PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — A bill is advancing in Rhode Island to allow political candidates to use campaign funds for child care while they’re participating in election activities.
The Rhode Island Senate passed the bill last week, sending it to the House Judiciary Committee.
Democratic Sen. Gayle Goldin, of Providence, sponsored the bill, modeled after a 2018 decision by the Federal Election Commission that allowed Democratic congressional candidate Liuba Grechen Shirley to use political funds to hire a sitter. She was the first female candidate for federal office allowed to use campaign funds to pay for child care. Grechen Shirley lost in New York.
Democratic Rep. Justine Caldwell, of East Greenwich, sponsored companion legislation in the House this year. The Senate passed similar legislation last year, but it stalled in the House.
“Child care expenses are a roadblock that excludes people from running for local or state office and participating in the political process,” Goldin, whose teenage children don’t require child care, said in a statement. “You shouldn’t have to be wealthy to run for office.”
The Rhode Island Board of Elections is considering changing its regulations to include child care as an allowable campaign expense, even if the bill does not pass the General Assembly.
In neighboring Connecticut, Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont has offered legislation this session that would allow candidates who qualify for the state’s Citizens’ Election Fund, the public campaign financing program, to have their child care costs reimbursed by the program when they’re incurred to enable a candidate to campaign.
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