[{"_1":2,"_124":-5,"_125":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88,100,112],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6612667,"mediaKeyId","2888910-5ee0cccb9ec4b1ec5286202718bf1b38","parentId",2888910,"title","Gloria Gemma seeks $500,000 to open state’s first comprehensive cancer survivorship center; survivors testify","audioSeconds",1797,"startMs",4881000,"endMs",6678000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2888910-5ee0cccb9ec4b1ec5286202718bf1b38&start=4881&end=6678","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2888910-5ee0cccb9ec4b1ec5286202718bf1b38/thumbnail_4881000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6612667/Rhode-Island/Gloria-Gemma-seeks-500000-to-open-states-first-comprehensive-cancer-survivorship-center-survivors-testify","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6612667-244755b00c6eb414e8c38527ee8005a6/orig.mp4?Expires=1770577134&Signature=jpOGfL1h6Y~c5YEDI6u9sEfcQkj4YfaZNsCRaFlH9pDs14s32LbdnWNH6AKZKvXe6LLjRtei81AaR4wcPEQPiBDobwBuogbqXQ30eCgMZ0-Z1mgXyUMFZhG9PuXD32lbdbk3qrXo4v-Tc9AyDFegs0CWEudU603Q2bjn-jm7HicPYi~I6OutbAAZ70HanM4jtta-Y4RM8kNRJyfBEXuYuMZ8H8jaB286QeqxbqsHQ5ZACxz1YZa0sO8VXc4O0RtwijptguDvTB-nGdRwwyubNWFWLTyDN-jlvowJehV6Cakr5FWmlpTw9hXXw-cGNrGYUh7-yDEsUIa0lRkkVTtlYg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","State of Rhode Island","date","2025-04-03T00:00:00Z","article","The Gloria Gemma Foundation and multiple witnesses asked the House Finance Committee for a $500,000 appropriation to support a new statewide cancer survivorship and rehabilitation center set to open this summer.

Testimony included personal accounts from survivors and clinicians. Jennifer Ortiz and Jack Donnelly described the foundation's peer‑support, counseling and complementary therapies. Carol Donnelly, Gloria Gemma's development and communications manager and a two‑time survivor, said the center will offer mental‑health supports, physical‑rehabilitation classes and alternative therapies free of charge, and emphasized that approximately 6,400 Rhode Islanders are diagnosed with cancer each year.

Clinical witnesses including licensed social worker Shake Kazarian said the foundation provides programs that meet patients' needs \"in real time,\" including metastatic patient support groups, grief groups, and care navigation. Advocates argued that additional state funding would expand access and that the center will serve patients with all types of cancer rather than only breast cancer.

Witnesses said the foundation intends to operate long term and seek continued funding beyond one‑time support; they asked the committee to consider an annual appropriation to sustain services. No committee vote was taken at the hearing; proponents said they will submit documentation of program plans and budgets for committee review.

","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","House Committee on Finance: 4-3-2025","oneSentenceSummary","The Gloria Gemma Foundation asked lawmakers to provide $500,000 to open a statewide cancer survivorship and rehabilitation center that will offer free counseling, rehab classes and complementary therapies to patients, survivors and family members.","taxTitle","2025 Legislature RI, Rhode Island","taxId",77689,"location","Rhode Island","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6612677,"Providence proposes 7% sales tax on paid parking as a new local revenue option",1400,977000,2377000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2888910-5ee0cccb9ec4b1ec5286202718bf1b38&start=977&end=2377","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2888910-5ee0cccb9ec4b1ec5286202718bf1b38/thumbnail_977000.jpg","/articles/6612677/Rhode-Island/Providence-proposes-7-sales-tax-on-paid-parking-as-a-new-local-revenue-option","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6612677-fd8db07bfd5a161350b00dc56e0546c9/orig.mp4?Expires=1770577134&Signature=VeIdkhgbjDVANy03ZMKDgaD8o1DP2wqV0Re-PjBJSnSdkg3q3NAxKYaSKx6Ho-Tz9Nn~ddoVd0uW6moHp~Jy2yprpHN4Eb7zlLhudPKey8f29X2KstZik0XTC0LepHRScWkHITQieNuxH-Ffn0IayggmDZ6LbxFpAbNOf4aezTs7tMkf5x8MULOQwv6gB4DLU1jIre8oSbfzcwTGPiMkePhbQU97BIXRZcXdppNqYn3rJyK-hDgXQcrSjoXhhO4JputU6AOd5s8cSHeHfm7FwBlu9dxJ0jBhn3J76UswII8qNrKBpX496bETReYBmnJlYDq5WAEnqjaFP4NSGG~csg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","House Bill 5314, introduced by Rep. Kislak as part of Providence's legislative package, would enable cities and towns to apply the state's 7% sales tax to paid parking, creating a non‑property tax revenue source that proponents said municipalities could use to diversify their tax base.

