RI General Assembly 2015 Session Freedom Index

Download: Freedom Index 2015 Scorecard; legislator votes, bill explanations, and rankings

Go to main Freedom Index page.

2015 Freedom Index Findings

One hundred and twenty-one (121) different pieces of legislation (counting companion bills once) were evaluated.  The Center judged 99 of them as having a negative effect on freedom.

The average legislator index score of -56.6 indicates that the General Assembly moved Rhode Island in the wrong direction more than the prior year, and that Rhode Islanders are less free than they were in 2014. (The lowest possible score is -100.)

Overall, the General Assembly took a step backward in 2015, and not a single legislator’s votes would have moved the state forward.

Other findings include:

• Average House index of -55.4 (down from -51.0)
• Average Senate index of -58.8 (down from -46.7)
• Average House Democrat index of -61.6 (down from -53.8)
• Average House Republican index of -23.0 (down from -19.1)
• Average Senate Democrat index of -61.5 (down from -48.5)
• Average Senate Republican index of -43.4 (down from -38.0)
• Average Regulatory Environment index of -53.0 (down from -47.1)
• Average Tax & Budget index of -64.9 (down from -56.4)
• Average Constitutional Government index of -58.4 (down from -4.8)
• Average Public Sector Labor index of -99.2 (down from -69.5)
• Average Education Reform index of -23.3 (down from -23.1)