# Bill O'Brien

Bill O'Brien is a Democratic member of the Rhode Island House for district 54.

- Party: Democrat
- Seat: Rhode Island House, district 54
- Serving since: 2013-01-01
- Current term: RI 2025–26 session
- Open States ID: ocd-person/4352dbd3-90e5-4cf3-9bf6-accff7592c33

Source: https://americaspoliticalpulse.com/p/4352dbd3-90e5-4cf3-9bf6-accff7592c33 (America’s Political Pulse, Polarization Research Lab), data through 2026-10-27. Data under CC BY 4.0. Cite as: Westwood, Sean J., and Yphtach Lelkes. 2024. America's Political Pulse [data set].

## Headline

O'Brien missed 17% of 1,359 roll calls, attendance in the bottom tenth of the Rhode Island House (average 90.9%).

## What O'Brien says (RI 2025–26 session)

130 classified statements: 130 posts on X. Each rate is the share of statements with the label, against the State House Democrats average; rank 1 is the highest rate.

| Label | O'Brien | State House Democrats average | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal attacks | 0.0% | 2.5% | 584 of 764 |
| Policy criticism | 1.5% | 10.4% | 629 of 764 |
| Policy discussion | 27.7% | 39.2% | 552 of 764 |
| Bipartisanship | 0.0% | 2.9% | 676 of 764 |
| Credit claiming | 9.2% | 14.4% | 452 of 764 |
| Extreme labels | 0.0% | 1.0% | 543 of 764 |

Most discussed policy areas: Education 36% (State House Democrats 15%); Crime and Law Enforcement 19% (State House Democrats 8.0%); Government Operations and Politics 19% (State House Democrats 15%); Economics and Public Finance 8.3% (State House Democrats 11%); Labor and Employment 8.3% (State House Democrats 5.7%).

## Ideology (CSIP)

CSIP score −0.66 (standard error 0.03), from 45 donors and 938 roll calls. Negative is left of 0, positive right of it, on one scale for every official. 44% of State House Democrats score lower.

## Votes (RI 2025–26 session)

1,359 roll calls. Attendance 83% (Rhode Island House 90.9%). Party unity 97.1% (94.0%). 9 votes against the party majority.

Key votes:

- 2026-06-11 · voted yea · IN CONCURRENCE · HB 7377 AN ACT RELATING TO ELECTIONS -- LOCAL CANVASSING AUTHORITIES · pass · https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/HB7377/
- 2026-06-11 · voted not voting · PASSAGE OF AMENDMENT · HR 8351 JOINT RESOLUTION CREATING A SPECIAL JOINT LEGISLATIVE COMMISSION TO STUDY RHODE ISLAND'S EDUCATION FUNDING FORMULA AND EDUCATION FINANCE SYSTEM · pass · https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/HR8351/
- 2026-06-11 · voted yea · IN CONCURRENCE · SB 3358 AN ACT AUTHORIZING THE CITY OF CRANSTON TO FINANCE THE ACQUISITION, IMPROVEMENT, RENOVATION AND REPAIR OF FIRE AND PUBLIC SAFETY EQUIPMENT BY THE… · pass · https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/SB3358/
- 2026-06-11 · voted yea · IN CONCURRENCE · SB 3259 AN ACT RELATING TO FOOD AND DRUGS -- UNIFORM CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES ACT · pass · https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/SB3259/
- 2026-06-11 · voted not voting · IN CONCURRENCE · SR 3353 JOINT RESOLUTION MAKING AN APPROPRIATION TO PAY CERTAIN CLAIMS · pass · https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/SR3353/
- 2026-06-11 · voted yea · IN CONCURRENCE · SB 3290 AN ACT RELATING TO COURTS AND CIVIL PROCEDURE--COURTS -- SUPERIOR COURT · pass · https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/SB3290/
- 2026-06-11 · voted yea · PASSAGE OF AMENDMENT · SB 3066 AN ACT RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- CHILDREN'S MOBILE RESPONSE AND STABILIZATION SERVICES · pass · https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/SB3066/
- 2026-06-11 · voted yea · IN CONCURRENCE · SB 3334 AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- THE RHODE ISLAND LIFE SCIENCE HUB ACT · pass · https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/SB3334/
- 2026-06-11 · voted not voting · IN CONCURRENCE · SB 3333 AN ACT RELATING TO THE NORTH TIVERTON FIRE DISTRICT · pass · https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/SB3333/
- 2026-06-11 · voted yea · IN CONCURRENCE · SB 2733 AN ACT RELATING TO CRIMINAL PROCEDURE -- ARREST · pass · https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/SB2733/

## Legislation (RI 2025–26 session)

Sponsored 261 bills: 261 reached committee, 99 passed one chamber, 58 passed both, 58 became law. Cosponsored 0. 37.9% of sponsored bills got out of committee (Rhode Island House 39.5%; rank 34 of 74).

