38 Studios: The Status Quo in the Ocean State

It is government at its worst when special-interest deals and other major policy programs are secretly developed and implemented by crony insiders, at great expense to taxpayers, without rigorous public debate or adequate oversight by our duly elected state legislators. This disturbing trend of insider government by executive fiat, regulatory despotism, and backroom negotiated deals supersedes the authority of the General Assembly and must come to an end. The 38 Studios incident is the perfect example of the challenges facing the Ocean State. Further any individuals involved must be exposed and held accountable. The 38 Studios affair has shaken Rhode Islander’s faith in government and the public’s trust must be restored.

The Center, in unison with other watchdog groups, is calling for immediate action by our state’s political and judicial leaders:

1. We call on Superior Court Judge Michael Silverstein to unseal all documents relating to the 38 Studios affair. (DEMAND MET!)

2. We call on Governor Raimondo to launch an independent investigation, potentially naming a special investigator outside of any Rhode Island-based sphere of political influence, to look into all participants and actions that led to the 38-Studio deal, so that the public can be fully informed of how this crony deal came to pass.

3. We call on Speaker Mattiello to agree to grant any and all subpoena requests made by Chairwoman Karen MacBeth’s House Oversight Committee with regard to the committee’s 38 Studios investigation and to publicly support the resumption of committee hearings this fall.

4. In order to avoid a “38 Stadium” boondoggle, we call on the Governor and the Speaker to immediately and publicly disclose the most recently proposed terms of the Pawtucket Red Sox relocation negotiations, and to pledge to make all future negotiations as public as possible.

Press Conference Held on August 20, 2015

In the wake of new revelations about the state government’s apparent expanded role in a conspiracy that resulted in the 38 Studios boondoggle, RI Center for Freedom & Prosperity joined with other good-government groups to issue a joint statement press conference on August 20th to call on Superior Court Judge Silverstein, Governor Raimondo, and Speaker Mattiello to take decisive action on related investigations and document releases.

In addition to the statement, which calls for new and renewed investigations and court document releases, individuals from the group – Ken Block from WatchdogRI.org, Monique Chartier from the RI Taxpayers Association, and the Center’s CEO, Mike Stenhouse – made additional comments at the event in the offices of Block’s Simpatico Software Systems company.

[button url=”http://www.rifreedom.org/wp-content/uploads/Report-Card-2014.pdf” target=”_blank” size=”medium” style=”royalblue” ] Read The Joint Statement Now [/button]

Media Samples:

8/21/15; NBC 10; Watchdog groups call for 38 Studios investigation

8/21/15; The Boston Globe; R.I. police still investigating Schilling’s video game company

8/20/15; WPRO; 3 watchdog groups call for further investigation into 38 studios

8/20/15; ABC 6; Court documents renew calls for 38 Studios investigation

8/20/15; The Providence Journal; Watchdog groups seek 38 Studios investigations

8/20/15; The Warwick Beacon; Opponents to mandatory HPV vaccine say they’re gaining ground

8/20/15; GoLocal Prov; NEW: Government Reform Groups Call For Formal 38 Studios Investigation

8/20/15; The Valley Breeze; Good government groups call for full investigation of 38 Studios

8/20/15; RI-NPR; Advocacy Groups Call For An In-Depth Probe On 38 Studios

From The Rhode Island Center for Freedom & Prosperity:

10/22/15 38 STUDIOS JOINT STATEMENT: Chairwoman MacBeth Hopeful; Groups Congratulate Public for Early Victories