Representative Julie A. Casimiro
DEPUTY MAJOR LEADER
FIRST VICE CHAIR, HOUSE COMMITTEE ON OVERSITE
MEMBER, HOUSE SMALL BUSINESS COMMITTEE
MEMBER, HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE
MEMBER, HOUSE RULES COMMITTEE
MEMBER, HOUSE VETERANS’ AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
Rep. Julie Casimiro (D-Dist. 31, North Kingstown, Exeter) was first elected to the House of Representatives in November 2016. She was named a Deputy Majority Leader in January 2019. Representative Casimiro is the first vice chair of the House Committee on Oversight and chairs that committee’s Children and Families Subcommittee. She is also a member of the House Judiciary Committee, the House Rules Committee, the House Small Business Committee and the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee.
During the 2021 legislative session, Representative Casimiro sponsored a new law which bans child marriages in Rhode Island by eliminating all language in state law that allowed persons under the age of 18 to obtain a marriage license with parental consent. She also sponsored another new law which directs superintendents to create an annual report on the academic progress of foster care youth in Rhode Island’s public schools.
Representative Casimiro was chosen as a 2021 Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute (CCAI) Angels in Adoption Honoree. Congressman James Langevin nominated Representative Casimiro to recognize her work in the adoption, foster care and child welfare community. She was also instrumental in securing the funding for the Paul V. Sherlock Center on Disabilities at Rhode Island College within the FY 2022 state budget. She is the co-chair of the House and Senate Vision Services Task Force, which is charged with providing recommendations for the long-term viability of the vision services program at the Sherlock Center.
In 2020, she sponsored a bill which would provide $2 million to support comprehensive and effective afterschool, summer learning and workforce development programs for students in grades K-12. A bill which designates physical, occupational, speech, and music therapies and behavioral health services as essential special services to be provided to students with disabilities during times of a declared emergency was also sponsored by Representative Casimiro.
Due to legislation she previously sponsored, thousands of Rhode Islanders in 2018 saw their unclaimed money and property returned to them automatically through the General Treasurer’s office. In 2020, she was honored by General Treasurer Seth Magaziner with his office’s Distinguished Service Award for championing the unclaimed property program.
Representative Casimiro is a former marketing executive and fund development professional and has served on boards and committees for many non-profit organizations. She graduated from Cranston High School West and received her bachelor’s degree in marketing from Providence College.
Representative Casimiro, who was born on June 21, 1962, is married to Richard Casimiro and they reside in North Kingstown.