William W. O'Brien

Voted to require doctors and hospitals to tell patients when artificial intelligence is used to write up their visit. It passed the House 51-14.

June 11, 2026Supports AI Regulation

Source: legiscan.com

Voted to replace the 10-member coastal council with a 7-member board whose members must have environmental expertise. It passed the House 52-19.

June 20, 2025Supports Environment and Public Health

Source: legiscan.com

Sponsored a law, signed on June 6, 2025, that requires full-time lifeguards and park and forest rangers at public beaches and parks to be trained to give overdose-reversal drugs such as Narcan.

June 6, 2025Supports Environment and Public Health

Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov

Voted to make kratom legal to sell to adults 21 and over, with labeling rules and a ban on mixing it with harmful substances. It passed the House 40-24.

May 29, 2025Supports Environment and Public Health

Source: legiscan.com

Sponsored a law, signed on June 24, 2023, that created a program to replace lead water service lines and requires landlords and sellers to tell tenants and buyers about lead pipes.

June 24, 2023Supports Environment and Public Health

Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov

Voted for requiring that all of Rhode Island's electricity come from renewable sources by 2033. It passed the House 56-13.

June 14, 2022Supports Environment and Public Health

Source: votes.rilegislature.gov

Voted for banning new high-heat waste processing plants in certain environmentally sensitive areas. It passed the House 44-22.

June 30, 2021Supports Environment and Public Health

Source: votes.rilegislature.gov

Voted for the 2021 Act on Climate, which made the state's greenhouse gas reduction targets mandatory. It passed the House 53-22.

March 23, 2021Supports Environment and Public Health

Source: votes.rilegislature.gov

Sponsored a law, signed on July 15, 2019, that requires school health classes to teach students that mixing opioids and alcohol can cause accidental death.

July 15, 2019Supports Environment and Public Health

Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov

Sponsored a law, signed on July 2, 2018, that requires public school health classes to include drug abuse prevention and suicide prevention.

July 2, 2018Supports Environment and Public Health

Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov

Sponsored a law, signed on July 1, 2014, that lets fishing and hunting license fees pay to buy, care for and develop land for fish and wildlife.

July 1, 2014Supports Environment and Public Health

Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov

Sponsored a law, signed on May 27, 2014, that required doctors who prescribe controlled drugs to register with the state's prescription drug monitoring database and let trained staff check it for them.

May 27, 2014Supports Environment and Public Health

Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov

Voted to ban selling electronic cigarettes and other vapor products to people under 18. It passed the House 40-29.

July 1, 2013Supports Environment and Public Health

Source: votes.rilegislature.gov

Voted against raising Rhode Island's minimum wage from $11.50 to $15 an hour over four years. It passed the House 58-16.

May 6, 2021Opposes Reduce Wealth Gap

Source: votes.rilegislature.gov

Voted to raise the minimum wage for tipped workers to $3.39 an hour in 2016 and $3.89 in 2017. It passed the House 56-16.

June 23, 2015Supports Reduce Wealth Gap

Source: votes.rilegislature.gov

Voted to raise the state minimum wage to $9 an hour in 2015. It passed the House 63-10.

June 18, 2014Supports Reduce Wealth Gap

Source: votes.rilegislature.gov

Voted for covering domestic workers in private homes under the state minimum wage law. It passed the House 56-12.

May 4, 2023Supports Labor Rights

Source: votes.rilegislature.gov

Voted against raising Rhode Island's minimum wage from $11.50 to $15 an hour over four years. It passed the House 58-16.

May 6, 2021Opposes Labor Rights

Source: votes.rilegislature.gov

Voted to require employers with 18 or more workers to give paid sick days, rising to five days a year. It passed the House 56-14.

June 29, 2017Supports Labor Rights

Source: votes.rilegislature.gov

Voted to raise the minimum wage for tipped workers to $3.39 an hour in 2016 and $3.89 in 2017. It passed the House 56-16.

June 23, 2015Supports Labor Rights

Source: votes.rilegislature.gov

Voted to raise the state minimum wage to $9 an hour in 2015. It passed the House 63-10.

June 18, 2014Supports Labor Rights

Source: votes.rilegislature.gov

Voted to create paid caregiver leave through the state's temporary disability insurance, for workers caring for a seriously ill family member or bonding with a new child. It passed the House 49-18.

July 2, 2013Supports Labor Rights

Source: votes.rilegislature.gov

Sponsored a law, signed on June 22, 2023, that cut the training hours needed for a hairdresser or cosmetician license from 1,200 to 1,000.

June 22, 2023Supports Government Efficiency

Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov

Sponsored a law, signed on July 2, 2018, that requires state reviews of hospital sales and conversions to keep a word-for-word stenographic record of the hearings.

