Neronha wants to fund child dental care with settlement money. House GOP has other ideas.

Who gets to decide how to spend the $11 million from a state settlement over contamination during the Route 6/10 Interchange construction?

Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha, who led the state’s dual civil and criminal charges against contractor Barletta Heavy Division Inc., wants to funnel the bulk of the settlement money into a privately managed fund focused on providing dental care to low-income children in Providence. But Rhode Island House Republicans say Neronha’s proposal violates state law, insisting that only the Rhode Island General Assembly can control revenue derived from settlements. 

Republican Reps. Brian Newberry of North Smithfield and George Nardone of Coventry unveiled a competing plan for the Barletta settlement money Monday. They will formally ask the rest of the lower chamber to back their plan Tuesday afternoon as an amendment to the state’s fiscal 2026 budget.

Floor amendments are characteristic of the often lengthy and fiery debate on the state’s annual spending plan. Newberry hoped that unveiling the idea a day early would get his colleagues on board.

“Leadership will never allow an amendment to pass on the floor that is sort of a surprise,” Newberry said in an interview Monday afternoon. “We want to get out in front of this, and make it hard to vote the amendment down.”

The dispute hinges less on how to spend the money — Newberry and Nardone’s proposal offers a $1 million chunk for pediatric dental care via the Rhode Island Dental Association — but instead, on its oversight.

The Republican lawmakers describe Neronha’s spending proposal as an “abuse of power,” pointing to state law requiring settlement proceeds to be returned to the general fund, which is controlled by lawmakers. 

Newberry also alleges that Neronha has publicly acknowledged the overreach of statutory power in delineating $10 million from Barletta settlement to a fund that would be managed by the Rhode Island Foundation. 

But Neronha says otherwise.

“Directing funds from the resolution of a criminal case brought by this office and authorized by a court to solve severe and unmet oral health challenges for Providence children is well within the authority of my Office,” Neronha said in an emailed response Monday. “We are prepared to defend attempts to argue otherwise.”

Since 2003, the state has required settlement money from multi-state lawsuits be returned to the general revenue fund. A separate section of state law enacted in 2023 addresses “non multi-state initiatives,” creating a new restricted receipts account for money from settlements with opioid manufacturers.

“All settlement proceeds from non-multi-state initiatives, except those deposited in this restricted receipt account pursuant to this section, shall be deposited into the general fund,” the law states.

But Neronha instead looked to the courts for guidance, telling NBC 10 earlier this month that the Rhode Island Supreme Court has upheld his office’s constitutional power over litigation.  

Neronha also pointed out that former Attorney General Peter Kilmartin determined how the $4.1 million share of state settlement money from an emissions lawsuit against Volkswagen.

On Monday, the attorney general blasted Newberry and Nardone for “doing nothing” to combat the crisis over lack of dental care for local children. 

“I didn’t ask the voters for this job to smoke cigars and talk,” Neronha said in a post on social media app Bluesky Monday. “When we see a problem, from Trump’s dismantling of our democracy to severe tooth infection in 25 percent of Providence schoolchildren, we use our authority expansively and we ACT.

Newberry, in turn, inferred that Neronha was acting like a “king,” and threatened his prosecution powers.

“Yes, he is a ‘constitutional officer’ so without a constitutional amendment we couldn’t eliminate his position, but if we chose we could defund it nearly entirely, and then set up a completely different department of government headed by someone else to handle prosecutions,” Newberry said.

House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi attempted to remain above the fray, pledging to listen to the debate Tuesday, the same as he would for any other budget amendments.

The Rhode Island Foundation did not immediately respond to inquiries for comment on Monday.

The House will take up the proposed $14.3 billion spending plan at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday.