Representative Michelle McGaw
Member, House State Government and Elections Committee
Member, House Environment and Natural Resources Committee
Member, House Corporations Committee
Member, House Health and Human Services Committee
Representative Michelle McGaw (D) was first elected in 2020 to represent
the people of District 71 in Portsmouth, Tiverton, and Little Compton.
She is a member of the House State Government and Elections Committee,
the House Environment and Natural Resources Committee, the House
Corporations Committee, and the House Health and Human Services
Committee.
In 2023, Representative McGaw was the House sponsor of a new law
requiring private and nonprofit health insurers and HMOs in Rhode Island
to
cover the full cost of life-saving epinephrine injectors,
commonly known by the brand name EpiPen. She has cosponsored laws that
raised the legal age for purchasing firearms
and ammunition to 21 and
required the Department of Health to set standards
for toxic PFAS chemicals in drinking water. She
has pushed for the state to strengthen its commitments to the
environment and clean energy, introducing legislation to prohibit
any type of new high-heat solid waste processing facilities
in environmentally sensitive areas, and to require the state’s
Energy Facility Siting Board to deny
applications for power
plants that
would adversely affect Rhode Island’s ability to meet its
carbon-emissions-reduction obligations. In 2023, she sponsored a new law
to improve Rhode Island’s
electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
She is a 1984 graduate of St. Paul Catholic High School and graduated
from University of Rhode Island College of Pharmacy in 1989. She is a
consultant pharmacist serving the long-term care community.
Representative McGaw is a member of the Portsmouth Democratic Town
Committee, and served on the Portsmouth Waste and Recycling Committee and
the 2020 Portsmouth Charter Review Committee. She is a former board member
for the Rhode Island Democratic Women’s Caucus. She was involved in youth
recreation and local Little League baseball for many years, including the
Little League Challenger Division.
A resident of Portsmouth for more than 30 years, Representative McGaw
and her husband James are the parents of two adult sons, Jake and Max.