July 2, 2018Supports Government Efficiency

Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov

Sponsored a law, signed on July 6, 2016, that removed outdated and unneeded rules from the licensing of accountants.

July 6, 2016Supports Government Efficiency

Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov

Sponsored a law, signed on July 17, 2013, that created a council of local officials to plan a statewide online process for reviewing building plans and permits.

July 17, 2013Supports Government Efficiency

Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov

Sponsored a law, signed on July 15, 2013, that requires the state Office of Regulatory Reform to estimate the total effect of rule changes on Rhode Island businesses in its reports.

July 15, 2013Supports Government Efficiency

Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov

Voted to bury part of a high-voltage power line in Providence and East Providence. Electric customers in those two cities pay the extra cost through their bills. It passed the House 52-18.

June 10, 2025Opposes Cost of Living Reduction

Source: legiscan.com

Voted to let Providence raise its property tax levy by up to 8 percent in one year, above the usual state cap. It passed the House 56-17.

May 27, 2025Opposes Cost of Living Reduction

Source: legiscan.com

Voted to bar civil arrests at Rhode Island courthouses without a judge's warrant, which protects people going to court from immigration arrest. It passed the House 56-16.

June 10, 2026Supports Immigration

Source: legiscan.com

Voted to let residents who cannot prove legal immigration status get a state ID card, which cannot be used for voting. It passed the House 59-14.

June 14, 2023Supports Immigration

Source: votes.rilegislature.gov

Sponsored a law, which took effect without the governor's signature on June 26, 2020, that raised the North Providence mayor's pay from $75,000 to $105,000 over three years.

June 26, 2020Opposes Government Spending Reduction

Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov

Sponsored a law, signed on July 5, 2017, that directed $5 million to the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority, the state bus agency, between July 2017 and June 2019.

July 5, 2017Opposes Government Spending Reduction

Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov

Sponsored a law, signed on June 27, 2025, that raised the prison term for a repeat animal fighting conviction from two years to five and added required community service.

June 27, 2025Supports Public Safety and Crime Control

Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov

Voted to require police to send guns used in crimes for ballistic testing and enter the results in the national tracing database. It passed the House 49-21.

June 10, 2025Supports Public Safety and Crime Control

Source: legiscan.com

Voted for a bill adding five driving violations to the state's definition of aggressive driving, which he co-sponsored. It passed the House 41-21.

April 24, 2025Supports Public Safety and Crime Control

Source: votes.rilegislature.gov

Sponsored a law, signed on July 14, 2021, that ends all parental rights of a person convicted of a sexual assault that led to the birth of a child.

July 14, 2021Supports Public Safety and Crime Control

Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov

Sponsored a law, signed on June 28, 2019, that lets family court protective orders in domestic abuse cases also protect household pets.

June 28, 2019Supports Public Safety and Crime Control

Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov

Sponsored a law, signed on July 2, 2018, that requires staff of educational programs to report all sexual abuse reports to their leaders, who must notify the state child welfare agency and the superintendent.

July 2, 2018Supports Public Safety and Crime Control

Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov

Voted to create a new crime for selling drugs that cause a death. It passed the House 54-15.

June 20, 2018Supports Public Safety and Crime Control

Source: votes.rilegislature.gov

Sponsored a law, signed on July 12, 2016, that raised the maximum prison term for maliciously injuring or killing an animal from two years to five and raised required community service from 10 to 50 hours.

July 12, 2016Supports Public Safety and Crime Control

Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov

Voted for letting the state and towns use cameras to ticket speeding drivers in school zones. It passed the House 54-16.

June 14, 2016Supports Public Safety and Crime Control

Source: votes.rilegislature.gov

Voted to bar civil arrests at Rhode Island courthouses without a judge's warrant, which protects people going to court from immigration arrest. It passed the House 56-16.

June 10, 2026Supports Criminal Justice and Civil Liberties

Source: legiscan.com

Voted to let people with more than one non-violent felony clear their records after 15 years without a new arrest. It passed the House 56-14.

June 9, 2026Supports Criminal Justice and Civil Liberties

Source: legiscan.com

Voted for requiring yearly outside studies and statewide reports on racial differences in police traffic stops and searches. It passed the House 50-17.

June 20, 2025Supports Criminal Justice and Civil Liberties

Source: votes.rilegislature.gov

Voted for letting people with one felony and one misdemeanor clear the felony from their record after a waiting period, excluding violent crimes. It passed the House 54-19.

June 13, 2024Supports Criminal Justice and Civil Liberties

Source: votes.rilegislature.gov

Voted to stop towns from using zoning to limit unrelated people living together below one person per bedroom. It passed the House 49-22.

June 15, 2023Supports Housing Affordability

Source: votes.rilegislature.gov

Sponsored a law, which took effect without the governor's signature on July 10, 2021, that bars cities and towns from raising a home's tax value just because it sold, outside their normal revaluation schedule.

