Robert Britto
Democratic · RI · Rhode Island State Senator, District 18
Robert Britto has represented Rhode Island Senate District 18 since 2022 and chairs the Commerce Committee. He previously led the East Providence City Council and works in design and construction at Rhode Island Housing.
Where Robert Britto stands, based on their records
Supports
Healthcare Affordability (3 records), Environment and Public Health (12 records), Anti-Corruption (1 record),
Opposes
Government Spending Reduction (3 records)
Mixed record
Labor Rights (5 support · 1 oppose), Cost of Living Reduction (1 support · 1 oppose), Corporate Accountability (10 support · 1 oppose)
Track record
Track record — Healthcare Affordability
Healthcare Affordability · 3 support
Sponsored a law, signed on June 22, 2026, placing duties and transparency rules on pharmacy benefit managers, the middlemen who run drug benefits for health plans.
June 22, 2026Supports Healthcare Affordability
Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov
Sponsored a bill barring health care providers from requiring patients to keep a credit card or other electronic payment on file before treating them. It passed the Senate 38-0 on June 4, 2026.
June 4, 2026Supports Healthcare Affordability
Source: votes.rilegislature.gov
Sponsored a bill requiring health plans to count drug copay help paid by third parties toward a patient's out-of-pocket maximum. It passed the Senate 36-0 on March 31, 2026.
March 31, 2026Supports Healthcare Affordability
Source: votes.rilegislature.gov
Track record — Environment and Public Health
Environment and Public Health · 12 support
Sponsored a law, enacted on June 24, 2026, starting feasibility studies of thermal energy networks, which heat and cool buildings through shared underground pipes, with a 12-member advisory task force.
June 24, 2026Supports Environment and Public Health
Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov
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
Introduced the Old Growth Forest Protection Act on March 13, 2026, banning logging in old growth forests on state and town land and clearcutting in any state-owned forest. It never got a vote.
March 13, 2026Supports Environment and Public Health
Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov
Introduced a bill on February 27, 2026, requiring applications for new energy facilities to address how they help or hurt the state's 2021 Act on Climate targets. A committee held it for further study.
February 27, 2026Supports Environment and Public Health
Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov
Sponsored a law, signed on July 2, 2025, letting pharmacists give flu and COVID-19 shots to people over age 3 with a prescription or approved protocol.
July 2, 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 Senate 23-10.
June 21, 2025Supports Environment and Public Health
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 Senate 25-10.
June 20, 2025Supports Environment and Public Health
Source: legiscan.com
Voted to require that cosmetic procedures at medical spas be done by a doctor or by staff a doctor supervises on site. It passed the Senate 28-9.
June 17, 2025Supports Environment and Public Health
Source: legiscan.com
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
Introduced a bill on March 21, 2025, banning wildlife killing contests on public and private land, with fines starting at $500. A committee held it for further study.
March 21, 2025Supports Environment and Public Health
Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov
Voted for a program tracking the energy and water use of large buildings, with energy performance standards. It passed the Senate 31-6.
June 12, 2024Supports Environment and Public Health
Source: votes.rilegislature.gov
Sponsored a bill setting safety and oversight rules for companies and drivers that give non-emergency medical rides to vulnerable patients. It passed the Senate 36-1 on June 12, 2024.
June 12, 2024Supports Environment and Public Health
Source: votes.rilegislature.gov
Track record — Labor Rights
Labor Rights · 5 support · 1 oppose
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
Voted for covering domestic workers in private homes under the state minimum wage law. It passed the Senate 32-5.
June 13, 2024Supports Labor Rights
Source: votes.rilegislature.gov
Voted for raising job-protected parental and family medical leave from 13 to 24 weeks over two years. It passed the Senate 30-6.
March 21, 2024Supports Labor Rights
Source: votes.rilegislature.gov
Sponsored a law, signed on June 22, 2023, extending state labor standards for renewable energy projects to projects of 1 megawatt or more, down from 3 megawatts.
