Samuel David Zurier
Democratic · RI · Rhode Island State Senator, District 3
Democratic state senator for Providence and civil litigation attorney. A former Providence City Council and School Board member and Rhodes Scholar, he has made education a central focus.
Where Samuel David Zurier stands, based on their records
Supports
Environment and Public Health (4 records), Labor Rights (1 record), Anti-Corruption (1 record),
Opposes
Cost of Living Reduction (2 records)
Track record
Track record — Environment and Public Health
Environment and Public Health · 4 support
Voted to ban plants that burn or chemically break down waste and plastics into fuel at the Quonset industrial park until June 2027. It passed the Senate 29-9.
June 10, 2026Supports Environment and Public Health
Source: legiscan.com
Won Senate approval for his resolution creating a commission to track progress on the Act on Climate. That law requires Rhode Island to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.
May 15, 2025Supports Environment and Public Health
Source: rilegislature.gov
Voted to keep Rhode Island's supervised drug-use centers open two more years, to March 2028. The centers are meant to prevent overdose deaths. It passed the Senate 27-7.
May 13, 2025Supports Environment and Public Health
Source: legiscan.com
Sponsored a 2024 law letting Rhode Island medical researchers share anonymized patient data the way federal law allows. Supporters said the old state rule shut local cancer researchers out of national studies.
June 24, 2024Supports Environment and Public Health
Source: rilegislature.gov
Track record — Labor Rights
Labor Rights · 1 support
Voted to treat a police officer's heart disease, stroke or high blood pressure as a job-related disability, as firefighters are already treated. It passed the Senate 29-8.
May 15, 2025Supports Labor Rights
Source: legiscan.com
Track record — Anti-Corruption
Anti-Corruption · 1 support
Sponsored a 2023 law requiring school districts, cities, and towns to report each year how they spent federal COVID relief money. The reports are posted on state websites.
June 26, 2023Supports Anti-Corruption
Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov
Track record — Government Efficiency
Government Efficiency · 2 support
Won Senate approval for his bill changing how judges are picked. Candidates rated highly qualified for a court would stay eligible for that court's openings for five years.
June 3, 2026Supports Government Efficiency
Source: rilegislature.gov
Introduced bills to raise RIPTA's share of state highway maintenance money from 10% to 20%, and to order an efficiency audit of the state transportation department.
January 27, 2026Supports Government Efficiency
Source: rilegislature.gov
Track record — Cost of Living Reduction
Cost of Living Reduction · 2 oppose
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 Senate 28-7.
June 20, 2025Opposes Cost of Living Reduction
Source: legiscan.com
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 Senate 28-9.
June 18, 2025Opposes Cost of Living Reduction
Source: legiscan.com
Track record — Immigration
Immigration · 1 support
Voted to keep federal immigration agents at least 200 feet from any polling place while voting is going on. It passed the Senate 29-8.
June 9, 2026Supports Immigration
Source: legiscan.com
Track record — Criminal Justice and Civil Liberties
Criminal Justice and Civil Liberties · 1 support
Voted yes on the Rhode Island Cannabis Act (2022-S 2430 Sub A), which legalized recreational cannabis for adults. The Senate passed it 32-6.
May 24, 2022Supports Criminal Justice and Civil Liberties
Source: rilegislature.gov
Track record — Housing Affordability
Housing Affordability · 5 support
Voted to make towns answer a written zoning question within 20 days instead of 15, and to let the applicant appeal that answer. It passed the Senate 28-7.
June 21, 2025Supports Housing Affordability
Source: legiscan.com
Voted to require town zoning rules to allow attached single-family homes, such as townhouses, in designated districts. It passed the Senate 23-12.
June 20, 2025Supports Housing Affordability
Source: legiscan.com
Voted to define co-living housing, where residents rent a private room and share a kitchen or bath, and let towns allow it. It passed the Senate 25-10.
June 20, 2025Supports Housing Affordability
Source: legiscan.com
Voted to require town zoning rules to allow homes in commercial districts, including apartments above shops. It passed the Senate 25-10.
