval process the profession calls the most complex in the nation.
RI Enacts Zero-Tolerance Hazing Law for School Sports
Governor Dan McKee signed H7003 on June 18, requiring all Rhode Island public schools to enforce zero-tolerance anti-hazing policies for student athletes, with penalties that can reach the cancellation of a team's season.
What RI's 2026 Session Changed for You
Rhode Island's 2026 legislative session produced new laws on child abuse claims, grocery checkouts, charter schools, housing, transit, and immigration enforcement — several of them reversing Governor McKee's own proposals.