Projo Politics Blog

House Speaker William J. Murphy has chosen Jan Malik, a Warren Democrat, to succeed former Rep. Peter Ginaitt as the chairman of the House Committee on Environment and Natural Resources.

On the dominoes board, Malik’s move, in turn, may open up a much coveted seat on the House Finance Committee, which writes the state budget and doles out millions of dollars in legislative grants, but Murphy, D-West Warwick, has not yet announced whether he intends to replace Malik there. (The environment committee met only 10 times during the last session, Finance almost daily in the final months.)

A six-term legislator, Malik has been a member of the committee he now chairs as well as the chairman of House Finance’s subcommittee on transportation and the environment. In the latter role, he has had a voice in budget decisions for the Department of Transportation as well as the Department of Environmental Management, the Coastal Resources Management Council and the Water Resources Board.

Why choose Malik, the owner of Malik’s Liquors, in Warren, for the job? Murphy issued a statement that said: “Since his first term in the House of Representatives, Jan Malik has dedicated a great deal of time and attention to protecting and preserving our state’s natural resources ... I am confident he will do the same outstanding job leading this important House committee as did his immediate predecessor, Peter Ginaitt.

“Both share a deep concern for the health and well-being of Rhode Island’s environment. Jan Malik’s compassion, determination and leadership abilities make him the ideal choice for this chairmanship,” he said.

This year, for example, Malik served as a liaison between the Department of Environmental Management and the Rhode Island Salt Water Anglers over the menhaden population. He also “worked to improve the effectiveness of the Water Resources Board by strongly urging the governor to fill several positions on the board that have been vacant for years,” according to House spokesman Larry Berman.

A long-simmering feud between recreational and commercial fishermen erupted at the State House over a bill that would have banned commercial fishermen from netting menhaden in Narragansett Bay. The Rhode Island Saltwater Anglers Association sponsored a petition supporting the bill signed by 11,697 people.

Malik led the opposition. The legislature has been criticized for going too far with the lead-paint law and the fire codes, he said. This time, he said, it should leave a difficult issue to the experts to handle. His mantra: “If we are going to react, let’s get some facts. Let’s not be cowboys here.” The bill never got out of committee. It was never heard in a public hearing.

Environment Rhode Island lobbyist Matt Auten said Malik has “big shoes to fill.” Indeed. On a 2006 scorecard compiled by a coalition of environmental groups, Ginaitt scored an “A,” and Malik a “B.” But Auten said Malik was one of the key point people in getting money for high-priority items such as habitat restoration and clean water infrastructure. Ginaitt resigned his House seat for a bigger job in emergency-preparedness at the Lifespan hospital network.

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