July 10, 2021Supports Housing Affordability

Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov

Voted to keep Rhode Island out of the new federal private-school voucher tax credit unless the legislature and governor both approve joining. It passed the House 55-14.

June 10, 2026Supports Public Education Quality

Source: legiscan.com

Sponsored a law, signed on June 26, 2025, that extended until July 1, 2026 the rule letting retired teachers work as substitutes for up to 180 days a year.

June 26, 2025Supports Public Education Quality

Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov

Sponsored a law, signed on March 22, 2023, that let retired teachers and staff work past the 90-day limit as substitutes under certain conditions, to ease the teacher shortage.

March 22, 2023Supports Public Education Quality

Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov

Sponsored the Right to Read Act, signed on July 8, 2019, which requires certain teachers to be skilled in science-based methods of teaching reading.

July 8, 2019Supports Public Education Quality

Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov

Sponsored a law, signed on July 2, 2018, that requires public school health classes to include drug abuse prevention and suicide prevention.

July 2, 2018Supports Public Education Quality

Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov

Sponsored a law, signed on July 13, 2016, that made school attendance required for all children enrolled in kindergarten.

July 13, 2016Supports Public Education Quality

Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov

Sponsored a law, signed on June 29, 2016, that made help for students with dyslexia a required part of elementary school reading programs.

June 29, 2016Supports Public Education Quality

Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov

Sponsored a law, signed on July 11, 2013, that required a statewide dual enrollment policy so high school students can take college courses that count for both high school and college credit.

July 11, 2013Supports Public Education Quality

Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov

Voted against banning buying a gun for someone who is not allowed to have one and raising penalties for lying on gun purchase forms. It passed the House 46-27.

June 30, 2021Opposes Gun Control

Source: votes.rilegislature.gov

Voted against banning guns on school grounds, except for police and school security. It passed the House 44-28.

June 30, 2021Opposes Gun Control

Source: votes.rilegislature.gov

Voted to take guns away from people under certain domestic violence restraining orders. It passed the House 56-13.

June 26, 2017Supports Gun Control

Source: votes.rilegislature.gov

Voted for a bill setting deadlines for reviewing concealed gun carry permit applications and letting applicants appeal denials in court. It passed the House 60-12.

June 17, 2016Opposes Gun Control

Source: votes.rilegislature.gov

Voted for shielding Rhode Island health care providers from lawsuits and prosecution by other states over reproductive and gender-affirming care. It passed the House 50-15.

June 11, 2024Supports Women's Reproductive Rights

Source: votes.rilegislature.gov

Voted against covering abortion in Medicaid and state employee health plans. It passed the House 49-24.

April 27, 2023Opposes Women's Reproductive Rights

Source: votes.rilegislature.gov

Voted against final passage of the Reproductive Privacy Act, which wrote abortion rights under Roe v. Wade into state law. It passed the House 45-29.

June 19, 2019Opposes Women's Reproductive Rights

Source: votes.rilegislature.gov

Voted to require doctors and hospitals to tell patients when artificial intelligence is used to write up their visit. It passed the House 51-14.

June 11, 2026Supports Data Privacy

Source: legiscan.com

Sponsored a law, signed on March 31, 2026, that let voters with disabilities and military voters keep using ballots sent and returned electronically, as first allowed in 2022.

March 31, 2026Supports Civil Rights

Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov

Voted for shielding Rhode Island health care providers from lawsuits and prosecution by other states over reproductive and gender-affirming care. It passed the House 50-15.

June 11, 2024Supports Civil Rights

Source: votes.rilegislature.gov

Sponsored a law, signed on June 27, 2022, that lets voters with disabilities and military voters receive and return ballots electronically.

June 27, 2022Supports Civil Rights

Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov

Voted for the Let RI Vote Act, which allowed mail voting without an excuse and dropped the witness or notary rule for mail ballots. It passed the House 53-13.

May 17, 2022Supports Civil Rights

Source: votes.rilegislature.gov

Voted for the final bill legalizing same-sex marriage in Rhode Island. It passed the House 56-15.

May 2, 2013Supports Civil Rights

Source: votes.rilegislature.gov

Sponsored a law, which took effect without the governor's signature on July 5, 2025, that bars insurers from declaring a car a total loss when repairs cost less than 75 to 80 percent of its market value.

July 5, 2025Supports Corporate Accountability

Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov

Sponsored a law, signed on June 26, 2023, that set up an appraisal process when an insurer and a car owner cannot agree on the cost of damage, and added unfair practices by insurers and appraisers.

June 26, 2023Supports Corporate Accountability

Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov

Sponsored a law requiring auto insurers to pay standard auto body shop charges, including markup and outside services. Governor McKee vetoed it, and lawmakers overrode the veto on January 4, 2022.