June 22, 2023Supports Labor Rights
Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov
Sponsored a law, signed on June 20, 2023, that changed the state paid sick leave law's definition of employee to leave out apprentices and interns.
June 20, 2023Opposes Labor Rights
Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov
Voted to keep a local police union contract in force until a new contract or an arbitration award is reached. It passed the Senate 28-8.
May 11, 2023Supports Labor Rights
Source: votes.rilegislature.gov
Track record — Anti-Corruption
Anti-Corruption · 1 support
Voted for requiring public officials and employees to list unpaid court judgments for credit card debt over $1,000 on their financial disclosure forms. It passed the Senate 29-7.
June 15, 2023Supports Anti-Corruption
Source: votes.rilegislature.gov
Track record — Government Efficiency
Government Efficiency · 4 support
Sponsored a law, signed on June 18, 2026, allowing the state motor vehicle division to set up electronic car registration and titles.
June 18, 2026Supports Government Efficiency
Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov
Sponsored a law, signed on July 1, 2025, creating one online permitting system for all state and local permits.
July 1, 2025Supports Government Efficiency
Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov
Sponsored a law, signed on June 24, 2024, letting cities and towns that mail tax bills also give notice by email or other digital means.
June 24, 2024Supports Government Efficiency
Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov
Sponsored a law, signed on June 19, 2023, requiring the secretary of state to keep a public online directory of government officials, replacing the printed legislative manual.
June 19, 2023Supports Government Efficiency
Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov
Track record — Cost of Living Reduction
Cost of Living Reduction · 1 support · 1 oppose
Voted against letting 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, 2025Supports 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 — Government Spending Reduction
Government Spending Reduction · 3 oppose
Introduced a bill on March 13, 2026, raising Medicaid payments for the highest-need care level in assisted living homes by 13 percent. It never got a vote.
March 13, 2026Opposes Government Spending Reduction
Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov
Introduced a bill on March 21, 2025, giving a $3,000 payment to people who finish a state human services or child welfare job training program. A committee held it for further study.
March 21, 2025Opposes Government Spending Reduction
Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov
Introduced a bill on February 12, 2024, raising state supplemental security income payments for people living alone every year in line with inflation. It never got a vote.
February 12, 2024Opposes Government Spending Reduction
Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov
Track record — Public Safety and Crime Control
Public Safety and Crime Control · 5 support
Sponsored a law, signed on June 23, 2026, fighting business identity theft, fake solicitations sent to businesses, and the unauthorized creation of companies in someone else's name.
June 23, 2026Supports Public Safety and Crime Control
Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov
Voted to make 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, 2026Supports Public Safety and Crime Control
Source: legiscan.com
Sponsored a bill letting parents see the GPS location data of the school bus or other vehicle that takes their children to school. It passed the Senate 37-0 on May 28, 2026.
May 28, 2026Supports Public Safety and Crime Control
Source: votes.rilegislature.gov
Introduced a bill on May 2, 2025, allowing state and local police to use automated license plate readers, with limits on what data they collect and how it is used. It never got a vote.
May 2, 2025Supports Public Safety and Crime Control
Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov
Sponsored a law, signed on June 12, 2024, requiring trucks carrying loose material to keep it covered until it is unloaded.
June 12, 2024Supports Public Safety and Crime Control
Source: webserver.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 — Social Programs and Welfare
Social Programs and Welfare · 5 support
Sponsored a law, signed on June 22, 2026, raising the minimum monthly benefit paid to a spouse, domestic partner or former spouse under the teachers' retirement system.
June 22, 2026Supports Social Programs and Welfare
Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov
Introduced a bill on March 13, 2026, raising Medicaid payments for the highest-need care level in assisted living homes by 13 percent. It never got a vote.
March 13, 2026Supports Social Programs and Welfare
Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov
Introduced a bill on March 21, 2025, giving a $3,000 payment to people who finish a state human services or child welfare job training program. A committee held it for further study.
March 21, 2025Supports Social Programs and Welfare
Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov
Introduced a bill on March 21, 2025, setting caseload limits for state child welfare workers and tying their pay to other New England states. A committee held it for further study.
