An amendment to existing regulations requiring candidates for local or state office to disclose court default judgments on credit card debt has the support of House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi.

“That’s the only thing you don’t have to list on your financial statements,” said state Rep. Edward Cardillo, Jr., D-Johnston, the lead sponsor of the bill to change the forms. While the current form requires that candidates go over their finances with a “fine-toothed comb” default judgments on credit cards are left out, meaning that someone could hypothetically have $200,000 in unresolved debt without the voters knowing about it, according to Cardillo.

“Seems awfully strange,” he said. 

Under the current statute, candidates must disclose a range of financial matters, including income, investments that are over $5,000, any real estate owned other than one’s main place of residence, gifts, and debts and loans, according to a summary provided by a State House  spokesman. Debts over $1,000 must also be disclosed except “debts to family, debts to credit cards, and mortgages on a primary residence,” the spokesman noted.

While Cardillo is from Johnston, the bill was at least partially inspired by a situation in Warwick, where Mayor Frank Picozzi had seven court default judgments on credit card debt against him totaling over $26,000, which a Hummel Report investigation uncovered last year.

Warwick activist Rob Cote advocates for a change in the law. He said he learned of Picozzi’s default judgments after questioning some of the mayor’s financial decisions. After learning candidates for office aren’t required to disclose default judgments he helped convince Cardillo to introduce legislation closing the loophole. (Cote said that he reached out to Cardillo since the two know each other socially.)

The bill would add 10 words to the existing law, which presently does not include credit card transactions on the financial disclosures form. The bill would add: “with the exception to any and all unsatisfied default judgments.”

Cote said that the financial disclosure forms are meant to be a screening process that reveal candidates’ abilities to manage their own personal finances — especially important for someone like Picozzi who runs the state’s third largest city with an annual budget that was approximately $340 million in the current fiscal year. He said that the current screening process left out Picozzi’s default judgments when he was running for the office.

“When you look at that, that wasn’t disclosed. It was non-transparent,” Cote said.

“It begs the question, will this person be able to make sound fiscal decisions (for an entire) municipality if his own personal finances are a wreck?” Cote added. “I think that’s a legitimate concern.”

In a statement to the Beacon, Picozzi said he did not oppose the bill.

“Though I dispute that the bill targets me, I have no problem with it,” he said. “I have spoken to Speaker Shekarchi and he said that this bill in no way targets me and he can verify this to you. I disclosed my debts publicly during my campaign for Mayor twice. I provided all mandated information on my first Ethics disclosure. A resident filed a frivolous ethics complaint on my filing and it was dismissed.”

“I have my issues with Picozzi but this isn’t really earmarked for him,” Cote said.

The measure, HB 5190, was heard by the House State Government and Elections Committee in the last legislative session but was held for further study. Cardillo reintroduced it earlier this year and the committee held a hearing in early April that drew no opposition. Two people testified in favor, including Cote. Even though legislative records show that the committee voted to hold the measure for further study, Cardillo expects it to reach the House floor for a vote.

The Ethics Commission has not taken a position on the bill. The exception to credit card default judgment reporting was originally enacted by the General Assembly, according to Jason Gramitt, the executive director of the commission.

The bill has drawn bipartisan support among its co-sponsors, who include Warwick Rep. Joe Solomon.

The bill is also backed by Speaker Shekarchi, who represents Warwick as well.

“Speaker Shekarchi is not a sponsor of the bill, but he supports the general intent of the legislation because it is one of many efforts by the House to run a more transparent state government,” spokesman Larry Berman told the Beacon. (Berman noted that as part of his effort to boost transparency, Shekarchi has put all committee documents on the state legislative site, televises and livestreams committee hearings, and has made more rooms compatible with TV and livestreaming.)

The bill does not have a state Senate version, but Cardillo expressed hope that the other chamber might still pick it up.