Representative John G. Edwards
Majority Floor Manager
Member, House Finance Committee
Member, House Labor Committee
Member, House Municipal Government and Housing Committee
Member, Permanent Joint Committee on State Lottery
John
G. “Jay” Edwards (D) represents District 70 in Portsmouth and Tiverton. First
elected in November 2008, he has served as both the House Majority Whip and the
Senior Deputy Majority Leader before being named the Majority Floor Manager in
January 2021. He is a member of the House Finance Committee, the House Labor
Committee, the House Municipal Government and Housing Committee, and the House
Oversight Committee.
During
the 2023 session, he sponsored a new
law that protects organ donors by prohibiting insurers from denying life insurance,
disability insurance and long-term care disability insurance solely on the
basis of the individual’s status as a living donor. He championed another law
that keeps motor vehicle inspections
within state boundaries by providing that only facilities located within
Rhode Island are eligible for permits.
A
strong champion of victims’ rights, Representative Edwards sponsored a new law
in 2022 that codifies the rights of rape victims by regulating the use of sexual
assault evidence kits and enumerating the rights of victims in relation to
those kits. In 2023, the
law was updated to require the state crime laboratory to conduct an audit
of DNA samples in the DNA databank to ascertain the rate of compliance with
recording requirements.
A
longtime advocate of opioid reform, he sponsored a law in 2021 that authorizes
a two-year pilot program to prevent drug overdoses through the
establishment of harm reduction centers, which are a community-based resource
for health screening, disease prevention and recovery assistance where persons
may safely consume pre-obtained substances. This year, the program was extended
for two more years by the General Assembly. In 2022, he was also appointed to
the newly formed Opioid
Settlement Agreement Advisory Committee, which is tasked with recommending
how to utilize funds from several settlements with opioid manufacturers
amounting to $185 million.
During
the 2021 session, he introduced legislation that was signed into law amending
the state building code to require that any single-user toilet facility in a
public building or place of public accommodation be available
for use by persons of any gender.
The
National Conference of State Legislatures named him a fellow in its Maternal
and Childhood Health program, which is designed to support legislators who
are experienced or emerging leaders on MCH-related issues.
In
2019, Representative Edwards was selected as a 2019
Opioid Policy Fellow for the National Conference of State Legislatures,
which focuses on health policies and programs being addressed throughout the
country. When he returned, he sponsored a law that allows hospitals to contact
the patient’s emergency contact and a certified peer recovery specialist in
certain situations. The change improved supports for those hospitalized for
drug overdoses and mental health emergencies by increasing the likelihood that
their families or others wishing to assist them with treatment are aware of
their hospitalization.
Representative
Edwards served on the Tiverton Town Council from 2006 to 2008 and the Tiverton
Zoning Board from 1996 to 2006. He served as vice chairman of the town’s
Elementary School Building Committee from 2004 to 2008 and as chairman of
Tiverton’s Landfill Sub-Committee from 2006 to 2008.
An
outspoken advocate of blood donation, as well as an active platelet donor, Representative
Edwards has donated more than 100 gallons of blood.
A
1983 graduate of Northeastern University, he works as a senior project manager
for Site Specific, a Providence construction company. He was the director of
Caritas RI, and is a former member of the Rhode Island Builders Association and the
former chair of the Rhode Island branch of Associated Builders and Contractors.
He has also been involved in the Tiverton Land Trust, Save the Bay, Maine
Island Trail Association, the Sierra Club, the Tiverton Democratic Town
Committee and the National Eagle Scout Association.
Edwards
was born on April 7, 1958. He resides in Tiverton with his wife, Donna. The
couple has three children: John, Kelsey and Mae, and two granddaughters, Amelia
and Sloan.