Representative Mary Duffy Messier
Deputy Majority Leader
First Vice Chair, House Labor Committee
First Vice Chair, State Government and Elections
Member, House Innovation and Technology Committee
Member, House Oversight Committee
Mary Duffy Messier (D), a lifelong resident of Pawtucket, was first elected to
the House in December 2009. She represents District 62 in Pawtucket.
Representative Messier was named a Deputy Majority Leader in January 2021. She
is the first vice chair of both the House Labor Committee and the House State
Government and Elections Committee, and she is a member of the House Innovation and Technology Committee and the House Oversight Committee.
During the most recent legislative session, she co-sponsored a new law that
requires
Medicare supplement policies in the state to be offered to all patients who
are eligible for Medicare by reason of disability, including end-stage renal
disease (ESRD), regardless of age. She also co-sponsored the repealing of a law
that allows employers
to pay workers with disabilities below the minimum wage.
In 2017, she introduced an education-quality law that requires accreditation by
a Regional Accrediting Agency recognized by the United States Department of
Education for distance learning institutions to transact business or grant
degrees in Rhode Island.
In 2016, Representative Messier sponsored legislation that requires a public
hearing for all insurers or health maintenance organizations who propose rate
increases for health or dental insurance coverage in the individual market. The
law created a uniform rate review procedure for proposed rate changes.
In 2014, enacted legislation she cosponsored provides courses of study regarding
child abduction, sexual exploitation and abuse for young. She has also been a
strong proponent of several laws which work to protect and support the rights of
veterans, including a bill to establish veteran-friendly educational programs in
order to allow service personnel returning from a combat tour to achieve
educational attainment in an accelerated manner.
Her legislation obtained tax-exempt status to assist both the Pawtucket Youth
Soccer Association and the Boys & Girls Club of Pawtucket. She also sponsored a
bill creating an annual Ben Mondor Day, honoring the late Pawtucket Red
Sox owner and the team.
Representative Messier serves Ward 3 on the Pawtucket City Committee. She also
serves on the board for the Boys & Girls Club of Pawtucket. She has been
involved with the Pawtucket St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee for more than
three decades, and served as a past Grand Marshal of the parade. She is a board
member of the Jeanne Jugan Residence-Little Sisters of the Poor in Pawtucket.
A retired elementary school teacher in Cumberland, Representative Messier holds
a master’s degree in education from Rhode Island College. She earned her
Bachelor of Arts degree at Roger Williams University and is a graduate of Tolman
High School in Pawtucket.
Born on June 27, 1952, the representative has two sons, Ryan and Seth, and
one grandchild, Kiley Messier.