Jennifer Stewart (D) was elected in November 2022 as the State
Representative from District 59 in Pawtucket. She is a member of the
House Health and Human Services Committee and the House Innovation,
Internet and Technology Committee. Representative Stewart also serves as
a member of the Special Legislative Study Commission to Evaluate and
Provide Recommendations on Mandated Safety Protocols for Rhode Island
Schools.
A vocal advocate for tenants' rights, during the 2024 legislation session she championed a new law amending the state's Residential Landlord and Tenant Act to give tenants more notice before raising their rent.
She cosponsored a bill, which became part of the state budget, to add another $5 million to the $10 million the governor proposed to help the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority close an $18.1 million budget gap following the end of federal pandemic aid, avoiding service cuts.
During the 2023 legislative session, Representative Stewart supported
the passage of the Equality in Abortion Coverage Act to provide
insurance coverage for abortion care to individuals on Medicaid as well
as state employees. She also supported passage of several bills that
will address Rhode Island’s insufficient housing stock as well as the
elimination of rental application fees. Rhode Island’s chapter of the
American Civil Liberties Union recognized her strong voting record on
bills concerning civil liberties issues by giving her a perfect score on
its 2023 Legislative Score Card.
In 2023, Representative Stewart introduced bills to make Rhode Island a
better place to live for all its residents. These bills included
extending the notification time that landlords must provide to tenants
about rent increases, promoting visitable and accessible building
standards for all residential projects that receive public support,
repealing the Law Enforcement Officers’ Bill of Rights, and renaming
Victory Day as Peace and Remembrance Day. She was the prime sponsor of
resolutions to require state agencies to report on their use of
artificial intelligence and to welcome the Golden Rule to Rhode Island
when it arrived to educate the public about the continued threats of
nuclear destruction.
A graduate of the University of Chicago, Representative Stewart has a master's degree in political science and is a teacher of history and political science. She previously had a successful seven-year tenure as humanities department chair.
She was a recipient of the U.S. Presidential Scholars
Teacher Recognition Award in 2011. She has been privileged to pursue
many professional development opportunities, including a summer
fellowship on cartographic history with the National Endowment for the
Humanities.
Representative Stewart is a 2018-2019 recipient of
the Fulbright Distinguished Award for Teaching. As a Fulbright grantee,
she made Finland her home from January through June, 2019, and conducted
an inquiry project entitled “How Less Can Be More: What Finland Can
Teach the U.S. about Cutting the Homework in the Humanities." During her
stay, she was hosted by the University of Helsinki.
Representative
Stewart resides in Pawtucket with her husband. She is
excited to represent her Oak Hill and Woodlawn neighbors in the Rhode
Island House of Representatives.