Representative José
F. Batista
Member, House Judiciary Committee
Member, House Oversight Committee
Member, House Municipal Government and Housing Committee
José F. Batista (D) was first elected on
November 3, 2020 to represent the people of District 12 in Providence's
South Side and Washington Park neighborhoods. He serves as a member of the
House Judiciary Committee, the House Municipal Government & Housing
Committee, and the House Oversight Committee.
Representative Batista
has been a leader in advocating for criminal justice reform. He has
introduced landmark legislation to fundamentally reform
the criminal justice system in Rhode Island, including bills to reform
policing, shift the focus of drug laws from criminalization to treatment,
and begin to undo policies that have helped cause the current and national
mass incarceration crisis. In his first term, Representative Batista
sponsored Rhode Island's law establishing a statewide program for police
body cameras. In 2023, he introduced successful legislation that made
those on parole, probation or serving a suspended sentence eligible
for jury service.
His work also includes efforts for economic and
environmental justice, as well as fair, safe and affordable housing. He was
the sponsor of a law that helps ensure workers in the construction industry
have access to paid
sick time, and has sponsored laws to help address the state's housing
crisis, streamlining appeals of comprehensive
permits for affordable housing and encouraging the redevelopment of
abandoned properties into
affordable housing. Representative Batista has consistently called for
bad actors along the Providence waterfront to be held accountable and joined
neighbors and advocates to work for a cleaner shoreline for the residents of
South Providence and Washington Park.
Born April 15, 1988, and a
life-long resident of South Providence, Representative Batista is the oldest
of six children of immigrants from the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico.
He attended Providence Public Schools from K-12 and graduated from Classical
High School in 2006, Bryant University in 2011, and Roger Williams
University School of Law in 2014. He has served as an adjunct professor at
Bryant University since 2019 and at RWU Law since 2022.
Representative
Batista began his legal career at the Rhode Island Public Defender, where he
represented thousands of indigent Rhode Islanders. His experience as a
public defender inspired him to open a solo law practice in South Providence
in 2016, where he continues to practice today and specializes in providing
bilingual legal representation to members of his community. He formerly
served as assistant city solicitor for the City of Central Falls, where he
led the Nuisance Property Task Force, which is dedicated to crafting
community-oriented solutions for nuisance properties.
Representative
Batista graduated as a member of the Rho II class of Leadership Rhode Island
in 2021.