By Steve Peoples
Journal State House bureau

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- With the first committee hearings just a day away, the agenda is growing by the hour for this week's two-day General Assembly session.

On Friday evening, R.I. legislative leaders posted a series of high-profile bills scheduled to be heard Tuesday afternoon before the House Judiciary Committee, including a compromise bill that would close a loophole in state law that makes indoor prostitution legal.

All the bills posted for hearing are ultimately expected to pass both chambers of Assembly by the end of the week on their way to becoming law, according to Larry Berman, spokesman for House Speaker William J. Murphy.

The list grew substantially Monday.

A series of committee agendas outlining dozens more proposals have been posted on the the calendar section of legislature's Web site, including legislation that would:

- outlaw text messaging while driving
- require a license for saltwater fishing
- re-open the Westerly branch of the Division of Motor Vehicles for three days a week
- allow mixed-martial arts matches in Rhode Island

There was also a noticable ommission. The House Labor Committee agenda did not include a controversial bill allowing binding arbitration for teachers' contracts.

That doesn't mean the issue is "dead," said House spokesman Berman, who warned that committee agendas are subject to change. But the omission may reflect vocal opposition -- including that of Labor Committee Chairman Arthur J. Corvese, D-North Providence -- to the labor-backed measure.

Other key bills scheduled for hearing include new laws to:

- allow voters to decide whether to remove the word "plantations" from Rhode Island's official state name
- strip the governor of his power to appoint replacements to fill Congressional vacancies
- reduce the minimum sentences for some drug offenses
- allow police to force chemical tests on drivers involved in serious accidents

Committee hearings are scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon, while the full House and Senate are scheduled to convene Wednesday and Thursday. The floor calendars have not yet been posted, but whatever is ultimately posted Monday will change substantially before the end of the week.

Assembly leaders have "suspended the rules," which normally require 48-hour notice of all committee and floor action. That means committee hearings can be held with a few minutes notice in unusual places, such as State House balconies and hallways, just as has happened in the final days of recent Assembly sessions.

"We're trying to abide by the rules as much as possible, but we may need some leeway," Berman said.

The floor calendars, too, change substantially as bills passed by committee are immediately moved to the House or Senate calendars for immediate passage.