Rep. Kislak said the measure is \"part of the city's efforts to diversify the city's revenue sources away from property taxes,\" noting more than 48% of property in Providence is tax exempt. She told the committee the bill would allow host communities to implement the sales tax on parking to generate revenue that would be returned to the collecting municipality.

Mayor Smiley testified in support and said the measure \"applies broadly to all paid parking\" as written, and that local governments could \"opt out or exclude certain facilities\". He said that, as proposed, collections would be given \"directly to the host communities,\" and noted the League of Cities and Towns and other municipalities provided letters of support.

A Department of Revenue letter with technical concerns was noted; the mayor said city and state fiscal staff were open to working on those technical issues. The committee did not vote on the measure; Rep. Kislak and the mayor said they would provide additional technical clarifications to committee staff.

","House Bill 5314, sponsored by Rep. Kislak and advanced at Providence's request, would allow municipalities to levy the state 7% sales tax on paid parking as an optional local revenue source, with collections returned to the host community.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6612686,"House bill would rewrite Crowley Act funding rules, add fiscal overseer; commissioners, advocates clash",2453,237000,2690000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2888910-5ee0cccb9ec4b1ec5286202718bf1b38&start=237&end=2690","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2888910-5ee0cccb9ec4b1ec5286202718bf1b38/thumbnail_237000.jpg","/articles/6612686/Rhode-Island/House-bill-would-rewrite-Crowley-Act-funding-rules-add-fiscal-overseer-commissioners-advocates-clash","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6612686-346835054e5609024d1470bcebe5605f/orig.mp4?Expires=1770577134&Signature=k2th9y01-nAIpxTdIlqM4DMyxaIWqTIPShKpMbI7bLZIVcY6rYIFZn42QWFh2gZwq47i4hcJIG7YXDAwCnWeqZD7gHpcjGLTPnHBWC6eqUTzGTPAAxHnfJwLUxKJBaNWnXcclkf91UU2~8tHZ~NnXAbdtrsqmLAZDd25Cj49tIKPv0~dpjtdgNN4q6jfd~MwBcZn~YQ74BaCDArqRkdmYAiexdwPcjgiCQIgGgnSVXTx0xPll2ceCZGo9G8tBmAw8ArGR7jyzo3l7HVp6psPhM6zKpyWssTUuR3e1BefwshPLx8n3956d7dMnJCFL1yjwo~bjrRiceQCAS7XpUDvFw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","House Bill 5389, introduced at the request of the city of Providence, would change how the state's Crowley Act calculates a host community's required local contribution during a school takeover, remove the education commissioner's broad authority to withhold other state aid, and create a role for a state-appointed fiscal overseer to monitor takeover spending.

Rep. Slater, the bill sponsor, told the House Finance Committee that the measure \"would change the funding calculation and commission's withholding power\" and would also \"call for the state to appoint a fiscal overseer ... to ensure that no municipality has to go through what Providence did last fall.\" He testified that the existing maintenance-of-effort rule under the Crowley Act scales a local obligation by the statewide percentage increase in education aid, which he called unfair to distressed communities like Providence.

Mayor Brett Smiley of Providence backed the bill and described the proposal as learned from the city's multi‑year takeover process. The mayor said the measure would \"define what the host community's contribution is\" and \"take away the commissioner's ability to withhold funds,\" adding the bill sets the local contribution at \"20% of levy growth\" so municipalities face a predictable pace of increases rather than the prior open-ended calculation.

