Steve Archambault has put forward detailed plans for how he will combat crime and stand up for Rhode Island consumers as our next Attorney General.  Highlights are below:

Reducing  Crime

As the only candidate in the Democratic Primary who is an in the trenches prosecutor and as a former police officer, Steve Archambault is best qualified to address our growing crime problem. As Attorney General, Archambault will prosecute the criminals and make our streets safer. He will make swift and certain punishment of violent crime and public corruption a high priority.  Archambault will also work hard on crime prevention.  He will work in close cooperation with state and local police, schools, religious leaders and community groups to promote after-school programs and educate our youth about constructive alternatives to gangs.

Combating Drunk Driving

In Rhode Island, nearly 4-in-ten traffic fatalities are caused by people driving under the influence of alcohol and drug, as well as too many serious injuries.  Steve Archambault has a 4 point plan to combat drunk driving and make our roads safer.  His plan includes: 1) making it a felony punishable with up to 4 years in prison for driving under the influence with a child 15 or under in the car; 2) requiring an interlock devise to be installed after a first offense if the blood alcohol content is .15 or above and after all second offences; 3) requiring mandatory alcohol and drug counseling classes for any reckless driving offense in which the use of alcohol and drugs is present; 4); adding a drug recognition component to the training Rhode Island police officers receive.

Fighting Blue Cross and Other Health Insurer Rate Hikes

Steve Archambault has been leading the fight against double-digit rate hikes by Blue Cross and other health insurers, calling for tough new scrutiny of administrative expenses, including top executive salaries. As Attorney General, Archambault will use the seat at the table that the Attorney General has in rate hearings to stand up for financially-squeezed Rhode Island families and strongly oppose rate hikes by health insurance companies. He will also insist that full public hearings be conducted for all proposed health insurance rate hikes.

Rhode Island families are facing the most difficult economic situation in at least a generation and as a result there must be a new emphasis on cost-savings. Archambault will work to send the insurance companies back to drawing board and push for a top-to-bottom review of all expenditures.

Strengthening Consumer Protection Laws

Steve Archambault  proposes strengthening Rhode Island’s weak consumer protections by adopting a law based on Massachusetts’ strong deceptive trade practices statute(G.L. c. 93A)

The Massachusetts Law gives consumers the ability to collect double and triple damages when businesses knowingly violate the law and deceive or trick consumers or fail to correct a problem once informed of it.  The Attorney General is also given the right to put in place regulations to enforce the statute, and is given broad authority to seek civil penalties when a business violates the law as well as to take action to stop unlawful practices.

In these tough economic times, we must re-double efforts to protect all Rhode Island residents from fraud and bad business practices.  Truth in Advertising needs to be more than a slogan. As Attorney General, Archambault will make it the Rhode Island way.

Taking on Public Corruption

As Attorney General, Steve Archambault will work cooperatively and closely with the US Attorney, FBI, state police and other law enforcement agencies to root out public corruption.   It is essential to leverage all the resources available to combat this persistent problem.

He will also form a public corruption unit in the Attorney General’s office to aggressively pursue corruption wherever it leads.

Archambault believes that members of the General Assembly should be subject to the same  State Ethics Commission oversight as the rest of Rhode Island’s public officials. He has repeatedly called on the Legislative Leadership to pass a measure that would put a constitutional amendment on the ballot to accomplish this goal.

Cracking Down on Mortgage Fraud

Steve Archambault has put forward a detailed 6 point plan to crackdown on Mortgage Fraud and protect Rhode Island consumers.

In 2008, Rhode Island led the nation in mortgage fraud according to the Mortgage Asset Research Institute(MARI)  In today’s tough credit market, which provides fertile soil for scam artists, the problem may be even worse.

Current banking practices much change now. Home foreclosures, devaluation of property values and the unavailability of credit will continue as a result of market manipulation and fraud if banking laws and regulation remain unchanged and violations go without prosecution.

Archambault’s plan includes closing loopholes that allow shady operators to continue in business and convening a  Special Grand Jury specifically charged with examining mortgage fraud, among other components.