Letter: I'm Going to the State House Thursday to Oppose Mooring Bill

To the editor:

On Thursday April 2 at 4:30 pm in Room 101 at the State House there will be a hearing for the proposed “Mooring Bill “ , House #5847.

I will be attending along with many other people from the maritime Industry, as well as concerned citizens, as this bill truly affect citizens of Newport /Jamestown, and all waterfront communities in Rhode Island.

Predominately the bill seeks to access “fees” to already existing local fees.

As most Rhode Islanders are getting used to, the terms “fees” is the new language for more taxes, and in this case a double tax, which directly hits middle class residents.

It also calls for additional oversight and safety patrol, despite no clear plan on what that means and how that would occur , especially since our moorings and waterfront are effectively maintained by the DEM, Harbormasters, Coast Guard and local governments.

The Newport City Council along with the DEM have come out against this proposed bill.

This bill along with much of what comes out from our leadership in Providence once again seeks to gain whatever revenue it can from any industry or group of people that is still left standing in Rhode Island.

Instead of focusing their energies on how to reinvent and reenergize Rhode Island’s dying economy with fresh ideas it continues down the same path of gutting whatever life there is left from our economy and future.

This mentality is the reason Rhode Island is spiraling in standard of living as we are consistently ranked at the top in unemployment and ranked 50th for business climate.

As we are rapidly losing our youth and elderly population to other more economically diverse states, this mooring bill speaks to how out of touch Providence is to creating real revenue and job growth. All sectors of our economy will be affected by this “Mooring Bill # 5847 “if it passes. Please consider attending.

Michael W. Smith
Newport, RI 02840