Needs of businesses should drive state economic policy

EATING BETTER: Sen. Joshua Miller, owner of Trinity Brewhouse and Local 121, says that he is seeing signs of a rebound in the Providence hospitality market. / COURTESY R.I. SENATE
EATING BETTER: Sen. Joshua Miller, owner of Trinity Brewhouse and Local 121, says that he is seeing signs of a rebound in the Providence hospitality market. / COURTESY R.I. SENATE

Through the ownership of several popular nightspots and restaurants, State Sen. Joshua Miller has been influential in the Providence dining and nightlife scene for years. But since jumping into politics seven years ago, the Cranston Democrat is now as likely to take a stand on hospital consolidation or payday lending as he is nightclub closing hours or farm-to-table cuisine. After leading a commission on health care affordability and wrestling with the sale of Landmark Medical Center in the Corporations Committee, Miller this year was named chairman of the Health and Human Services Committee.

PBN: What are the biggest issues you expect to tackle on the Health and Human Services Committee this year?
MILLER: I think watching carefully now that there is a private hospital entity acquiring Landmark, how that plays out in the marketplace and what changes they make to the hospital. That really has an impact on the system and what needs to be done to regulate a private hospital and how it impacts other hospitals as they go forward.

PBN: There were a lot of twists and turns in the Landmark sale. How do you feel now about how that ultimately worked out?
MILLER: Saving the hospital is very important to a community that, in a small state, is as far away as you can get from the critical mass of hospitals in Providence. … There are only 14 hospitals in Rhode Island and I think what is important to watch is what the impact of decisions they make is on the other 13 hospitals.
PBN: From what you see, how is Rhode Island doing in the effort to bring health care costs down and transition away from the fee-for-service payment model?
MILLER: We’ve made progress, but the results aren’t quite there yet. The commission I chaired on hospital costs and efficiencies, some of those recommendations still should be enacted, like transition away from fee-for-service to a global payment system for results. I have had a bill for the last couple of years that asks for the office of health insurance commissioner to have the ability to have every hospital enter into a contract with every insurer that goes away from fee-for-service.

PBN: The Senate president this year has made improving the state’s business-climate rankings a top priority. As a small-business owner, what do you think is the first thing that should be done to improve the business climate?
MILLER: One side to this is that it is like herding cats, looking at all the different entities that have rated Rhode Island so low and their criteria are not always transparent. … Do they know we did pension reform, that we changed our income tax? Those things don’t seem to be totally understood. One thing I have committed to is allowing biweekly pay and working with the Department of Labor and Training on a system where an entire sector of the economy could come and apply for biweekly pay. Rhode Island is one of the only states where employers are required to pay every week rather than every other week. Some companies and industries are getting exceptions, but if you could have a permanent procedure or set of parameters where companies of a certain size could pay biweekly, that would be better.

PBN: Is the hospitality industry in Greater Providence back from the recession?
MILLER: Statistically, we have demonstrated through meals, beverage and hotel tax receipts that there has been a rebound. And I see that locally.

PBN: You served on the R.I. Economic Development Corporation board from 2001 to 2006. What would you do to revamp the agency after the 38 Studios debacle?
MILLER: I think the emphasis has to be on existing small businesses in Rhode Island and giving them all the tools they need to grow, giving them as much support as the EDC can give them. … I think my thoughts are consistent with what they are thinking about now. … When you talk about economic development in general, it has to be an advocate for changes that are attractive for businesses that might be coming to Rhode Island and for those within Rhode Island. Tax structure is very important. My biggest expenses in my business are the cost of health care and cost of energy. I was on the EDC board when Fidelity was relocating to Rhode Island and their biggest concerns were the cost of housing for employees, quality of schools and a whole range of issues that had nothing to do with the traditional tools within EDC, but things that the EDC had to advocate for.

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PBN: What do you think of Providence’s recent proposals for curbing nightclub violence, including increased security requirements?
MILLER: I think the flexibility of closing is a good idea, because it can be like a 2 a.m. rush hour if you try to do everything in 20 minutes instead of an hour. But I think it is critical to listen to establishments and what they go through. Every responsible business owner wants to make sure the perception of what goes on downtown at night is positive, and I think it has been. If you are talking about economic development, it is a factor in why small businesses want to locate here. … You can’t put an economic burden on small places started by entrepreneurs with limited resources. •

INTERVIEW
Sen. Joshua Miller
Position: R.I. Senate Health and Human Services Committee chairman, owner of Trinity Brewhouse and Local 121, partner at the Hot Club
Background: Miller dropped out of the University of Rhode Island as a junior to open the Met Café music venue in Providence with friends in 1975. Since then, he has owned and operated bars and restaurants. After serving on industry groups such as the Rhode Island Hospitality Association, Providence Warwick Convention and Visitors Bureau and Downtown Merchants Association, Miller was elected to the state Senate in 2006.
Education: Studied art history at the University of Rhode Island
First job: Delivering pizza
Residence: Cranston
Age: 58

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