Matthew Dawson

Rep. Matthew S. Dawson (D-Dist. 65, East Providence) was elected to the Rhode Island House of Representatives in November 2022. He is the Second Vice Chair of the House Judiciary Committee and is a member of the House Municipal Government and Housing Committee, the House State Government and Elections Committee, and the House Special Legislation Committee. During the 2025 legislative session, Representative Dawson introduced a law, the Human Trafficking Prevention Notice and Training Act , that requires hotel employees and short-term rental property operators to annually receive human trafficking awareness training. He also sponsored legislation enacted into law that protects election officials and poll workers by making threats to election officials a misdemeanor . Another law introduced by Representative Dawson in 2025 enables the burying of high-voltage power lines between Bold Point Park in East Providence and India Point Park in Providence . He also passed legislation into law that protects tuition savings plans from judicial attachment irrespective of the state in which the account was opened. In 2024, Representative Dawson introduced a new law that will expand mail ballot…