Recent sponsored bills:

- HB 8627: AN ACT RELATING TO SOLEMNIZATION OF MARRIAGES (became law, 2026-06-26) https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/HB8627/
- HB 8578: AN ACT RELATING TO HUMAN SERVICES -- FAMILY CAREGIVERS SUPPORT ACT OF 2013 (in committee, 2026-06-02) https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/HB8578/
- HR 8552: HOUSE RESOLUTION CONGRATULATING AND RECOGNIZING THE MEMBERS AND COACH OF THE WHEELER SCHOOL TEAM ON THEIR 1ST PLACE VICTORY AT THE 43RD RHODE ISLAND ACADEMIC… (passed one chamber, 2026-05-14) https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/HR8552/
- HB 8531: AN ACT RELATING TO EDUCATION -- COMPULSORY ATTENDANCE (in committee, 2026-05-19) https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/HB8531/
- HR 8494: HOUSE RESOLUTION PROCLAIMING APRIL OF 2026, TO BE "FINANCIAL LITERACY MONTH" IN THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND (passed one chamber, 2026-04-30) https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/HR8494/
- HR 8478: HOUSE RESOLUTION RECOGNIZING APRIL 12-18, 2026, AS "NATIONAL PUBLIC SAFETY TELECOMMUNICATORS WEEK" IN THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND (passed one chamber, 2026-04-28) https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/HR8478/
- HR 8480: HOUSE RESOLUTION PROCLAIMING APRIL 28, 2026, AS "PAY IT FORWARD WITH LOVE FROM TORI DAY" IN THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND (passed one chamber, 2026-04-28) https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/HR8480/
- HB 8467: AN ACT RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- LEAD HAZARD MITIGATION (in committee, 2026-04-29) https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/HB8467/
- HB 8465: AN ACT RELATING TO PUBLIC PROPERTY AND WORKS -- STATE PURCHASES (in committee, 2026-04-30) https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/HB8465/
- HB 8463: AN ACT RELATING TO CRIMINAL PROCEDURE -- ARREST (became law, 2026-06-22) https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/HB8463/

## Campaign money (2026 cycle)

Itemized receipts $13.8K (State House Democrats median $40.4K). 97% of itemized individual money came from in state. Aggregates only; no individual donors.

## Recent statements

Newest first. Posts on X are listed by date and link only.

- 2026-10-26 · Post on X · https://x.com/OBrien2024forRI/status/2114865705862742136
- 2026-10-21 · Post on X · https://x.com/OBrien2024forRI/status/2112957281348546595
- 2026-10-21 · Post on X · labels: policy discussion · https://x.com/OBrien2024forRI/status/2113016089349112024
- 2026-10-17 · Post on X · labels: policy discussion · https://x.com/OBrien2024forRI/status/2111560597879792075
- 2026-10-17 · Post on X · labels: policy criticism, policy discussion · https://x.com/OBrien2024forRI/status/2111587675790835714
- 2026-10-16 · Post on X · labels: policy discussion · https://x.com/OBrien2024forRI/status/2111227434351923268
- 2026-10-16 · Post on X · labels: policy discussion · https://x.com/OBrien2024forRI/status/2111228822951510204
- 2026-10-15 · Post on X · labels: policy discussion · https://x.com/OBrien2024forRI/status/2110544172650545620
- 2026-10-12 · Post on X · labels: policy discussion · https://x.com/OBrien2024forRI/status/2109499256742515006
- 2026-10-12 · Post on X · https://x.com/OBrien2024forRI/status/2109742078104310084

## Links

- Official site: https://www.rilegislature.gov/representatives/OBrien/Pages/Biography.aspx
- X: https://x.com/OBrien2024forRI
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/william.obrien.33/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/Rep-Bill-OBrien-100057690147084/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/william-o-brien-69346555/

Full profile, with every chart and the methods: https://americaspoliticalpulse.com/p/4352dbd3-90e5-4cf3-9bf6-accff7592c33