January 4, 2022Supports Corporate Accountability

Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov

Co-sponsored a law, signed on June 23, 2025, that lets the state join regional bids for power lines bringing nuclear and hydroelectric power to New England.

June 23, 2025Supports Public Infrastructure

Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov

Voted to bury part of a high-voltage power line in Providence and East Providence. Electric customers in those two cities pay the extra cost through their bills. It passed the House 52-18.

June 10, 2025Supports Public Infrastructure

Source: legiscan.com

Sponsored a law, signed on June 24, 2023, that created a program to replace lead water service lines and requires landlords and sellers to tell tenants and buyers about lead pipes.

June 24, 2023Supports Public Infrastructure

Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov

Sponsored a law, signed on July 5, 2017, that directed $5 million to the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority, the state bus agency, between July 2017 and June 2019.

July 5, 2017Supports Public Infrastructure

Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov

Voted for tolls on large commercial trucks, with passenger cars barred from tolls, to pay for bridge repairs. It passed the House 52-21.

February 10, 2016Supports Public Infrastructure

Source: votes.rilegislature.gov

Voted to let candidates spend campaign money on home or office security systems and monitoring. It passed the House 50-20.

June 10, 2026

Source: votes.rilegislature.gov

Voted for a bill creating an online portal for candidates to file nomination papers, starting in 2027. It passed the House 47-20.

April 30, 2026

Source: votes.rilegislature.gov

Sponsored a law, which took effect without the governor's signature on June 26, 2025, that banned declawing cats except for medical reasons.

June 26, 2025

Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov

Voted against banning the sale, manufacture and purchase of assault-style firearms in Rhode Island. It passed the House 44-28.

June 20, 2025

Source: legiscan.com

Voted against keeping Rhode Island's supervised drug-use centers open two more years, to March 2028. It passed the House 51-16.

May 29, 2025

Source: legiscan.com

Won re-election to the House for District 54 in North Providence on November 5, 2024, without an opponent on the ballot, with 5,325 votes.

November 5, 2024

Source: ri.gov

Sponsored a law, signed on June 12, 2024, that raised the fine for breaking dog care rules to between $100 and $1,000 per violation.

June 12, 2024

Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov

Voted for the House overhaul of the Law Enforcement Officers' Bill of Rights, which set a new hearing panel for police discipline. It passed the House 58-14.

May 9, 2024

Source: votes.rilegislature.gov

Voted for legalizing online casino gambling (iGaming) in Rhode Island. It passed the House 59-11.

June 15, 2023

Source: votes.rilegislature.gov

Voted for raising the campaign contribution limit for individuals and political action committees to $2,000 a year and changing other reporting rules. It passed the House 41-29.

June 12, 2023

Source: votes.rilegislature.gov

Sponsored a law, which took effect without the governor's signature on July 2, 2022, that gave teachers two more years, until the 2025-2026 school year, to show skill in science-based reading instruction.

July 2, 2022

Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov

Sponsored a law, signed on June 30, 2022, that makes owners of animals seized by the Rhode Island SPCA pay for their care or give up the animals.

June 30, 2022

Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov

Sponsored the Consumer Protection in Eye Care Act, signed on June 29, 2022, which set standards and enforcement rules for eye exams, including those done online.

June 29, 2022

Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov

Sponsored a law, signed on June 20, 2022, that makes gamblers who signed up to be barred from casinos forfeit any winnings.

June 20, 2022

Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov

Voted to legalize recreational marijuana for adults 21 and older and set up a state commission to regulate sales. It passed the House 55-16.

May 24, 2022

Source: votes.rilegislature.gov

Voted for a two-year pilot of harm reduction centers, where people can use drugs they already have under medical supervision. It passed the House 63-9.

June 29, 2021

Source: votes.rilegislature.gov

Was named one of the House deputy majority leaders in Speaker Joe Shekarchi's leadership team in January 2021, and a member of the Finance and Corporations committees.

January 30, 2021

Source: golocalprov.com

Sponsored a law, signed on July 2, 2018, that requires people caring for an animal to report cruelty to it.

July 2, 2018

Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov

Sponsored a law, signed on September 28, 2017, that lets animal shelters put a stray animal up for adoption after 10 days if it has a tag, or after five days if it does not.

September 28, 2017

Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov

Sponsored a law, which took effect without the governor's signature on July 16, 2016, that updated licensing and training rules for barbers, hairdressers, manicurists and estheticians.

July 16, 2016

Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov

Sponsored a law, which took effect without the governor's signature on July 16, 2016, that raised the standard of care for animals in pet stores and stray animal shelters and raised penalties for mistreating them.

July 16, 2016

Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov