Representative Julie A. Casimiro
Deputy Majority Leader
First Vice Chair, House Committee on Oversight
Chair, House Oversight Children and Families Subcommittee
Member, House Education Committee
Member, House Judiciary Committee
Member, House Veterans' Affairs Committee
Rep. Julie Casimiro (D-Dist. 31, North Kingstown, Exeter) was first elected to the House of Representatives in November 2016. She was named a Deputy Majority Leader in January 2019. Representative Casimiro is the first vice chair of the House Committee on Oversight and chairs that committee’s Children and Families Subcommittee. She is also a member of the House Judiciary Committee, the House Education Committee, and the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee.
In 2022, Representative Casimiro introduced a new law which will close a
loophole that allowed those in positions of authority to engage in sexual relations with children. She was also the prime sponsor on another new law which
requires the Department of Children, Youth and Families to determine the military status of the parents of any abused child and report the matter to the appropriate military authorities, including the Military Family Advocacy Program.
Representative Casimiro was also instrumental in securing two important budget articles in the FY 2023 state budget. The first budget article
provides for periodic rate review/setting processes to ensure accurate and adequate reimbursement of social, human and clinical services. She was also a strong and vocal advocate for the
need of an in-state treatment facility for female youths under state care, which was also included in the FY 2023 budget.
She was also honored by the
Rhode Island Coalition for Children and Families as the organization’s 2022 Legislative Champion.
During the 2021 legislative session, Representative Casimiro sponsored a new law which bans child marriages in Rhode Island by eliminating all language in state law that allowed persons under the age of 18 to obtain a marriage license with parental consent. She also sponsored another new law which directs superintendents to create an annual report on the academic progress of foster care youth in Rhode Island’s public schools.
Representative Casimiro was chosen as a 2021 Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute (CCAI) Angels in Adoption Honoree. Congressman James Langevin nominated Representative Casimiro to recognize her work in the adoption, foster care and child welfare community. She was also instrumental in securing the funding for the Paul V. Sherlock Center on Disabilities at Rhode Island College within the FY 2022 state budget. She is the co-chair of the House and Senate Vision Services Task Force, which is charged with providing recommendations for the long-term viability of the vision services program at the Sherlock Center.
Representative Casimiro is a former marketing executive and fund development professional and has served on boards and committees for many non-profit organizations. She graduated from Cranston High School West and received her bachelor’s degree in marketing from Providence College.
Representative Casimiro, who was born on June 21, 1962, is married to Richard Casimiro and they reside in North Kingstown.