Projo Politics Blog

By Cynthia Needham

PROVIDENCE, RI -- It's something of a Smith Hill ritual.

Each afternoon, as the General Assembly's session is about to begin, lobbyists swarm the House and Senate chamber, clogging the aisles in hopes of snagging face time with legislators before the session starts and they are required to leave.

At least that's the way it used to work. A new rule imposed in recent days by Speaker William J. Murphy bans lobbyists from the House chamber starting at 3:50 p.m. Technically, that's 10 minutes before the session starts, though most days, the opening gavel comes a bit later than four.

"Several of the members had requested of the speaker that they need more time to converse among themselves and they were being inundated by the lobbyists and the advocates," Murphy's spokesman, Larry Berman, said of the change. "The lobbyists were right on top of them as they were trying to begin so they had no room to talk to each other or look at bills."

Murphy announced his new rule from the rostrum this month. To enforce it, he has asked House staffers to close the massive wooden chamber doors at ten minutes before four, relegating dozens -- sometimes hundreds -- of lobbyists to the hallway outside.
Berman noted that paid lobbyists and the visiting public are still free to catch legislators as they enter the chamber or after the session adjourns.

But at least one union objects to the change. "If ordinary working people take the time out of their day to come to the State House, they ought to feel welcome," said Chas Walker, an organizer for District 1199 of the Service Employees International Union. Walker noted that dozens of nursing home workers, hospital nurses and education staff came to Smith Hill last week to ask legislators to use the federal stimulus package to create jobs in Rhode Island.

"But because of this new rule, people were denied the real opportunity to speak face-to-face with their own representatives. We think it is wrong, and we hope that the House will reconsider," Walker said.

A Senate spokesman said legislators in that chamber have contemplated a similar cut-off time for lobbyists, but have not yet made any changes.

 Tags  District 1199 Service Employees International Union General Assembly William J. Murphy

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