Eggs & Issues: House Speaker Shekarchi

Description

Don't miss this exciting opportunity to meet the Speaker of the Rhode Island House of Representatives, and learn more about his legislative agenda in 2025. Featuring a question & answer session - read more below

Speaker Shekarchi is a graduate of Mount St. Charles Academy, Class of 1980, and Suffolk University, Class of 1984. He returned to Suffolk to earn his law degree in 1990. In addition to his duties as a legislator, Speaker Shekarchi has been a successful attorney in private practice for over 30 years.

From November 2016 through 2020, Speaker Shekarchi served as House Majority Leader; previously, the Speaker was Chairman of the House Labor Committee. Speaker Shekarchi has served the residents of District 23 in Warwick since first being elected in November 2012. He was elected Speaker in 2021 and has continued to be a strong proponent of economic development. 

As Speaker, during the 2021 legislative session, he played a key role in negotiating the agreement between the State of Rhode Island, IGT, and Bally's Corporation, which resulted in a $250 million economic development plan, and secured 1,100 well-paying Rhode Island jobs. He proactively protected Rhode Island's third-largest source of revenue. Previously, he sponsored the Qualified Jobs Incentive Act, which created more than 3,000 new well-paying private sector jobs without fiscal impact on the state.

In 2022, Speaker Shekarchi successfully advocated for the permanent phase-out of the car tax, eliminating it one year ahead of schedule; a one-time child tax rebate of $250 per child, for up to three children per family, for eligible Rhode Island families; an increase of the “circuit breaker" tax credit available to qualifying elderly and disabled residents; and to raise the amount of annual pension income exempt from state taxation.  He also ensured that $100 million was included in the budget for the state's unemployment trust fund to reduce businesses' unemployment tax rates.