March 21, 2025Supports Social Programs and Welfare
Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov
Introduced a bill on February 12, 2024, raising state supplemental security income payments for people living alone every year in line with inflation. It never got a vote.
February 12, 2024Supports Social Programs and Welfare
Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov
Track record — Gun Control
Gun Control · 2 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
Voted for requiring gun owners to store firearms safely, with penalties for violations. It passed the Senate 30-7.
June 6, 2024Supports Gun Control
Source: votes.rilegislature.gov
Track record — Women's Reproductive Rights
Women's Reproductive Rights · 2 support
Voted for shielding Rhode Island health care providers from lawsuits and prosecution by other states over reproductive and gender-affirming care. It passed the Senate 31-6.
June 13, 2024Supports Women's Reproductive Rights
Source: votes.rilegislature.gov
Voted for covering abortion in Medicaid and state employee health plans. It passed the Senate 24-13.
May 18, 2023Supports Women's Reproductive Rights
Source: votes.rilegislature.gov
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 — Personal Income Tax Reduction
Personal Income Tax Reduction · 1 support
Introduced a bill on March 7, 2023, creating a state income tax credit for people who pay to care for a relative who needs help with daily living. A committee held it for further study.
March 7, 2023Supports Personal Income Tax Reduction
Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov
Track record — Data Privacy
Data Privacy · 2 support
Sponsored a bill barring health care providers from requiring patients to keep a credit card or other electronic payment on file before treating them. It passed the Senate 38-0 on June 4, 2026.
June 4, 2026Supports Data Privacy
Source: votes.rilegislature.gov
Sponsored a law, signed on July 2, 2025, setting security safeguards that state-licensed lenders and other financial businesses must use to protect customer information.
July 2, 2025Supports Data Privacy
Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov
Track record — Civil Rights
Civil Rights · 2 support
Voted for shielding Rhode Island health care providers from lawsuits and prosecution by other states over reproductive and gender-affirming care. It passed the Senate 31-6.
June 13, 2024Supports Civil Rights
Source: votes.rilegislature.gov
Voted for the Freedom to Read Act, which bars public libraries from removing books over partisan or doctrinal objections. It passed the Senate 31-6.
May 30, 2024Supports Civil Rights
Source: votes.rilegislature.gov
Track record — Corporate Accountability
Corporate Accountability · 10 support · 1 oppose
Sponsored a law, signed on June 23, 2026, setting capital, cash and board oversight rules for mortgage servicers that are not banks.
June 23, 2026Supports Corporate Accountability
Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov
Sponsored a law, signed on June 23, 2026, requiring people who sell or assign contracts to buy homes without taking title to be licensed as real estate brokers and make disclosures.
June 23, 2026Supports Corporate Accountability
Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov
Sponsored a law, signed on June 22, 2026, placing duties and transparency rules on pharmacy benefit managers, the middlemen who run drug benefits for health plans.
June 22, 2026Supports Corporate Accountability
Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov
Introduced a bill on March 13, 2026, requiring farm equipment makers to give independent repair shops the information and tools to fix electronic farm machinery. It never got a vote.
March 13, 2026Supports Corporate Accountability
Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov
Introduced a bill on March 13, 2026, allowing small-loan lenders to charge an origination fee, higher interest and a monthly fee on loans between $300 and $5,000. A committee held it for further study.
March 13, 2026Opposes Corporate Accountability
Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov
Introduced a bill on February 6, 2026, giving independent repair shops the right to fix digital electronics, with makers required to provide parts, tools and manuals. A committee held it for further study.
February 6, 2026Supports Corporate Accountability
Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov
Sponsored a law, signed on June 23, 2025, raising the penalties utilities pay for breaking state rules on their duties.
June 23, 2025Supports Corporate Accountability
Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov
Voted for giving the attorney general power to investigate and sue over repeated illegal conduct by businesses or government bodies. It passed the Senate 30-7.
