PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Six bills in House Democrats' economic development package overwhelmingly passed the chamber Tuesday and now head to the state Senate, where at least one of them faces an uncertain future.
Among the bills that cleared the House after about an hour of debate was a dramatic plan to reorganize state government around a new Executive Office of Commerce focused on business and economic development issues.
That bill, introduced by House Finance Committee Chairman Helio Melo, calls for a governor-appointed secretary of commerce to head up the new office, which would take over many duties from some of the state's largest agencies -- the departments of Administration, Business Regulation and Labor and Training.
It would also oversee the quasipublic Economic Development Corporation, which would be rebranded as the "Rhode Island Commerce Corporation" but still be charged with handling the state's various loan and incentive programs for businesses.
But Chafee, an independent who only last week became a Democrat, has been adamantly opposed to the proposal. On Tuesday, he promised to veto the bill if it clears the Assembly.
Senate President M. Teresa Paiva Weed and her Democratic leadership team, meanwhile, are proposing much less dramatic changes to the EDC, which has been widely blamed for its role in the state's failed $75-million investment in Curt Schilling's now-bankrupt video game company, 38 Studios.