Earl A. Read III
Democratic · RI · Rhode Island State Representative, District 26
Democratic state representative since 2024, a criminal justice instructor, and a retired Warwick police detective lieutenant. He sponsored a 2025 overhaul of the state public records law and a House commission to study Pawtuxet River flooding.
Where Earl A. Read III stands, based on their records
Supports
AI Regulation (1 record), Government Efficiency (1 record), Immigration (1 record),
Opposes
Anti-Corruption (1 record), Cost of Living Reduction (2 records)
Mixed record
Environment and Public Health (3 support · 1 oppose), Criminal Justice and Civil Liberties (2 support · 1 oppose)
Track record
Track record — AI Regulation
AI Regulation · 1 support
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
Track record — Environment and Public Health
Environment and Public Health · 3 support · 1 oppose
Sponsored a law, signed on June 18, 2026, requiring middle and high school ID cards to list crisis phone numbers for suicide prevention and substance use help.
June 18, 2026Supports Environment and Public Health
Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov
Voted for a law requiring buildings of 25,000 square feet or more to report their energy use, with the state publishing the results. It passed the House 52-16.
June 11, 2026Supports Environment and Public Health
Source: votes.rilegislature.gov
Voted against a bill requiring large buildings to report their energy use, with the state publishing the results. It passed the House 48-20.
June 20, 2025Opposes Environment and Public Health
Source: votes.rilegislature.gov
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
Track record — Anti-Corruption
Anti-Corruption · 1 oppose
Introduced a bill requiring people who ask for public records to give enough information to verify who they are, with no anonymous requests allowed. A House committee held it for further study.
February 27, 2026Opposes Anti-Corruption
Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov
Track record — Government Efficiency
Government Efficiency · 1 support
Sponsored a law, signed on June 24, 2025, that overhauled how Rhode Island keeps public records. It named a records administrator, set rules for how long records are kept, and sends records to the state archives after 20 years.
June 24, 2025Supports Government Efficiency
Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov
Track record — Cost of Living Reduction
Cost of Living Reduction · 2 oppose
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
Track record — Immigration
Immigration · 1 support
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
Track record — Public Safety and Crime Control
Public Safety and Crime Control · 5 support
Sponsored a law, signed on June 22, 2026, making it a crime for a person held by the Department of Corrections to use force or a weapon to resist a lawful order.
June 22, 2026Supports Public Safety and Crime Control
Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov
Sponsored a law, signed on June 19, 2026, having the Division of Motor Vehicles tell local fire departments where electric and hybrid cars are registered, to help firefighters with battery fires.
June 19, 2026Supports Public Safety and Crime Control
Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov
Sponsored a law, signed on June 18, 2026, making it a felony to take or try to take a gun, other weapon or radio from a police officer or attorney general investigator.
June 18, 2026Supports 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
Introduced a bill treating state caseworkers and investigators as public officials under the law that makes threatening a public official a crime. A House committee held it for further study.
January 16, 2025Supports Public Safety and Crime Control
Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov
Track record — Criminal Justice and Civil Liberties
Criminal Justice and Civil Liberties · 2 support · 1 oppose
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 against requiring yearly outside studies and statewide reports on racial differences in police traffic stops and searches. It passed the House 50-17.
June 20, 2025Opposes Criminal Justice and Civil Liberties
Source: votes.rilegislature.gov
Track record — Housing Affordability
Housing Affordability · 1 support
Voted to stop towns from using zoning to treat certified addiction recovery homes worse than other houses on the street. It passed the House 53-15.
June 11, 2026Supports Housing Affordability
Source: legiscan.com
Track record — Social Programs and Welfare
Social Programs and Welfare · 1 support
Introduced a bill creating a state pilot program that pays homeless people for community cleanup work and connects them to support services. A House committee held it for further study.
March 3, 2026Supports Social Programs and Welfare
Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov
Track record — Public Education Quality
Public Education Quality · 1 support
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
Track record — Data Privacy
Data Privacy · 2 support
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
Introduced a bill keeping police reports and railroad worker communications about railroad deaths from being made public, with a misdemeanor for violations. A House committee held it for further study.
March 13, 2026Supports Data Privacy
Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov
Track record — Civil Rights
Civil Rights · 1 support
Voted to stop towns from using zoning to treat certified addiction recovery homes worse than other houses on the street. It passed the House 53-15.
June 11, 2026Supports Civil Rights
Source: legiscan.com
Track record — Public Infrastructure
Public Infrastructure · 2 support
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
Introduced a bill requiring Rhode Island water suppliers to assess their risk from natural hazards such as flooding and prepare a response plan. A House committee held it for further study.
February 28, 2025Supports Public Infrastructure
Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov
Track record — General
General · 11 records
Sponsored a law, signed on June 19, 2026, adding a member from the state school resource officer association to Rhode Island's school safety committee. The bill was narrowed from a broader school security plan.
June 19, 2026
Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov
Sponsored a law, signed on June 19, 2026, creating an adaptive vehicle license plate for people with serious mobility impairments.
June 19, 2026
Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov
Sponsored a law, signed on June 10, 2026, requiring police officers and firefighters hurt while off duty to show they had good reason to believe there was an emergency before getting injury benefits.
June 10, 2026
Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov
Introduced a bill barring towns and water agencies from charging existing farms for water line extensions past their land or for hookup fees. A House committee held it for further study.
February 27, 2026
Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov
Introduced a bill setting rules for when teachers can remove disruptive students from a classroom, with protections for students and teachers. A House committee held it for further study.
February 6, 2026
Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov
Sponsored a law, signed on July 2, 2025, that lets schools and teachers give students a brief moment of silence every September 11.
July 2, 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
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 House 40-24.
May 29, 2025
Source: legiscan.com
Introduced a resolution creating an 11-member House commission to study flooding of the Pawtuxet River and suggest fixes. The House passed an amended version in May 2025.
February 28, 2025
Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov
Won election to the Rhode Island House for District 26 on November 5, 2024, taking a seat Republican Patricia Morgan had held. He got 3,417 votes to 2,438 for Republican Jeffrey Fisher and 806 for independent Vincent Marzullo.
November 5, 2024
Source: ricentral.com
Past race Earl A. Read III ran in:
- Representative in General Assembly · November 3, 2026 · State House District 26; Rhode Island · incumbent