Since my time as a state delegate to the Rhode Island Constitutional Convention of 1986, I have been consistent in my view that in a representative democracy lawmakers have the responsibility to make decisions on matters both monumental and routine.This is a question that should be taken up by the General Assembly, whose members were sent to the State House to represent their constituents and the people of Rhode Island – a majority of whom support marriage equality. Just as the House overwhelming passed the marriage equality bill in January, the Senate should take an up or down vote on this critical issue.

A great deal of misconception has been generated over the past several days regarding the preliminary findings of the work done by Ken Block. This work was commissioned by my administration for internal use to find any instances of waste, fraud, abuse, or process failure that could be remedied to save taxpayer dollars. These findings are now being reviewed and are currently being turned over to various appropriate agencies for investigation and process corrections to save taxpayer dollars.I remain committed to transparency and if, at the appropriate time, a determination is made that publicly releasing the information will not jeopardize our ability to root out fraud and abuse, I will certainly do so. The work with Ken Block, the Office of Health and Human Services, and the Department of Human Services is continuing. Additionally, my FY2013 budget contained funding for an integrity unit within OHHS. Those positions are now being filled and recently an RFP has been issued to contract with a vendor to add an additional layer of waste and fraud prevention to the current system. I have chosen at this time not to release the preliminary findings to protect our ability to adequately investigate them. As I stated on “10 News Conference,” what should matter to Rhode Islanders is that my administration commissioned this work and is acting on it.

I am encouraged, though not surprised, to see that our economic recovery in Rhode Island has been more robust than originally reported, with December’s unemployment rate falling below 10 percent for the first time in nearly four years.By investing in the necessary fundamentals of a sustainable economy – quality public education, sound infrastructure, and workforce development – my administration has been working day-in and day-out to bolster Rhode Island’s recovery. We have created a climate of certainty, stability, and predictability, giving employers the confidence to invest and create jobs in our state.In particular, I believe my administration’s support of a consistent and fair K-12 funding formula, our investment in higher education, our conservative approach to transportation financing, our proactive work in regulatory reform, our efforts toward property tax relief and municipal stability, and our renewed focus on work-readiness and training have sent a clear and positive message to the private sector.The state is being managed well. Our revenues are exceeding projections and state departments and agencies are controlling spending. We are being responsible with hard-earned taxpayer dollars. Things are getting better in Rhode Island, and I look forward to continuing to move our state forward with an improved and sustainable economy.