Rhode Island legislation · 2026 Regular Session
Rhode Island S2947: AN ACT RELATING TO COURTS AND CIVIL PROCEDURE -- COURTS -- JUDICIAL SELECTION (Requires the JNC to establish standardized merit-
Status: Failed, May 28, 2026
AN ACT RELATING TO COURTS AND CIVIL PROCEDURE -- COURTS -- JUDICIAL SELECTION (Requires the JNC to establish standardized merit-based selection process and that applications be evaluated according to uniform, job-related criteria adopted in advance and published on the commission's website.)
What the bill says
From the introduced text, March 4, 2026:
2026 -- S 2947 ======== LC005513 ======== STATEOFRHODEISLAND IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2026 ____________ ANACT RELATING TO COURTS AND CIVIL PROCEDURE -- COURTS -- JUDICIAL SELECTION Introduced By: Senators Euer, Mack, DiMario, Valverde, Acosta, Kallman, Pearson, Quezada, and Ujifusa Date Introduced: March 04, 2026 Referred To: Senate Judiciary It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: SECTION 1. Section 8-16.1-4 of the General Laws in Chapter 8-16.1 entitled "Judicial Selection" is hereby amended to read as follows: 8-16.1-4. Criteria for selection of best qualified nominees. (a) The commission shall consider, but is not limited to, the following factors in selecting the best qualified nominees: intellect, ability, temperament, impartiality, diligence, experience, maturity, education, publications, and record of public, community, and government service. Every person shall, at the time of consideration by the commission, be an attorney and licensed to practice law in the state of Rhode Island and be a current member of the Rhode Island bar association in good standing. (b) The commission shall exercise reasonable efforts to encourage racial, ethnic, and gender diversity within the judiciary of this state. To further this goal, on an annual basis, the commission shall report to the general assembly and to the governor on (i) the statistics regarding the race, ethnicity and gender of applicants considered by the commission in …
Sponsors
- Dawn Euer (D, SD-013) · primary sponsor
- Tiara Mack (D, SD-006)
- DiMario, Alana (D, SD-036)
- Bridget Valverde (D, SD-035)
- Jonathon Acosta (D, SD-016)
- Meghan Kallman (D, SD-015)
- Ryan Pearson (D, SD-019)
- Ana Quezada (D, SD-002)
- Linda Ujifusa (D, SD-011)
Latest actions
- : Committee recommended measure be held for further study
- : Scheduled for hearing and/or consideration
- : Introduced, referred to Senate Judiciary
Votes
- Senate Committee on Judiciary: Passage (May 28, 2026): 9 yea, 0 nay, passed
Subjects: COURTS AND CIVIL PROCEDURE
Common questions
- What is S2947?
- S2947 is a bill in the Rhode Island Legislature (2026 Regular Session): AN ACT RELATING TO COURTS AND CIVIL PROCEDURE -- COURTS -- JUDICIAL SELECTION (Requires the JNC to establish standardized merit-.
- What does S2947 do?
- AN ACT RELATING TO COURTS AND CIVIL PROCEDURE -- COURTS -- JUDICIAL SELECTION (Requires the JNC to establish standardized merit-based selection process and that applications be evaluated according to uniform, job-related criteria adopted in advance and published on the commission's website.)
- What is the status of S2947?
- Failed as of May 28, 2026. Latest action: Committee recommended measure be held for further study (May 28, 2026).
- Who sponsored S2947?
- Dawn Euer (D, SD-013), with 8 co-sponsors.
- Where is the official record for S2947?
- On the Rhode Island Legislature website: http://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2947.pdf
Source: official Rhode Island record. Tracked by Delilah, AI for legislation across all 50 states and Congress.