Representative Patricia A. Serpa
Chair, House Oversight Committee
Second Vice Chair, House Rules Committee
Member, House Conduct Committee
Member, House Corporations Committee
Patricia A. Serpa (D) has represented District 27 in West Warwick,
Coventry and Warwick since first being elected in 2006. She is the chair
of the House Oversight Committee, second vice chair of the House Rules
Committee, and a member of the House Conduct Committee and House
Corporations Committee.
As chairwoman of the Committee on Oversight since May 2016,
Representative Serpa has continuously investigated several prominent
failures within multiple state agencies, including the botched rollout
of the Unified Health Infrastructure (UHIP) project. Under
Representative Serpa’s leadership, the committee has heard testimony on
the UHIP computer system failures from public officials, nursing home
and child care administrators, and constituents affected by the rollout.
In 2022, she led several meetings investigating the current state of
Rhode Island’s behavioral health system. She has also led the charge for
answers on topics of public importance such as the deaths and
near-deaths of several children under the care of the Department of
Children, Youth and Families in the wake of a report by the child
advocate.
Representative Serpa’s probe of the Division of Taxation, which revealed
rampant delays in tax refunds in 2016, led to sweeping changes in the
Department of Revenue to rectify the problem the following year.
The committee’s investigation of the Blackstone Valley Youth and Family
Collaborative led to DCYF cutting off ties with the organization. The
report uncovered drug and alcohol abuse and violence by residents, the
use of banned aversion therapy, and that the cooperative neglected to
monitor residents and provided false documents.
Her work on the committee led her to sponsor legislation during the 2023
session to create a commission to make a comprehensive study and provide
recommendations for changes to the merit system of the Department of Human
Services and DCYF. She currently serves as chairwoman of that commission.
In 2022, Representative Serpa sponsored a new law that overhauls and
reforms the state’s
purchasing policies and processes. In 2021, she sponsored a law
to give compensation to innocent people who have spent time behind
bars but were later released when new evidence shows they were not
guilty. She also sponsored a new law that
prohibits the use of a school district's listserv to distribute any
political advertisement, invitation, and/or propaganda.
In 2020, she sponsored a law that
prohibits the manufacturing, transfer, purchase or possessing of any
plastic, fiberglass or 3-D printed gun, as well as “ghost guns,”
untraceable guns and undetectable guns.
In 2017, Representative Serpa successfully sponsored legislation that
mandates insurance coverage for medically necessary fertility
services when a medical treatment may cause iatrogenic infertility.
Representative Serpa spent six years on the West Warwick School
Committee, from 2000 to 2006. She is an associate member of the West
Warwick Democratic Town Committee and is involved with the Sons of
Italy, Vince Lombardi Lodge, Defenders of Animals and the West Warwick
Lions Club.
A retired public school educator and admissions officer, she holds a
master’s degree in education from Providence College after earning her
bachelor’s degree in the same study at Mount St. Joseph College. She
lives in West Warwick.