STATE HOUSE — Lawmakers moved swiftly this week on a series of bills touching everything from hospital stability and property taxes to vaccine access and ranked-choice voting.
Topping the list: a last-minute backstop to secure the sale of Roger Williams Medical Center and Fatima Hospital. The General Assembly approved — and the governor signed — legislation setting aside $18 million from the state’s supplemental rainy day fund to reassure bondholders if the nonprofit Centurion Foundation defaults. Supporters say the move is critical to protecting the two safety-net hospitals and the patients who rely on them.
On the criminal justice front, House Speaker Pro Tempore Brian Patrick Kennedy introduced a bill to make deed theft a felony. The proposal would target scammers who use forged documents, including fraudulent quitclaim deeds, to steal homes by recording fake property transfers…