(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 the previous year and (ii) efforts made by the commission during the previous year to encourage racial, ethnic and gender diversity within the judiciary of this state. The form of the report and the means by which the commission shall request the necessary information from applicants shall be determined by the commission pursuant to its rule-making authority, except that no applicant shall be required to provide the information as a prerequisite to consideration, and the identifying information with respect to race, ethnicity and gender shall be collected anonymously from applicants. The report shall be made available to the public. The commission shall also consider the candidate’s sensitivity to historically disadvantaged classes, and may disqualify any candidate with a demonstrated history of bias towards any of these classes.