State Representative-elect Karen MacBeth(D/Cumberland) listens as Jason Gramitt, staff attorney with the Rhode Island Ethics Commission, explains about his office during a legislator orientation in the House chamber at the Statehouse in Providence yesterday.   Call Photo/Butch Adams

BY JIM BARON

PROVIDENCE — Like neatly dressed, well-behaved students on the first day of school, the 16 representatives-elect and seven senators-elect who will join the General Assembly in January sat quietly at their desks Thursday as they were taught the ropes of working in the legislature.

“I’m awed,” Sen.-elect Elizabeth Betty Crowley, a Democrat representing Central Falls, Cumberland and Pawtucket, said during a break in the all-day orientation for new legislators. “I’m realizing what a wonderful privilege it is that I have here among my colleagues. I’m almost speechless and I’m not generally a speechless person. I can’t wait for the session to begin.
Sen.-elect Edward O’Neill — an Independent who won his Lincoln, Pawtucket and North Providence seat by unhorsing Senate President Joseph Montalbano in the November election — struck a more cautious tone, saying, “I’m listening. It is risky having an opinion one hour into orientation before you are even sworn in.”
Like many of her colleagues, Democratic Rep.-elect Karen MacBeth of Cumberland absorbed the main lesson that was emphasized by legislative leaders when they spoke to what House Speaker William Murphy called the largest freshman class to come to the legislature in several years: “stay true to your community, absolutely. We’re here for them.”
“You have earned the trust of your constituents,” Murphy told the newcomers arrayed before him, “and during the first two years, you have to keep that trust. The most important thing you can do is pay attention to your respective districts. You have to return your phone calls, you have to make sure that if your constituent has a situation that needs your help that you act on it quickly.”
Murphy’s next piece of advice: “Develop a thick skin.
“Especially this year,” Murphy said of a session seemingly destined to consist of thankless work digging the state out of a $360 million budget deficit, “as a member of the General Assembly, you will be criticized throughout by all media.”
Providing a quote that will no doubt be kept for later use at an appropriate time by newspapers, radio and TV stations, Murphy said “Everything up here is a special interest. It doesn’t matter if it is the visiting nurses association, if it is your local senior center or a business organization, everyone who comes through this door is here for a special interest.”
Incoming Senate President Teresa Paiva Weed told the group “we are going to not always disagree. There are times, many, when the chambers disagree, there are times when the parties disagree, and the legislature is going to disagree with the governor. I firmly believe that is a healthy process. That is how ideas get vetted and vigorously debated.
But, she added, “All of us are here for the same reason — we want to make this state a better place. So at the end of the day, we have to believe that we can reach consensus.”
A somewhat higher note was struck by House Majority Leader Gordon Fox, who urged the fledgling lawmakers to “take an opportunity to remember what you are here to do…and appreciate the glory of the history of this state.”
The House Republican leader, Robert Watson, offered a piece of practical advice. He suggested the lawmakers place a piece of their campaign literature on their desks to “remind yourselves of the promises you made. Remember you made a commitment, you made a promise to those people that there were certain things that you would attempt to do. Don’t forget to do that.”
He also suggested to Democrats that if they want bipartisan support for their legislation, they should consider offering to let Republicans co-sponsor the bill.
Such was the spirit of optimism and good will at the event that Watson even had kind words for the State House press corps.   
“Get to know the media,” Watson counseled, “they are not the enemy. You don’t have to be afraid of them. You can talk to the media; they will report what you say and they will do it accurately.
“Now, having said that,” Watson continued, “if you blow yourself up, they will gladly report it.”
There were also nuts and bolts chores of a new job the lawmakers-elect had to complete: signing up to receive their salary, medical benefits and mileage reimbursement. Marisa White of the Joint Committee on Legislative Services reminded the group that, while they are allowed fully-paid health benefits, they can voluntarily have a 10 percent co-share taken out of their paycheck, as 70 percent of legislators now do.
They were shown how to apply for their special legislative license plates – they are entitled to two, one with their district number on it and another with the district number and an “A” for a second vehicle.
RI Ethics Commission staff attorney Jason Gramitt gave them a rundown on conflicts of interest, financial disclosure forms and other things public officials need to know to avoid running afoul of ethics laws.