Representative Mary Ann Shallcross Smith
Second Vice Chair, House Veterans' Affairs Committee
Member, House Education Committee
Member, House Oversight Committee
Member, House Small Business Committee
Representative Mary Ann Shallcross Smith (D) was
elected in November 2020 to the seat in House District 46 in Lincoln and
Pawtucket. She previously served the House district in 2009-2010. She is the
second vice chair of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee and is a member
of the House Edcuation Committee, the House Oversight Committee, and the
House Small Business Committee.
During the 2024 session, she
sponsored a law that prohibits debt collectors from reporting
medical debt to credit bureaus. Her
advocacy led to the
creation of a medical debt relief program, administered by the Office
of the General Treasurer, to help Rhode Islanders eliminate medical debt. She
also sponsored a law that provides funding for a
psychiatric resource network for providers treating children and new
parents.
In 2022, she sponsored legislation to help
increase access to social workers and better enable the field to attract
licensees who can meet the language and cultural needs of Rhode Island. She
also introduced legislation to create a
988 suicide prevention hotline, which became law when funding for the
hotline was included in the state budget.
A strong advocate for small
businesses, she sponsored successful legislation in 2021 that gives all
businesses the flexibility to file annual reports with the Secretary of
State between February 1 and May 1 each year.
The owner of Dr. Day
Care Inc., Representative Shallcross Smith previously served on the Lincoln
School Committee. She is a member of the Northern Rhode Island Chamber of
Commerce and a commissioner on the Rhode Island Legislative Commission of
Child Care.
A 1970 graduate of Lincoln High School, she received an
associate's degree in early childhood education and human services in 1982.
She received a bachelor's degree in human services from the University of
Rhode Island in 1985, master's degree in counseling from Rhode Island
College in 1989, and a doctorate in youth studies/leadership from Nova
Southeastern University in Florida in 1995.
Born August 2, 1952, she
resides in Lincoln with her husband, Ronald R. Smith. She has two sons and a
daughter, four grandsons, and four granddaughters.