Representative Tina Spears
Deputy Majority Leader
Member, House Corporations Committee
Member, House Environment and
Natural Resources Committee
Member, House Municipal Government and Housing Committee
Member, House Innovation and Technology Committee
Rep. Tina Spears was elected in 2022 to represent District 36 in
Charlestown, South Kingstown, Westerly, and New Shoreham.
She was chosen as a Deputy Majority Leader in January 2025. She is a member of
the House Corporations Committee, the House Environment and Natural Resources
Committee, the House Municipal Government and Housing Committee, and the House
Innovation and Technology Committee.
During her time in the legislature, Representative Spears has made healthcare and the safety of Rhode Islanders among her top priorities. She sponsored new laws increasing oversight of Pharmacy Benefit Managers, creating safety guidelines governing Artificial Intelligence chatbots and the use of AI in mental healthcare, and launching a commission to study the use and impacts of digital technology on children, public education, and mental health
Many of Representative Spears' efforts to improve healthcare services were included in state budgets, including more than doubling the Medicaid reimbursement rate for ambulance services.
She also sponsored a law establishing a “PURPLE Alert" system to help quickly find missing adults with serious disabilities whose health and safety is at risk.
Representative Spears has also pushed for legislation to make housing more affordable, support public schools, and protect the environment. She successfully sponsored the Act on Coasts to prepare for sea level rise and climate change, a law allowing homebuyers to rely on the zoning information they receive from local officials, and a law to study the creation of a statewide Geographic Information System to better inform development and conservation in Rhode Island.
In 2024, Representative Spears was honored by the Rhode Island Southern Firefighters League as its legislator of year and by the Rhode Island Coalition for Children and Families for her legislative work to promote the success of children and families.
Representative Spears is the Executive Director of the Community Provider Network of Rhode Island, which represents providers who support people with disabilities. She has long been an ardent advocate for families of children with disabilities, having learned from her own experience as the parent of a child with significant health challenges. Prior to her election, she was a frequent presence at the State House, testifying in support of programs that help Rhode Islanders, such as the Temporary Caregiver Insurance program enacted in 2013 to provide paid leave for those who must leave work to provide care for an ill family member.
A resident of Charlestown for almost 30 years, she met her husband Forrest Cochise Spears Jr. when they were both students in Chariho Tech's agriculture program. She was the first in her family to go to college, earning both a bachelor's and master's degree in public administration from the University of Rhode Island. She and her husband are the parents of two sons.