---
type: "Bill"
title: "AN ACT RELATING TO BUSINESSES AND PROFESSIONS -- THE HEALING ART OF ACUPUNCTURE AND ORIENTAL MEDICINE (Changes title of chapter 37.2 of title 5 and throughout, replacing the words \"Oriental medicine\" with \"Chinese medicine\". Allows individuals who are otherwise certified, to practice acupuncture & Chinese medicine using Chinese medical diagnostic methods.)"
description: "AN ACT RELATING TO BUSINESSES AND PROFESSIONS -- THE HEALING ART OF ACUPUNCTURE AND ORIENTAL MEDICINE (Changes title of chapter 37.2 of title 5 and throughout, replacing the words \"Oriental medicine\" with \"Chinese medicine\". Allows individuals who are otherwise certified, to practice acupuncture & Chinese medicine using Chinese medical diagnostic methods.)"
jurisdiction: "us/states/ri"
legislature: "Rhode Island General Assembly"
session: "2021"
identifier: "HB 5154"
citation: "Rhode Island HB 5154 (2021)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Business & Professions", "Health & Safety", "Health Care Plans/Services", "Licenses", "Medical"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Bennett"]
version_count: 1
action_count: 17
vote_count: 1
first_action: "2021-01-25"
last_action: "2021-06-25"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/bd9238a1-cc15-4ea6-916b-f956bb00d223"
source_url: "https://status.rilegislature.gov/"
source_hash: "c91549272065c22066b03929c3843723422a1e9d761cf9ad6c97ba256bbc3fb1"
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 5154 (2021) — AN ACT RELATING TO BUSINESSES AND PROFESSIONS -- THE HEALING ART OF ACUPUNCTURE AND ORIENTAL MEDICINE (Changes title of chapter 37.2 of title 5 and throughout, replacing the words "Oriental medicine" with "Chinese medicine". Allows individuals who are otherwise certified, to practice acupuncture & Chinese medicine using Chinese medical diagnostic methods.)

## Version chain

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

1. **5154** (committee substitute) — [source](http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText21/HouseText21/H5154.pdf)

## Votes

- PASSAGE — **60–11** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Bennett — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2021-01-25** 01/25/2021 Introduced, referred to House H.E.W. `introduction, referral-committee`
- **2021-02-02** 02/02/2021 Committee transferred to House Health & Human Services
- **2021-02-05** 02/05/2021 Scheduled for hearing and/or consideration (02/09/2021)
- **2021-02-09** 02/09/2021 Committee recommended measure be held for further study
- **2021-02-12** 02/12/2021 Scheduled for hearing and/or consideration (02/23/2021)
- **2021-02-23** 02/23/2021 Committee recommended measure be held for further study
- **2021-05-21** 05/21/2021 Scheduled for consideration (05/25/2021)
- **2021-05-25** 05/25/2021 Committee recommends passage `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2021-05-28** 05/28/2021 Placed on House Calendar (06/01/2021)
- **2021-06-01** 06/01/2021 House read and passed `passage`
- **2021-06-04** 06/04/2021 Referred to Senate Health and Human Services `referral-committee`
- **2021-06-04** 06/04/2021 Scheduled for consideration (06/10/2021)
- **2021-06-10** 06/10/2021 Committee recommends passage in concurrence `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2021-06-11** 06/11/2021 Placed on the Senate Consent Calendar (06/15/2021)
- **2021-06-15** 06/15/2021 Senate passed in concurrence `passage`
- **2021-06-17** 06/17/2021 Transmitted to Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2021-06-25** 06/25/2021 Effective without Governor's signature `became-law`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/bd9238a1-cc15-4ea6-916b-f956bb00d223`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Rhode Island legislature records).