| Scott A. Slater (D) has served the people of Providence in District 10 since winning a special election in November 2009 to fill the seat held after the passing of his father, Thomas Slater. He is a Deputy Majority Leader and the first vice chair of the House Finance Committee. He also serves as a member of the House Oversight Committee, the House Rules Committee and the House Small Business Committee. Representative Slater is also a member of the Permanent Joint Committee on State Lottery.
During the 2021 session, Representative Slater sponsored a new law, the Nursing Home Staffing and Quality Care Act, which sets minimum staffing levels for Rhode Island nursing homes. He also sponsored two other new laws which reclassifies simple possession of 10 grams or less of certain controlled substances as a misdemeanor charge, punishable up to two years, rather than a felony and that upon its own motion or upon request of a parolee, enables the Parole Board to terminate a parolee's supervision and legal custody order in accordance with certain guidelines.
In the 2020 legislative session, Representative Slater successfully sponsored a law which creates a new process with standards to be utilized when deciding whether an applicant's past conviction of a crime should disqualify the applicant from receiving an occupational license, permit, certificate, or registration issued by the state. He also sponsored a bill which mandates minimum staffing levels and standards for quality care for nursing homes with penalties for violations, grants for enhanced training, and wages adjusted for inflation.
Representative Slater also sponsored a bill that amends the state's medical marijuana program by creating a hardship designation for patients on SSDI and Medicaid, establishes a discount medicine program, eliminates plant tagging, allows unlimited compassion center licenses, redefines debilitating condition, and reduces the compassion center license fee to $5,000.
In 2018, Representative Slater sponsored a successful bill which allows criminal conviction records to be expunged if the offense has been decriminalized since the conviction. He also sponsored legislation that would raise the earned income tax credit to 20 percent and a bill to increase the hourly rate for direct care staff.
Representative Slater has also been an advocate for legislation that would legalize recreational marijuana for Rhode Island adults 21 and older.
Aside from his legislative duties, he works as a budget analyst for the City of Providence. He earned a bachelor's degree at Bryant University. Born on May 28, 1975, he is married to Bianca Rodriguez and they have two daughters, Mia and Madeline. |