June 20, 2025Supports Housing Affordability
Source: legiscan.com
Voted to require town zoning rules to allow housing other than detached single-family homes in sewered areas inside the urban services boundary. It passed the Senate 23-12.
June 20, 2025Supports Housing Affordability
Source: legiscan.com
Track record — Public Education Quality
Public Education Quality · 1 support
Won General Assembly approval for his bill adding oversight to the state takeover of Providence schools. It required yearly performance goals, gave the Providence School Board an advisory role, and limited the takeover to five years unless renewed.
June 23, 2022Supports Public Education Quality
Source: rilegislature.gov
Track record — Gun Control
Gun Control · 1 support
Voted to ban the sale, manufacture and purchase of assault-style firearms in Rhode Island starting July 2026. It passed the Senate 25-11.
June 20, 2025Supports Gun Control
Source: legiscan.com
Track record — Election Integrity
Election Integrity · 1 support
Voted to keep federal immigration agents at least 200 feet from any polling place while voting is going on. It passed the Senate 29-8.
June 9, 2026Supports Election Integrity
Source: legiscan.com
Track record — Data Privacy
Data Privacy · 1 support
Sponsored the Genetic Information Privacy Act, signed in 2026. Genetic testing companies must get express consent for how they use customers' DNA data and must protect it.
June 19, 2026Supports Data Privacy
Source: rilegislature.gov
Track record — Corporate Accountability
Corporate Accountability · 1 support
Sponsored the Genetic Information Privacy Act, signed in 2026. Genetic testing companies must get express consent for how they use customers' DNA data and must protect it.
June 19, 2026Supports Corporate Accountability
Source: rilegislature.gov
Track record — Public Infrastructure
Public Infrastructure · 6 support
Sponsored a 2026 law creating the Crook Point Bridge Authority to take over and save Providence's old railroad drawbridge from demolition.
June 5, 2026Supports Public Infrastructure
Source: rilegislature.gov
Introduced bills to raise RIPTA's share of state highway maintenance money from 10% to 20%, and to order an efficiency audit of the state transportation department.
January 27, 2026Supports Public Infrastructure
Source: rilegislature.gov
Sponsored a 2025 law to bury high-voltage power lines between India Point Park and Bold Point Park. Most costs come from an old utility settlement; Providence ratepayers pay an extra $77 over three years.
June 26, 2025Supports Public Infrastructure
Source: 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 Senate 28-9.
June 18, 2025Supports Public Infrastructure
Source: legiscan.com
Voted to let Rhode Island's electric utility buy nuclear power and sign long-term contracts for it. It passed the Senate 23-14.
June 18, 2025Supports Public Infrastructure
Source: legiscan.com
Introduced bills to give the state bus agency (RIPTA) a larger, inflation-proof share of gas tax money. One bill raised RIPTA's share to 30% of the gas tax.
January 30, 2025Supports Public Infrastructure
Source: rilegislature.gov
Track record — General
General · 6 records
Voted against making it a crime for a prisoner to use force or a weapon to resist a lawful order from a corrections officer. It passed the Senate 25-13.
June 11, 2026
Source: legiscan.com
Voted against making kratom legal to sell to adults 21 and over under labeling rules. Opponents wanted the product kept off the shelf. It passed the Senate 23-10.
June 21, 2025
Source: legiscan.com
Voted against replacing the 10-member coastal council with a 7-member board of environmental experts. It passed the Senate 25-10.
June 20, 2025
Source: legiscan.com
Voted against requiring that cosmetic procedures at medical spas be done by a doctor or by supervised staff. It passed the Senate 28-9.
June 17, 2025
Source: legiscan.com
Chaired a Senate commission on voting methods other than plurality, like runoffs and ranked-choice voting. The commission released its final report and recommendations.
December 19, 2023
Source: rilegislature.gov
Sponsored a 2023 law that moved Rhode Island's 2024 presidential primary to April 2 so it did not fall on Passover.
June 19, 2023
Source: rilegislature.gov
Past race Samuel David Zurier ran in:
- Senator in General Assembly · November 3, 2026 · State Senate District 3; Rhode Island · incumbent