Representative Charlene Lima
Deputy Speaker
Member, House Corporations Committee
Member, Innovation, Internet and Technology Committee
Member, House Municipal Government and Housing Committee
Member, House Oversight Committee
Charlene M. Lima (D) represents
District 14 in Cranston and Providence. First elected in November 1992,
Representative Lima serves as the Deputy Speaker and is a member of the House
Corporations Committee; the House Innovation, Internet and Technology
Committee; the House Municipal Government and Housing Committee; and the House
Oversight Committee.
In 2022, Deputy Speaker
Lima introduced a bill that creates custody procedures for pets
in divorce cases, citing that that in a
divorce proceeding, pets were often viewed as property and used as leverage
over the other party without regard to the pet’s well-being. She also introduced legislation which would provide that any person 18 years of age or
older may possess a stun gun and provide that those persons who are
issued a license to carry a firearm may also carry a stun gun.
During the 2021 session,
Deputy Speaker Lima sponsored the new law that strengthens the Deceptive Trade Practices Act by restoring
the power of the attorney general to step in and enforce violations of the Act.
Previous court interpretations of the old legislation exempted almost all
businesses and transactions from the reach of the statute, and tied the
attorney general's hands when it came to helping consumers. She
also sponsored legislation which reduces procedural delays that could hold up the permitting
process for development.
Deputy Speaker Lima has
introduced and passed into law legislation dealing with raising the minimum
raise; mandating the release of all Grand Jury testimony involving the 38
Studios scandal; banning gas chambers for euthanizing shelter animals and
using lethal injection only; mandating that research animals must be offered
for adoption after research is finished; proration of homestead tax exemptions; sexual offender and community notification when staying at neighborhood housing
shelters; “don’t block the box” law pertaining to blocking intersections; authorizing the city of Cranston to issue not more than $20,000,000 general
obligation bonds and temporary notes for the construction, renovation, rehabilitation,
repair, improvement, and landscaping of roads, sidewalks, and drainage facilities, and $900,000 for an Arlington Library Branch; grants for Cranston Police motorcycles; allowing dogs in outdoor dining areas if the restaurant permits; and many
more.
She has also been
recognized with the Fogarty Award for supporting programs to help disabled Rhode Islanders,
the ATAP legislative award for her law to improve phone services
for disabled Rhode Islanders, the National Federation of the Blind Distinguished
Service Award for her law helping disabled citizens, a Defenders of Animal Award, a
National Humane Society of the United States award for Legislator of the Year, the Attorney General’s Justice Award for Consumer Protection, and the Public
Service Award from the RI Health Care Association.
Deputy Speaker Lima has a
long history of public service. In the past, she has served on the Rhode Island
Attorney General’s Juvenile Justice Task Force, the Secretary of the State's
Panel for Election Law Reform, and the District Representative Committee.
A retired educator, she
taught for the Providence School Department and was also a member of the
American Federation of Teachers and the Providence Teacher’s Union. She has
also been involved with the Rhode Island Society to Prevent Blindness and the
Women’s Auxiliary of the St. Mary’s Feast Society.
Deputy Speaker Lima was
born on August 18, 1953, and is married to Frank Fiorenzano. She earned a
bachelor’s degree from the University of Rhode Island in 1975, following her
graduation from Classical High School in Providence in 1971.