PROVIDENCE — For the third consecutive time, the Environment Council of Rhode Island has given the General Assembly a grade of B for its work, in this instance for the 2007-08 sessions.

The council’s biannual Green Report Card grades the entire legislature and individual members.

It also graded Governor Carcieri and concluded his record was inconsistent. It praised the governor for signing on to the greenhouse-gases initiative and making wind energy a priority. But he also vetoed a bill that would have increased incentives for renewable energy projects and strengthened the state’s bus system.

“The governor and his staff continued to demonstrate a lack of leadership and failed to work effectively with the General Assembly and state agencies,” the report said. “Overall, the governor has not prioritized environmental protection and has not worked effectively with the environmental community to address the challenges facing the state.”

The group gave the legislature high marks for passing a bill in support of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative along with other Northeastern states, a package of renewable energy initiatives, a bill to require electronics makers to recycle their products and a measure requiring municipalities to increase their recycling rates.

The council also was happy with a package of bills designed to strengthen the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority, phase out cesspools in coastal areas and reduce diesel pollution from school buses.

The legislature did not get an A from the council because it failed to pass legislation bringing the Narragansett Bay Commission and the Coastal Resources Management Council into compliance with the Separation of Powers amendment.

Also cited by the council was the legislature’s failure to pass bills requiring higher fines for polluters, increasing the state’s efforts to reduce global warming pollution, better managing the state’s water supplies, protecting workers from diesel pollution, protecting the budget of the state Department of Environmental Management, and supporting bigger bond issues for open space and clean water.

“We are encouraged that our state legislators are taking action on important environmental issues,” said Denise Parrillo, president of the council. But she added: “The General Assembly missed some good opportunities to move forward on key environmental protection issues this session. We urge the members of the General Assembly to continue with the momentum of the environmental leadership they took this year and pass these bills next year.”

Overall, senators fared better than representatives in the scoring. All but one senator got A’s or B’s. The lowest ranked senator was John F. McBurney III, D-Pawtucket. He got a C+.

In the House, there were plenty of A’s and B’s, but also a fair number of C’s and D’s, along with two F’s. The F’s went to Peter G. Palumbo, D-Cranston, and Robert A. Watson, R-East Greenwich.

“We’ve really seen a strong environmental ethic in Rhode Island,” added the council’s Sheila Dormandy. “Rhode Islanders care about the environment and that carries over to the General Assembly. Praise is hard to come by, so we give it out when it’s deserved.”

To read the report card, go to: www.environmentcouncilri.org/pdf/reportCard2008.pdf.

plord@projo.com