Anthony Catone, chief legal counsel at the Department of Education, urged caution. He told the committee that the commissioner's authority under R.I. Gen. Laws § 16-5-30 to order the treasurer to withhold public money is one of the few statutory tools to ensure observance of education laws and to deter violations. Catone said similar withholding powers exist in other states and warned that the proposed language changing how maintenance of effort is calculated could be ambiguous without additional definitional clarity.

Drew Eccleston, deputy commissioner for system transformation at the Rhode Island Department of Education, also opposed the changes, saying Crowley is typically used in contexts of \"persistent and historical student underachievement\" where municipalities have historically underfunded schools. Removing the commissioner's leverage, he said, could reduce the state's ability to compel legally required local investment and might require the state to shift resources from other communities to cover obligations.

Community advocates and Providence residents who testified opposed the bill as well. Dr. Shonda Womack and several youth speakers said the proposal would reduce protections that tie local funding obligations to statewide education funding increases and could allow taken‑over districts to fall further behind.

Procedural note: at the start of the hearing the committee voted by voice to \"hold all bills ... for further study,\" a procedural motion the chair said would not kill the measures but place them in study status.

The bill remains in committee; supporters said they will work on clarifying language and technical details raised by state agencies.

","House Bill 5389, introduced at the request of Providence, would rewrite the Crowley Act's maintenance‑of‑effort calculation for school takeovers, curtail the education commissioner's authority to withhold other state aid, and create a state fiscal overseer to monitor spending during interventions.",{"_33":101,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":102,"_41":103,"_43":104,"_45":105,"_47":106,"_49":107,"_51":108,"_53":109,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":110,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":111,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6612682,"Legislators hear plea to fund URI coastal tools after federal support wanes; emergency managers urge $400,000 appropriation",2102,3407000,5509000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2888910-5ee0cccb9ec4b1ec5286202718bf1b38&start=3407&end=5509","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2888910-5ee0cccb9ec4b1ec5286202718bf1b38/thumbnail_3407000.jpg","/articles/6612682/Rhode-Island/Legislators-hear-plea-to-fund-URI-coastal-tools-after-federal-support-wanes-emergency-managers-urge-400000-appropriation","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6612682-0ad3f34d08f9aa1de12eb7e05debe64e/orig.mp4?Expires=1770577134&Signature=kwrCk96yb~ZYTs4yadTE-cdwO6APDRdK9nxLnK0O2YIbRAwiIIR79GxCgqtCOhJKEFVnCQ~8a60HC61xrxrSx5mes0xULiXBso1B9rH1bamzKCK1xn-zEUgnhk78fb-1vITAbp2~oXzbahAZeCzbOUcV1d4QNbwttJ2AbL0TSV4ZpAh-9HF8RPlbFJMwjyENze78hnGV9DQ1T5ROhEb5QlzML1XjuG2gKt80o7qlIdHb6wfRC-iDCVhxO-u8nKLkTyn2o5pVwqwfF2b4x9JQVzo5ef2~y0M55HXn1rWiI2HVycNMRGeZcCgbKkI-1-BKSw4-P0QNaSxTISirlRkpfA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Researchers from the University of Rhode Island, municipal emergency managers and the Coastal Resources Center urged the House Finance Committee to appropriate $400,000 to support three coastal hazard tools — CHAMP, Storm Tools and MyCoast — now relied upon by state agencies and local emergency managers.

Dr. Austin Becker, a URI professor who testified as an expert, said the tools are \"a culmination of over 10 years of rigorous research\" and are used by DEM, CRMC, the state health department, Navy Station Newport and municipal emergency managers. He told the committee that CHAMP \"provides very high resolution forecasts for flood and wind in advance of a storm's landfall\" and that Storm Tools and MyCoast are used for planning, permitting and citizen science.

Multiple municipal emergency managers supported the appropriation. Providence Emergency Management Director Claire DeCerbo said she has used the tools \"for the past seven years\" and called CHAMP an \"early warning system for critical infrastructure impacts\" that also supports mitigation and training. URI emergency management researcher Sam Adams and other users testified that federal support for the center of excellence behind the products has been curtailed and that without state funds the near‑real‑time forecasts and public data portals could be lost.

