{"id":4989,"date":"2026-07-15T11:33:22","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T11:33:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4989"},"modified":"2026-07-15T11:33:22","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T11:33:22","slug":"r-i-legislators-considering-override-of-governor-mckee-veto-house-speaker-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4989","title":{"rendered":"R.I. legislators considering override of Governor McKee veto, House speaker says"},"content":{"rendered":"
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PROVIDENCE \u2014 Rhode Island House Speaker Christopher R. Blazejewski said legislators are considering returning to session to override Governor Daniel J. McKee\u2019s veto of to create an energy-use reporting requirement for large buildings and campuses.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Providence has term limits. So how is this former councilor running again?<\/a><\/p>\n

Before this year\u2019s legislative session ended on June 11, the House voted 48-15 and the Senate voted 33-5 for the , which would require buildings larger than 25,000 square feet to report energy use to establish a baseline for future reductions in carbon emissions.<\/span><\/p>\n

McKee rejected the bill with his only veto of the session, saying in part it \u201cimposes new reporting and compliance obligations on private property owners without providing technical assistance or financial support.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The group Climate Action RI called for the General Assembly to reconvene to override the veto. On the Rhode Island Report podcast, Blazejewski said, \u201cIt\u2019s something we\u2019re considering. I\u2019ve got to talk to fellow legislators, to neighbors, to see what their response is.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Blazejewski, who was elected House speaker on May 7, said, \u201cI\u2019m proud of that legislation,\u201d and he said, \u201cI would like to have seen it become law.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

He gave credit to Representative Rebecca Kislak, a fellow Providence Democrat, for working on the legislation for years along with Senator Meghan E. Kallman, a Pawtucket Democrat. <\/span><\/p>\n

Buildings produce about one-third of the carbon emissions in Rhode Island, Blazejewski said. \u201cIn order to tackle the issue of building carbon issues, you need to be able to measure it,\u201d he said. \u201cSo all that legislation does is say that for very large buildings, you need to measure and report on carbon usage.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In his veto message, McKee said the legislation conflicts with a plan he proposed in the state budget that would begin by reporting energy use at state-owned buildings.<\/span><\/p>\n

But Blazejewski said there is no conflict, and state buildings aren\u2019t the only large buildings in our state. He noted the City of Providence is already collecting energy use data on big buildings, and he said legislators worked hard to make sure the bill didn\u2019t add any costs and simply collected data.<\/span><\/p>\n

Earlier this year, McKee proposed lowering energy costs by $1 billion over five years in large part by rolling back renewable energy targets and programs. <\/span><\/p>\n

But Blazejewski, who sponsored an earlier version of the Act on Climate, said, \u201cI believe in continuing to make every effort we can in our state to meet our Act on Climate goals.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

He noted gasoline prices have spiked amid the war in Iran. And, he said, \u201cWe in our state need to find whatever we can do to push renewable energy, support renewable energy, because I think that\u2019s the future of smoothing out costs for our state residents.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In the state budget, legislators rejected McKee\u2019s plan to push back the 2033 deadline to reach 100 percent renewable energy sources for state electricity, but they embraced his plan to include large-scale hydroelectric and nuclear power as clean energy sources.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more N.H. lawmaker who claims police can\u2019t arrest her for speeding meets resistance from fellow Democrats<\/a><\/p>\n

Blazejewski spoke on Tuesday, one day after an ICE agent shot and killed a man in Biddeford, Maine. He said his \u201cheart goes out\u201d to the friends and family of Johan Sebasti\u00e1n Dur\u00e1n Guerrero, 26, a Colombian native who was legally authorized to work in the United States.<\/span><\/p>\n

Blazejewski noted the General Assembly this year passed several bills that were filed in response to Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents seizing people outside courthouses and schools. For example, one new law prohibits civil arrests at Rhode Island courthouses without a valid judicial warrant.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn light of recent events in this country, we in the Legislature heard loud and clear that Rhode Island needed to take a stand, and we did that,\u201d Blazejewski said. \u201cI\u2019m proud of the legislation that we passed that protected our court system, that protected our polling places, that provided recourse to Rhode Islanders who feel like their rights have been violated by the federal government.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The General Assembly did not pass that would make 49 changes to Rhode Island\u2019s public records law. That bill has faced opposition from McKee\u2019s administration. Blazejewski\u2019s predecessor, former House speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi, had questioned whether that proposal is more of a priority for the press than the public, saying people don\u2019t talk about the issue when candidates go door-to-door.<\/span><\/p>\n

But Blazejewski said, \u201cI\u2019m very open to looking at this.\u201d He noted that he worked with former Representative Michael J. Marcello, a Scituate Democrat, on the last overhaul of the Access to Public Records Act in 2012.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI know there\u2019s a lot of detail, so I don\u2019t want to speak specifically about a bill,\u201d Blazejewski said. \u201cMy understanding is it\u2019s an omnibus bill that has a lot of stuff in it. But I think access to state government is very important, and it\u2019s something we\u2019ll certainly look at.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Shekarchi, a Warwick Democrat, stepped down as House speaker to apply for a vacancy on the state Supreme Court. That prompted an Ethics Commission complaint that claims Shekarchi thereby violated a revolving door provision in the state ethics code, and that dispute is now before a state Superior Court judge.<\/span><\/p>\n

Blazejewski said Shekarchi\u2019s \u201cheart is in the right place,\u201d and he knows Shekarchi has worked hard for the state of Rhode Island. \u201cI think he would make a great Supreme Court justice,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

But he noted the Assembly has no role in that decision until McKee nominates a candidate from a list of finalists and legislators are asked to confirm that nominee.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSpecifically, with respect to the Ethics Commission and the judicial process, I understand that there\u2019s both going on right now,\u201d Blazjewski said. \u201cThey have their own proceedings. However they\u2019re decided, they\u2019re decided. And then it\u2019ll go from there.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Rhode Island Report podcast is produced by The Boston Globe Rhode Island. To get the latest episode each week, follow the Rhode Island Report podcast <\/i>on Apple Podcasts<\/i>, <\/i>Spotify<\/i>, and other podcasting platforms, or listen in the player above.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

Read more \u2018A campaign of chaos\u2019: Maine shooting raises fresh questions about ICE accountability<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

House Speaker Christopher Blazejewski said he is proud of legislation that would create an energy-use reporting requirement for large buildings. \u201cI would like to have seen it become law,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4988,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4989","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\nR.I. legislators considering override of Governor McKee veto, House speaker says - Boston Relocation Insider<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4989\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"R.I. legislators considering override of Governor McKee veto, House speaker says - 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