---
type: "Bill"
title: "AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY - HARM REDUCTION CENTER ADVISORY COMMITTEE AND PILOT PROGRAM (Creates pilot program to establish harm reduction centers where use of pre-obtained controlled substances may occur under supervision of health care professionals)"
description: "AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY - HARM REDUCTION CENTER ADVISORY COMMITTEE AND PILOT PROGRAM (Creates pilot program to establish harm reduction centers where use of pre-obtained controlled substances may occur under supervision of health care professionals)"
jurisdiction: "us/states/ri"
legislature: "Rhode Island General Assembly"
session: "2021"
identifier: "HB 5245"
citation: "Rhode Island HB 5245 (2021)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Health & Safety"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Caldwell", "Edwards", "Kazarian", "Kislak", "Potter", "Slater"]
version_count: 1
action_count: 14
vote_count: 1
first_action: "2021-01-29"
last_action: "2021-07-09"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/b73d7c9f-fe1a-48f3-a720-b6cf4c9136d8"
source_url: "https://status.rilegislature.gov/"
source_hash: "f23f18e6749fcbf7fcee5ed2462518e5f0a701cc8bf0eed1ff058ecd36aacfe5"
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 5245 (2021) — AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY - HARM REDUCTION CENTER ADVISORY COMMITTEE AND PILOT PROGRAM (Creates pilot program to establish harm reduction centers where use of pre-obtained controlled substances may occur under supervision of health care professionals)

## Version chain

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

1. **5245 SUB A** (committee substitute) — [source](http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText21/HouseText21/H5245A.pdf)

## Votes

- PASSAGE — **63–9** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Caldwell — primary (person)
- Edwards — primary (person)
- Kazarian — primary (person)
- Kislak — primary (person)
- Potter — primary (person)
- Slater — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2021-01-29** 01/29/2021 Introduced, referred to House Health & Human Services `introduction, referral-committee`
- **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
- **2021-06-23** 06/23/2021 Scheduled for consideration (06/25/2021)
- **2021-06-23** 06/23/2021 Proposed Substitute
- **2021-06-25** 06/25/2021 Committee recommends passage of Sub A `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2021-06-25** 06/25/2021 Placed on House Calendar (06/29/2021)
- **2021-06-29** 06/29/2021 House passed Sub A `passage`
- **2021-06-29** 06/29/2021 Placed on Senate Calendar (07/01/2021)
- **2021-07-01** 07/01/2021 Senate passed Sub A in concurrence `passage`
- **2021-07-08** 07/08/2021 Transmitted to Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2021-07-09** 07/09/2021 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/b73d7c9f-fe1a-48f3-a720-b6cf4c9136d8`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Rhode Island legislature records).