Representative David Morales
Member, Labor Committee
Member, Innovation and Technology Committee
Member, House Municipal Government and Housing Committee
Representative David Morales was first elected in 2020 to serve the people
of District 7 in Providence's Mount Pleasant, Valley, and Elmhurst
neighborhoods. He is a member of the House Labor Committee, the House
Innovation and Technology Committee, and the House Municipal
Government and Housing Committee. He was elected co-chair of the Rhode Island Black, Latino, Indigenous, Asian-American and Pacific Islander (RIBLIA) Caucus in 2025.
In the 2024 session, Representative Morales sponsored a law that extends the winter utility shut-off moratorium to one of the longest in the country, and cosponsored laws increasing paid time off for workers, expanding the notice period residential landlords must provide their tenants before increasing rent and increasing the benefits for low-income children and their families enrolled in the Rhode Island Works program.
In the 2023 session, Representative
Morales sponsored a new law
capping the cost of specialty medications at $150 for a 30-day supply.
These medications, used for treatment of cancer and other serious
conditions, could previously cost patients as much as $2,500 per month. He
also sponsored a law, part of
a package of bills, to help prevent childhood lead poisoning by allowing
tenants exposed to lead hazards to deposit their rent into a state
authorized escrow account until sufficient repairs are made to their rental
unit. During the budget process, Representative Morales helped secure
funding for the
Rhode Island Community Food Bank, the state's public libraries, and
public education, including significant increases for multilingual learners,
special education students and high-poverty districts.
Throughout his
time in the legislature, Representative Morales has sponsored laws banning tip
theft; prohibiting employers from reporting, or threatening to report,
an employee's immigration status for whistle
blowing; and banning insurers from charging copayments
for COVID-19 treatment and vaccinations. In 2022, his legislative
proposal to ensure that all lower-income children, regardless of immigration
status, qualify for health insurance under the state's RIte
Track program was incorporated in the state budget. He has also
cosponsored laws that cap the monthly cost
of insulin at $40, classify the act of
wage theft against workers as a felony, reduce plastic
shopping bag use, prohibit housing discrimination based on one's source
of income, legalize and regulate recreational
cannabis, codify
consumer protections in the federal Affordable Care Act (ACA) into state
law,
close loopholes so municipalities like Providence can fairly tax the
commercial property of private universities,
eliminate rental application fees for prospective tenants, prevent
workers from being excluded from receiving overtime
pay on Sundays and holidays, and establish a new 10-year program to
replace all contaminated
lead service lines free of cost for renters and homeowners.
Representative Morales' continued legislative efforts include measures to
protect the rights of workers, prevent people from experiencing utility
shut-offs, encourage multilingual education in public schools, and expand
affordable health care, including legislation to establish a universal single-payer
health care system in Rhode Island.
Born September 16, 1998, he
was raised by a single immigrant mother in the rural town of Soledad, CA,
alongside his older sister. He graduated from Soledad High School in 2016
and two years later he graduated from the University of California Irvine
with a bachelor's in urban studies. In 2019, at age 20, he became the
youngest graduate in the history of the Brown University Public Affairs
master's program.
Representative Morales is a member of the National
Association of Latino Elected Officials (NALEO) and is the youngest Latino
ever elected to a state legislature. Inspired by his socioeconomic
background and lived experience, he is a passionate advocate for public
education, labor rights, and public benefit programs.
Representative Morales works at the Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council as the Director of Community Programs. Outside of his legislative and job responsibilities, Representative Morales competes as a professional wrestler with the Renegade Wrestling Alliance where he is a two-time HYPE Champion. He resides in the Mount Pleasant neighborhood with his cat Mochi.