Representative Marvin L. Abney
Chair, House Committee on Finance
Member, House Committee on Conduct
Member, House Committee on Veterans' Affairs
Marvin L. Abney (D) has served the residents of Newport
and Middletown in District 73 since first being elected in November 2012. In
May 2016, he was named chairman of the House Finance Committee, which is
tasked with adopting the annual state budget. He also serves on the House
Committee on Veterans' Affairs, the House Committee on Conduct and the
Special Legislative Commission on Defense Economy Planning.
In 2024,
Chairman Abney sponsored the $13.963 billion 2025 fiscal year budget.
The
budget directs additional funding toward education and children, raises
Medicaid reimbursement rates and includes a $120 million affordable housing
bond.
During the 2023 legislative session, Chairman Abney was the primary
sponsor of the $14 billion 2024 fiscal year budget that commits funding
toward addressing the housing crisis, supports business development and
makes education funding more equitable, while limiting the use of one-time
revenue to one-time expenditures.
He also introduced
a new law which increases the percentage set aside for affordable
housing units in qualifying projects, and, in turn, increases the number of
allowable units per acre for all housing projects subject to inclusionary
zoning.
He serves
on the National Conference of State Legislators' (NCSL) Foundation Board
of Directors. He is a member of the Council of State Governments' (CSG)
National Leadership Team and a member of the CSG Eastern Region Executive
Committee. In addition, Chairman Abney served as a member of the 2012
Electoral College.
Chairman Abney is a retired Major of the United
States Army after a 20-year Army career, including a tour of duty as a
detachment commander at NATO Headquarters with responsibilities in Belgium;
The American Embassy, Paris, France; and the Netherlands. He also retired
from the Rhode Island Department of Elementary and Secondary Education,
where he held the position of executive assistant to the commissioner. He
taught general business courses at City Colleges of Chicago, European
Division.
Born on November 10, 1949, he attended Dunbar High School in
Texarkana, Texas, and in 2018 was honored by the Texarkana Independent
School District as a Distinguished Alumnus.
He earned his bachelor's
degree in public administration at Stephen F. Austin State University in
1975, a master's of management degree from Webster University in 1982, a
master's of business administration from the University of Rhode Island in
2000, and a certificate of advanced graduate study in educational leadership
from Johnson & Wales University in 2005. He also attended the Command and
General Staff College in Munich, Germany in the late 1980s.
Representative Abney has a long history of involvement in community
organizations and boards, such as the Board of Governors, Newport Health
Care Corporation; Board of Directors, Redwood Library and Athenaeum; the
Newport Zoning Board of Review; Salve Regina University's Internal Review
Board; the Martin Luther King Jr. Center; Board of Corporators, BankNewport;
and Newport County YWCA.
He lives in Newport with his wife, Cheryl
Lynn (Amado). He is the father of Marvin L. Abney II, U.S. Army Major (P),
Christian A. Abney, and Tess A. Abney. He is the grandfather of five:
Sierra, Jade, Mia, Dakota, and Bleu. He is a four-time finisher of the New
York City Marathon and a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.