Representative Raymond H. Johnston, Jr.
Deputy Majority Leader
First Vice Chairman, House Committee on Corporations
First Vice Chairman, House Committee on Oversight
Member, House Committee on Environment and Natural Resources
Member, House Committee on Municipal Government
Raymond H. Johnston Jr. (D) represents District 61 in Pawtucket. He was first elected in November 2010. Named a Deputy Majority Leader in 2016, he serves as second vice-chairman of both the House Committee on Corporations and the House Committee on Oversight. He is also a member of the House Committee on Municipal Government and the House Committee on Environment and Natural Resources.
During the 2018 session of the General Assembly, Johnston worked with the Department of Transportation to prioritize a $5 million project now underway to repair and resurface a portion of Newport Avenue in Pawtucket. He also secured an additional $4.4 million in state funding for Pawtucket public schools in the past two years and obtained $4.2 million to repair those schools.
In 2017, he introduced legislation to streamline the procedure for the approval of mergers of nonprofit hospitals in response to the proposed merger of Memorial Hospital in Pawtucket with Prime Healthcare Foundation. The bill was signed into law.
A strong proponent of child welfare, he introduced legislation in 2016 that requires every public and private school in Rhode Island, including charter schools, to post a clear and visible sign for students that provide the state’s child abuse hotline number. He also successfully sponsored legislation that expands the number of pharmacists eligible to engage in collaborative pharmacy practice with physicians, effectively modernizing the doctor-patient-pharmacist relationship.
In 2015, Representative Johnston led the way in school bus safety, sponsoring legislation that specifically addresses the fines of school bus drivers who use wireless devices on school buses. The legislation also brings Rhode Island in line with standard federal guidelines.
Several notable pieces of legislation he submitted during the 2013 and 2014 terms made their way to the governor’s desk, including the Kelsey Smith Act, which requires telecommunications carriers to provide location information for mobile devices to requesting law enforcement agencies in emergency situations involving potential death or serious risk of harm. The legislature also passed his bill authorizing schools to provide a specific course of study to prevent child abduction, child sexual exploitation and abuse for students in grades kindergarten through 8.
Prior to his election, he served on Pawtucket’s Democratic City Committee. He has been heavily involved in youth sports, having served as president of Pineview Little League and the assistant district administrator of Little League Baseball in Rhode Island. He has also volunteered with the Pawtucket Boys & Girls Club, Pawtucket Youth Soccer and St. Leo’s CYO basketball.
A retired detective of the Pawtucket Police Department, Representative Johnston attended Roger Williams University. He is a 1979 graduate of Saint Raphael Academy in Pawtucket.
Representative Johnston was born on Oct. 6, 1960. He is the father of Raymond III.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
102 Archer Street
Pawtucket, RI 02861
(401) 288-7248