Rhode Island Rep. Teresa Ann Tanzi (D)

Email Address: rep-tanzi@rilegislature.gov

Phone: (401) 527-9468

Teresa Tanzi (D) has served the people of Narragansett and South Kingstown in District 34 since she was first elected in November 2010. She is a member of the House Committee on Special Legislation.
Representative Tanzi has been a leader in safeguarding the limited resources Rhode Island has for economic development by making sure new and existing tax incentives provide a benefit to the state’s economy and its residents.
Her passions include the development of bicycle- and pedestrian-friendly community infrastructure, working to increase availability of multi-modal transit options for commuters, and working to enact greater prevention measures for teen tobacco and nicotine addiction.
In 2017, the General Assembly enacted her legislation to disarm domestic abusers to protect the lives of their victims. The bill was the result of intense negotiations over the course of the three years since it was first introduced, and was the subject of strong public campaigns both for and against it. Other successes in 2017 include a new law offering seniors protection from door-to-door solicitations and a law requiring that e-cigarette liquid be sold in child-proof packages and banning e-cigarette use on school property.
Other signature legislative accomplishments include bringing benefit corporations to Rhode Island, the 2015 Cesspool Elimination Act, helping to close a loophole that allowed large companies to evade paying taxes in Rhode Island, and requiring comprehensive economic development tax incentive analyses and reporting.
She has studied at Middlesex County College, the University of Rhode Island and Brown University. Born on November 3, 1971, she is a Realtor at Lila Delman Real Estate in Narragansett. She and her husband, Dr. Eric Buchbaum, live in Wakefield with their daughter, Delia Tanzi Buchbaum, where they raise chickens and bees.