---
type: "Bill"
title: "AN ACT RELATING TO FOOD AND DRUGS - UNIFORM CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES ACT (Restricts the initial prescription to an adult and all prescriptions to a minor patient for an opiate to a seven (7) day supply with exceptions for certain conditions and medicines designed for substance abuse or opioid dependence treatment.)"
description: "AN ACT RELATING TO FOOD AND DRUGS - UNIFORM CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES ACT (Restricts the initial prescription to an adult and all prescriptions to a minor patient for an opiate to a seven (7) day supply with exceptions for certain conditions and medicines designed for substance abuse or opioid dependence treatment.)"
jurisdiction: "us/states/ri"
legislature: "Rhode Island General Assembly"
session: "2019"
identifier: "HB 5537"
citation: "Rhode Island HB 5537 (2019)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Business & Professions", "Dentist", "Drugs", "Food and Drugs", "Health & Safety"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Alzate", "Bennett", "Caldwell", "Mattiello", "Serpa"]
version_count: 1
action_count: 15
vote_count: 1
first_action: "2019-02-27"
last_action: "2019-07-08"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/b73f2e38-45d8-4837-948b-c1869ea95e3d"
source_url: "http://status.rilin.state.ri.us/"
source_hash: "40ca0c21dd72d639e8979c6d30a59b838da6811721792d34da2a8a303399f8fe"
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 5537 (2019) — AN ACT RELATING TO FOOD AND DRUGS - UNIFORM CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES ACT (Restricts the initial prescription to an adult and all prescriptions to a minor patient for an opiate to a seven (7) day supply with exceptions for certain conditions and medicines designed for substance abuse or opioid dependence treatment.)

## Version chain

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

1. **5537 SUB A** (committee substitute) — [source](http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText19/HouseText19/H5537A.pdf)

## Votes

- PASSAGE — **72–3** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Alzate — primary (person)
- Bennett — primary (person)
- Caldwell — primary (person)
- Mattiello — primary (person)
- Serpa — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2019-02-27** 02/27/2019 Introduced, referred to House H.E.W. `introduction, referral-committee`
- **2019-04-26** 04/26/2019 Scheduled for hearing and/or consideration (05/01/2019)
- **2019-05-01** 05/01/2019 Committee recommended measure be held for further study
- **2019-05-24** 05/24/2019 Scheduled for consideration
- **2019-05-24** 05/24/2019 Proposed Substitute
- **2019-05-29** 05/29/2019 Meeting postponed (05/29/2019)
- **2019-06-07** 06/07/2019 Scheduled for consideration (06/12/2019)
- **2019-06-11** 06/11/2019 Proposed Substitute
- **2019-06-12** 06/12/2019 Committee recommends passage of Sub A `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2019-06-14** 06/14/2019 Placed on House Calendar (06/19/2019)
- **2019-06-19** 06/19/2019 House passed Sub A `passage`
- **2019-06-26** 06/26/2019 Placed on Senate Calendar (06/27/2019)
- **2019-06-27** 06/27/2019 Senate passed Sub A in concurrence `passage`
- **2019-07-03** 07/03/2019 Transmitted to Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2019-07-08** 07/08/2019 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/b73f2e38-45d8-4837-948b-c1869ea95e3d`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Rhode Island legislature records).