Newberry budget amendment would redistribute money he says was illegally given away by state AG

PROVIDENCE – State Reps. Brian Newberry and George Nardone have prepared a budget amendment that they say aims to claw back $11 million in funds State Attorney General Peter Neronha funneled to his office, the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management and the Rhode Island Foundation, in direct violation of statutory law.

According to Newberry, a Republican representing District 48 in North Smithfield and Burrillville, the amendment would take money out of the Attorney General’s operating budget and redirect it to the following organizations:

Economic Progress Institute – $1,000,000

Rhode Island Kids Count – $1,000,000

The Arthur E. Coia Scholarship & Education Fund at the Laborers’ International Union of North America – $1,000,000 

Women’s Fund of Rhode Island – $1,000,000

Progreso Latino – $1,000,000

United Way of Rhode Island – $1,000,000

The Rhode Island Dental Association, to support pediatric dental care in the City of Providence – $1,000,000

The Rhode Island Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals – $1,000,000

Save the Bay – $1,000,000

Crossroads Rhode Island – $1,000,000

Sojourner House – $1,000,000

In a release on the move, the amendment sponsors note that RIGL Title 42 explicitly mandates that the proceeds of any monetary settlements entered into by the Attorney General on behalf of the state be paid into the general fund, which is controlled by the General Assembly, but Neronha ignored that mandate last month when he settled the 6/10 connector contaminated soil case with the general contractor Barletta.

“The law is crystal clear” said Newberry. “In fact, I don’t think the Attorney General even argues that point. Instead his public defense of his conduct is that the Assembly cannot usurp his power and thus he is free to ignore the statute entirely, a statute that was passed incidentally at his request to help him resolve a dispute with the governor over staffing a few years ago. He seems to be confusing the power he has to decide whether to pursue and/or settle civil legal cases as the chief law enforcement officer representing the state in court with the power to decide how to actually use any money recovered. Those are two very different things.”

“The reality is that the Rhode Island Constitution says very little about the powers of the Attorney General other than they are proscribed by law. The Assembly makes the laws not him,” Newberry added. “Title 42 chapter 9 is an entire statutory scheme delineating the powers and duties of the AG’s office. Yes, he is a ‘constitutional officer,’ so without a constitutional amendment we couldn’t eliminate his position but if we chose we could defund it nearly entirely, and then set up a completely different department of government headed by someone else to handle prosecutions. Given his grandiose public statement about the limits or lack of same of his perceived power maybe that’s not a bad idea. No kings indeed.”

Nardone said, “I commend the Attorney General for using legal channels to secure settlement funds. However, after reviewing applicable statutes, I see no provision in Rhode Island law that authorizes him to redirect those funds to a private foundation without the approval of the General Assembly. As a member of the House Finance Committee, I am fully aware of the budgetary pressures we face this year. In light of those challenges, it is critical that all parties, including the Attorney General, the Rhode Island Foundation, and the General Assembly, act in good faith to ensure the funds are deposited into the state’s General Fund, where they belong and where they can be allocated through the proper legislative process.”

“I had hoped the Rhode Island Foundation would step up and do the right thing and return the money but since they haven’t, this is the simplest way to address the problem, said Newberry. “Now it will be incumbent on the AG to fill the hole in his own budget by unwinding the settlement to get the money back and returned to the proper appropriation process, which is certainly within his power to do. If we don’t act now we will only be ratifying his conduct and setting a terrible precedent allowing him and his successors the ability to use taxpayer money as a private piggy back for pet causes for whatever suits their fancy. This cannot stand.”