---
type: "Bill"
title: "AN ACT RELATING TO ELECTIONS -- VOTING BOOTH (Raises the age of children that can accompany a voter in the voter booth, from under the age of thirteen (13) years to under the age of eighteen (18) years.)"
description: "AN ACT RELATING TO ELECTIONS -- VOTING BOOTH (Raises the age of children that can accompany a voter in the voter booth, from under the age of thirteen (13) years to under the age of eighteen (18) years.)"
jurisdiction: "us/states/ri"
legislature: "Rhode Island General Assembly"
session: "2017"
identifier: "HB 5448"
citation: "Rhode Island HB 5448 (2017)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Elections", "Children and Families", "Minors"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Barros", "Coughlin", "Cunha", "Edwards", "Shanley"]
version_count: 1
action_count: 16
vote_count: 1
first_action: "2017-02-09"
last_action: "2017-10-05"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/ad8b2cf1-19a7-4b4a-b876-4c456bb8d434"
source_url: "http://status.rilin.state.ri.us/"
source_hash: "855cc2105f3a1258e3c30b9cf08cbf446048c8ce9bd7cdd3fe6311b6d46c2bc6"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-ri"]
---

# Rhode Island HB 5448 (2017) — AN ACT RELATING TO ELECTIONS -- VOTING BOOTH (Raises the age of children that can accompany a voter in the voter booth, from under the age of thirteen (13) years to under the age of eighteen (18) years.)

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **5448** (committee substitute) — [source](http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText17/HouseText17/H5448.pdf)

## Votes

- PASSAGE — **67–0** (pass) · legislature

## Sponsors

- Barros — primary (person)
- Coughlin — primary (person)
- Cunha — primary (person)
- Edwards — primary (person)
- Shanley — primary (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2017-02-09** 02/09/2017 Introduced, referred to House Judiciary `referral-committee, introduction`
- **2017-03-17** 03/17/2017 Scheduled for hearing and/or consideration (03/21/2017)
- **2017-03-21** 03/21/2017 Committee recommended measure be held for further study
- **2017-05-12** 05/12/2017 Scheduled for consideration (05/16/2017)
- **2017-05-16** 05/16/2017 Committee recommends passage `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2017-05-19** 05/19/2017 Placed on House Calendar (05/24/2017)
- **2017-05-24** 05/24/2017 House read and passed `passage`
- **2017-06-08** 06/08/2017 Referred to Senate Judiciary `referral-committee`
- **2017-06-16** 06/16/2017 Scheduled for hearing (06/22/2017)
- **2017-06-22** 06/22/2017 Committee heard
- **2017-06-23** 06/23/2017 Scheduled for consideration (06/27/2017)
- **2017-06-27** 06/27/2017 Committee recommends passage in concurrence `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2017-09-19** 09/19/2017 Placed on the Senate Consent Calendar (09/19/2017)
- **2017-09-19** 09/19/2017 Senate passed in concurrence `passage`
- **2017-10-03** 10/03/2017 Transmitted to Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2017-10-05** 10/05/2017 Signed by Governor `executive-signature`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/ad8b2cf1-19a7-4b4a-b876-4c456bb8d434`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Rhode Island legislature records).