Legislation introduced in the Rhode Island General Assembly could pave the way for distribution of a low-tech tool to prevent overdose deaths. The bill, introduced by Rep. Aaron Regunberg, a Providence Democrat, would legalize the possession and distribution of test strips to detect fentanyl laced in heroin and other illicit drugs.

“Aaron has been and will continue to be a tireless, passionate, and outspoken leader on access to comprehensive reproductive health care.” This endorsement the first PPV!RI PAC has made for the upcoming 2018 election.

In every legislative session since 2015, Regunberg has introduced carbon-pricing legislation to curb Rhode Island’s fossil-fuel use. But each year, the legislation has failed to go to a vote on the House floor.

“The for-profit corporate utility model is not working for our state,” said Regunberg. “This year we’ve faced repeated outages, unacceptably slow responses, and continued requests by National Grid to further hike our utility rates.”

"I am proud to support Aaron’s campaign because he will fight each day to make sure our communities here in Providence, and across Rhode Island, are heard in the State House.

“AARP thanks these members of the General Assembly for championing passage of earned paid sick leave,” said AARP Rhode Island Director Kathleen Connell. “They provided integral leadership to pass the legislation in 2017 and helped make the huge responsibilities of family caregivers in Rhode Island a little bit easier.”

“If you’ve come to Rhode Island to talk about offshore drilling you’ve come to the wrong state,” Rep. Aaron Regunberg, D-Providence, said, using the repeat-response method known as the “people’s microphone.”

“When you have an administration that is challenging and threatening democratic institutions, that is breaking democratic norms, it is our responsibility to step up and send a message that we are prepared to protect our republic…”

Rhode Island lawmakers are reacting to the school shooting in Florida with a renewed push to ban high capacity magazines and assault weapons.

The magazine bill is sponsored by Sen. Gayle Goldin in the Senate, matched by Rep. Aaron Regunberg in the House.

As the lieutenant governor, he envisions his office as a advocate for the average guy and gal who don’t have paid lobbyists on Smith Hill. He also thinks that the position should be a watchdog for the people as well. “Accountability in the legislature and governor’s office should be the earmark of government. I envision the lieutenant governor post as the watchdog for the public.” 

“Everyone deserves a fair shot at a better future. But for too many Rhode Islanders, working hard and playing by the rules no longer guarantees security,” said Rep. Aaron Regunberg, a Providence Democrat running for lieutenant governor,

Can tiny Rhode Island help save the internet? A group of state lawmakers thinking that way want to insert the state — and its telecommunications spending — into the national battle to prevent internet service providers from creating slow and fast lanes for different sites and services.

Well-connected lobbyists know every corridor and backroom in the State House. They patrol the committee rooms, on guard against any attempt to change a law that favors their clients. And their regular campaign contributions ensure privileged access to State House decision-makers.

Citizens do not have the same presence

“The reality is that Rhode Islanders already pay enough money to have comprehensive and universal health insurance. Yet despite our spending, we still have tens of thousands who are uninsured. We still have folks putting off medical care because of huge deductibles; families experiencing financial disaster because they get a serious illness, small businesses struggling with health-care obligations.

“This won’t be an easy fight. There are lots of powerful interests that want to maintain the status quo. But we should not let that stop us,” said Regunberg, who is running for lieutenant governor against the Democratic incumbent, Dan McKee.

“Lobbyists paid by the most powerful and wealthy institutions in our state are always present at the State House and at the fundraisers that are ubiquitous during the legislative session,” Regunberg said. “This package is designed to make sure the voices of families who can’t afford a well-connected corporate lobbyist also have access to make their voices heard.”

Aaron Regunberg, a progressive Democrat, has seen enough. He sees a Statehouse dominated by wealthy and influential lobbyists, with no one advocating for the common Rhode Islander, a job he thinks should be assumed by the lieutenant governor.

“This was always the Republican angle,” Regunberg said, “to further enrich the super-wealthy, to make a rigged system even more rigged.”

“The truth is, our state has engaged in the same trickle-down policies that are coming out of Washington. Rhode Island cut income taxes on the highest earners. They said that would lead to jobs. Well, the jobs never came — but a big budget deficit did, along with cuts in needed services and a bigger tax burden on working families,” Regunberg said.

Lt. Gov. Daniel McKee, who recently announced his plan to run for re-election, deferred comment about the tax plan to Rhode Island’s national delegation.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — State Rep. Aaron Regunberg has nailed down early endorsements for his campaign to become Rhode Island’s next lieutenant governor from key players in the organized-labor world.

The five groups endorsing Regunberg included the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) 1199 New England, Teamsters Local 251, the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 618, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 2323 and the Rhode Island Working Families Party.

“With the support of Sierra Club, Clean Water Action, and 350 RI, our campaign will fight for a future that is fair for all of us. Fighting climate change is a moral necessity. It's also an incredible economic opportunity for our state, and as Lieutenant Governor I will bring people together to pass a Green New Deal that can put thousands of Rhode Islanders to work transitioning our economy to 100% clean energy,”

Regunberg operates as both the megaphone on the outside and the voice of reason on the inside. “As an organizer, you need to polarize, set clear lines, put pressure on people,” Regunberg says. 

Providence - Rep. Aaron Regunberg called on the state legislature to rescind the DMV’s authority to charge a $250 fee on late car inspections, as the Department proposed to begin collecting on January 1. Repeats call to raise needed revenue by having top 1% pay fair share

WARWICK, R.I. (WLNE) --“We can empower our communities to transfer authority from a billionaire CEO and shareholders thousands of miles away to locally owned, not for profit institutions that are directly accountable to the communities that they serve," says State Representative Aaron Regunberg.

“National Grid’s failure to effectively respond to this week’s storm, leaving thousands of Rhode Island families in the dark for far too long, is just the latest example of the inherent flaws of a utility model where the primary goal is billion-dollar profits for a multinational corporation, not the best possible service for Rhode Islanders,”

“I am running for Lieutenant Governor to be an advocate for the people, a voice for all the families who can’t afford a lobbyist at the state house,” Regunberg said in an official announcement speech at Aspray Boat House in Warwick.

Speaking at the Aspray Boathouse in Warwick in front of about 100 supporters, Regunberg, 27, said his priorities include advocating for healthcare as a basic right, bolstering efforts to reduce climate change, and protecting women's right to choose an abortion.

I’ve seen firsthand how often Rhode Islanders who can’t afford a State House lobbyist get ignored. And I know the only way to change that is to bring the people’s voice to the State House. We need more public accountability, more voices at the table, more people who are organized to take on the fights that matter. And I know how to organize.”

Regunberg, in his mid-20s, is considered one the most Progressive members of the General Assembly. In contrast, McKee is considered extremely conservative Democrat — pro-business and pro-charter school.

The two could not be more different.