Christopher Damon of URI's Environmental Data Center detailed Storm Tools' technical work: the project provides advisory flood maps analogous to FEMA flood products, higher‑resolution nuisance and 100‑year event products, a Coastal Environmental Risk Index and ongoing updates including inland flooding modeling and 500‑year scenarios to align with newer building standards.

Supporters said the tools are embedded in permitting at CRMC and used by municipalities for day‑to‑day decision making. They asked the committee to consider the $400,000 appropriation as a modest investment compared with the costs of storm damage and the loss of capabilities for forecasting and response.

The bill was presented for committee consideration; no vote was taken at the hearing and proponents said they would provide letters and technical materials to staff.

","University researchers and municipal emergency managers urged the Finance Committee to fund CHAMP, Storm Tools and MyCoast (House resolution/HB 6016) with $400,000, saying federal support is ending and the tools provide high‑resolution, operational forecasts and crowd‑sourced flooding data used by state agencies and cities including Providence.",{"_33":113,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":114,"_41":115,"_43":116,"_45":117,"_47":118,"_49":119,"_51":120,"_53":121,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":122,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":123,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6612672,"Treasurer, advocates press for $1M to expand medical‑debt relief program that has erased $7M so far",1667,1989000,3656000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2888910-5ee0cccb9ec4b1ec5286202718bf1b38&start=1989&end=3656","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2888910-5ee0cccb9ec4b1ec5286202718bf1b38/thumbnail_1989000.jpg","/articles/6612672/Rhode-Island/Treasurer-advocates-press-for-1M-to-expand-medicaldebt-relief-program-that-has-erased-7M-so-far","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6612672-27f73286d1633304aa51965ec64d473a/orig.mp4?Expires=1770577134&Signature=AuL6ivnsf7qWjA00KPUV9MXlTlyjBeOGNkCIwwVlfRrTstbau5H50DhKKoaSbUnVnhbhNhGieSPt8u5DDOaIQnICtBwFR1FQVkbbGND2hb11vTR5yDi3H8Kyl37zYhJjXHSQtw18Ut92CXc~Esk-ClEtAh92Qwd9QTHCFJSMKyigbTrjHk6ZU6dqix6YzrGMBN8--PuZRRapbgQRST41j9aGVl-jUlwwkmg~cR8Yv13Ep2Gu~4S7VV7JqL0MXCZm~wJzsPxwcEpo1kSUoZ2oYIDQJ-cRh9XJcN7fb4K-HOMHeibYgaCGg~-EGRrmdMXCXMMLbdS1VzOR-l~k3aZlHw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Representative Shellcross-Smith and others urged the House Finance Committee to add $1 million to the state medical debt relief program established last year.

Proponents, including a witness from the Office of the General Treasurer, said the program has already used a relatively small state investment to eliminate roughly $7 million in medical debt for nearly 3,000 Rhode Island residents. Attorney Cravie from the treasurer's office — who appeared to answer technical questions — told the committee the program targets households at or below 400% of the federal poverty line or where medical debt is at least 5% of net income.

SEIU 1199 and other labor witnesses described concrete cases of working Rhode Islanders hit by medical bills after insurance failures or gaps; the union said funding the program is a high‑return investment that restores balance to workers who keep the state's health system functioning.

Proponents requested the committee include the $1 million appropriation in the coming budget; no committee action was taken during the hearing and advocates asked lawmakers to consider the program's early results when weighing state investments.

","Supporters urged the Finance Committee to appropriate $1 million to the state's medical debt relief program created in 2024; witnesses said $50,000 forgiven $7 million in medical debt for nearly 3,000 Rhode Islanders and argued additional funding would continue that leverage and mitigate high personal financial harms.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Gloria Gemma seeks $500,000 to open state’s first comprehensive cancer survivorship center; survivors testify

Providence proposes 7% sales tax on paid parking as a new local revenue option

House bill would rewrite Crowley Act funding rules, add fiscal overseer; commissioners, advocates clash

Legislators hear plea to fund URI coastal tools after federal support wanes; emergency managers urge $400,000 appropriation

Treasurer, advocates press for $1M to expand medical‑debt relief program that has erased $7M so far