Representative Tina Spears

Rep. Tina Spears was elected in 2022 to represent District 36 in Charlestown, South Kingstown, Westerly, and New Shoreham. She was chosen as a Deputy Majority Leader in January 2025. She is a member of the House Corporations Committee, the House Environment and Natural Resources Committee, the House Municipal Government and Housing Committee, and the House Innovation and Technology Committee.​

During her time in the legislature, Representative Spears has advocated for legislation to make housing more affordable, support public schools and protect the environment. She successfully sponsored the Act on Coasts to prepare for sea level rise and climate change, a law to allow homebuyers to rely on the zoning information they receive from local officials and a law to study the creation of a statewide Geographic Information System to better inform development and conservation in Rhode Island. Many of her efforts to improve health care services were included in the state budget, including more than doubling the Medicaid reimbursement rate for ambulance services.

She also sponsored a law establishing a “PURPLE Alert" system to help quickly find missing adults with serious disabilities whose health and safety is at risk.

In 2024, Representative Spears was honored by the Rhode Island Southern Firefighters League as its legislator of year and by the Rhode Island Coalition for Children and Families for her legislative work to promote the success of children and families.​

Representative Spears is the Executive Director of the Community Provider Network of Rhode Island, which represents providers who support people with disabilities. She has long been an ardent advocate for families of children with disabilities, having learned from her own experience as the parent of a child with significant health challenges. Prior to her election, she was a frequent presence at the State House, testifying in support of programs that help Rhode Islanders, such as the Temporary Caregiver Insurance program that was enacted in 2013 to provide paid leave for those who must leave work to provide care for an ill family member.

A resident of Charlestown for almost 30 years, she met her husband Forrest Cochise Spears Jr. when they were both students in Chariho Tech's agriculture program. She was the first in her family to go to college, earning both a bachelor's and master's degree in public administration from the University of Rhode Island. She and her husband are the parents of two sons. ​

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