Providence City Council hires former AG Pine to review Licensing Board

LAWYER JEFFREY Pine, the former attorney general, has been hired by the Providence City Council to review the city’s licensing board. / COURTESY LYNCH & PINE
LAWYER JEFFREY Pine, the former attorney general, has been hired by the Providence City Council to review the city’s licensing board. / COURTESY LYNCH & PINE

PROVIDENCE – The Providence City Council is hiring the state’s former attorney general to review the city’s licensing board, citing the need for ensuring fair policies and procedures.
The council on Tuesday announced it would pay $10,000 to hire the former attorney general, Jeffrey Pine, who now is now practicing privately at his law offices of Lynch & Pine LLC. Pine is tasked with doing a review of the Board of Licenses and how it conducts business. The council, in a press release, said the purpose of this review is to “identify areas in which the board can better serve the needs of the community residents and business owners,” according to a press release.
“The city must provide a predictable framework for businesses to operate in Providence,” said City Council President Luis Aponte. “We want to ensure that fair policies and procedures are in place to make the process more effective, enforceable and consistent.”
The Board of Licenses, which meets three times a week to review and renew thousands of business licenses a year, was the focus of much discussion last year when its former vice chairman Gordon D. Fox pleaded guilty to charges of bribery stemming from his time serving on the board in 2008.
Fox, who later became Rhode Island’s Speaker of the House, admitted to accepting more than $52,000 in bribes in exchange for pushing a controversial East Side liquor license application through the city’s vetting system. The board has also come under scrutiny for its dealings with hookah bars and liquor licenses throughout the city, which was widely covered after a man was beaten to death with a wooden board outside of an Federal Hill bar.
Councilwoman Jo-Ann Ryan, chairwoman of the Committee on Municipal Operations and Oversight, has held meetings regarding the board’s operations during the last few months and one area of concern to surface is a host of neighborhood restaurants that turn into unlicensed nightclubs after hours that are causing problems for the city, licensed nightclubs and the licensing board.
“Our priorities focus on safety in our neighborhoods and the robust, citywide opportunities we create for our economy,” Ryan said in a prepared statement. “The Board of Licenses is the economic engine for the city of Providence and it needs to function effectively.”
The City Council cited neighborhood associations, including the Jewelry District Association and the Federal Hill Commerce Association, who have also called for reform on the board.
Pine, who served two terms as attorney general, says he looks forward to the project, which a City Council spokeswoman said should be finished by the end of spring.
“I will do my best to examine the issues in an effective, productive manner,” Pine said.

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