---
type: "Bill"
title: "AN ACT RELATING TO ANIMALS AND ANIMAL HUSBANDRY -- DOGS (Prohibits the sale of dogs under 8 weeks of age unless approval for sale in writing from a licensed Rhode Island veterinarian with violations subject to imprisonment not to exceed 12 months or $1,000, or both. Pounds and shelters are exempt.)"
description: "AN ACT RELATING TO ANIMALS AND ANIMAL HUSBANDRY -- DOGS (Prohibits the sale of dogs under 8 weeks of age unless approval for sale in writing from a licensed Rhode Island veterinarian with violations subject to imprisonment not to exceed 12 months or $1,000, or both. Pounds and shelters are exempt.)"
jurisdiction: "us/states/ri"
legislature: "Rhode Island General Assembly"
session: "2018"
identifier: "HB 7641"
citation: "Rhode Island HB 7641 (2018)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Animals", "Criminal Procedure"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Corvese", "O'Brien", "Serpa", "Shekarchi", "Winfield"]
version_count: 1
action_count: 14
vote_count: 2
first_action: "2018-02-15"
last_action: "2018-07-02"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/0b2727b1-91c2-4ac8-b307-8560ed945f51"
source_url: "http://status.rilin.state.ri.us/"
source_hash: "1b616fd46076f33fe3c0fe34df549cfe359989622a1c1c5a3c7b45a6a8d805d6"
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 7641 (2018) — AN ACT RELATING TO ANIMALS AND ANIMAL HUSBANDRY -- DOGS (Prohibits the sale of dogs under 8 weeks of age unless approval for sale in writing from a licensed Rhode Island veterinarian with violations subject to imprisonment not to exceed 12 months or $1,000, or both. Pounds and shelters are exempt.)

## Version chain

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

1. **7641 as amended** (committee substitute) — [source](http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText18/HouseText18/H7641aa.pdf)

## Votes

- PASSAGE OF AMENDMENT — **69–0** (pass) · lower
- AS AMENDED — **69–0** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Corvese — primary (person)
- O'Brien — primary (person)
- Serpa — primary (person)
- Shekarchi — primary (person)
- Winfield — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2018-02-15** 02/15/2018 Introduced, referred to House Judiciary `introduction, referral-committee`
- **2018-03-16** 03/16/2018 Scheduled for hearing and/or consideration (03/20/2018)
- **2018-03-20** 03/20/2018 Committee recommended measure be held for further study
- **2018-05-18** 05/18/2018 Scheduled for consideration (05/23/2018)
- **2018-05-23** 05/23/2018 Committee recommends passage `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2018-05-25** 05/25/2018 Placed on House Calendar (05/31/2018)
- **2018-05-31** 05/31/2018 House passed as amended (floor amendment) `passage`
- **2018-05-31** 05/31/2018 Referred to Senate Environment and Agriculture `referral-committee`
- **2018-06-08** 06/08/2018 Scheduled for hearing and/or consideration (06/13/2018)
- **2018-06-13** 06/13/2018 Committee recommends passage as amended in concurrence `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2018-06-21** 06/21/2018 Placed on the Senate Consent Calendar (06/21/2018)
- **2018-06-21** 06/21/2018 Senate passed as amended in concurrence `passage`
- **2018-07-02** 07/02/2018 Transmitted to Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2018-07-02** 07/02/2018 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/0b2727b1-91c2-4ac8-b307-8560ed945f51`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Rhode Island legislature records).