PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Late Friday, the House of Representatives zipped through a flurry of bills.
--Small-claims court allows the person filing a claim to do so for amounts involving $2,500 or less. But current law allows the other side to file a counter-claim of $1,500 or less.
The difference could change, as the House approved bills that would raise the counter-claim maximum for small claims to $2,500.
--Penalties for texting while driving would increase to include suspending a driver's license for up to 30 days for a first offense at a Traffic Tribunal judge's discretion.
Current law subjects someone to an $85 fine, and the up-to-30-day suspension could be coupled with that or imposed by itself.
Current law imposes a $100 fine for a second offense. A license suspension for up to three months would be an additional second-offense penalty, under the bill.
--A legislative commission would study the parking situation at the Garrahy Judicial Complex, which houses District Court, in Providence.