June 13, 2024Supports Corporate Accountability
Source: votes.rilegislature.gov
Sponsored a law, signed on June 12, 2024, setting rules that people paid to help owners recover unclaimed property must follow.
June 12, 2024Supports Corporate Accountability
Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov
Sponsored a bill requiring utilities to plan work on state roads around the state road-project schedule. It passed the Senate 37-0 on June 11, 2024.
June 11, 2024Supports Corporate Accountability
Source: votes.rilegislature.gov
Sponsored a bill requiring utilities to follow the state road-project schedule for road repairs, and barring them from passing those costs or penalties on to ratepayers. It passed the Senate 33-0 in final form on June 16, 2023, and the governor vetoed it.
June 16, 2023Supports Corporate Accountability
Source: votes.rilegislature.gov
Track record — Public Infrastructure
Public Infrastructure · 3 support
Introduced a bill on March 13, 2026, sending sales taxes paid on ride-share trips to a dedicated fund for the state bus system. A committee held it for further study.
March 13, 2026Supports 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 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
Track record — General
General · 17 records
Received the endorsement of the environmental group Clean Water Action for re-election, announced August 10, 2026.
August 10, 2026
Source: cleanwater.org
Sponsored a law, which took effect without the governor's signature on June 26, 2026, limiting mortgage prepayment rules to owner-occupied homes with one to four units.
June 26, 2026
Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov
Sponsored a joint resolution, signed on June 23, 2026, that repealed Rhode Island's earlier ratification of the Corwin Amendment, a proposed U.S. constitutional amendment written to protect slavery in the states from federal interference.
June 23, 2026
Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov
Sponsored a law, signed on June 23, 2026, letting members of federally recognized Indian tribes in Rhode Island get free freshwater and saltwater fishing licenses.
June 23, 2026
Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov
Sponsored a law, signed on June 22, 2026, extending rules for car makers to their distributors and updating warranty repair and recall payment rules.
June 22, 2026
Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov
Introduced a bill on February 27, 2026, creating tax-favored savings accounts for disaster costs. A committee held it for further study.
February 27, 2026
Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov
Sponsored a law, which took effect without the governor's signature on July 5, 2025, limiting a driver's own car insurance coverage for a rental car to the people named on that policy.
July 5, 2025
Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov
Sponsored a law, signed on June 30, 2025, letting the state health department allow a change to the race listed on a person's birth certificate when justified.
June 30, 2025
Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov
Sponsored a law, signed on June 30, 2025, limiting hobby breeders to selling no more than two litters of dogs or cats a year.
June 30, 2025
Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov
Was appointed chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce by Senate President Dominick Ruggerio, announced January 15, 2025.
January 15, 2025
Source: reportertoday.com
Voted for delaying cage-free housing rules for commercial egg-laying hens until 2030. The delay passed the Senate 29-7.
June 13, 2024
Source: votes.rilegislature.gov
Voted for requiring mail ballot drop boxes to open 35 days before an election. It passed the Senate 32-5.
June 11, 2024
Source: votes.rilegislature.gov
Voted for the overhaul of the Law Enforcement Officers' Bill of Rights, which changed how police discipline hearings work. It passed the Senate 33-4.
June 6, 2024
Source: votes.rilegislature.gov
Sponsored a law, signed on June 22, 2023, that ended some tax incentive reports by the tax division and let it report through its website instead.
June 22, 2023
Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov
Sponsored a law, signed on June 20, 2023, letting state employees make after-tax Roth contributions to their deferred compensation retirement plan.
June 20, 2023
Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov
Sponsored a bill banning trucks of 26,001 pounds or more from Route 114A in East Providence between Pawtucket Avenue and the Massachusetts line. It passed the Senate 31-4 on June 14, 2023, and the governor vetoed it.
June 14, 2023
Source: votes.rilegislature.gov
Sponsored a law, signed on May 23, 2023, that cut the fee for a first driver privilege card from $50 to $25.
May 23, 2023
Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov
Past race Robert Britto ran in:
- Senator in General Assembly · November 3, 2026 · State Senate District 18; Rhode Island · incumbent