---
type: "Bill"
title: "AN ACT RELATING TO BUSINESSES AND PROFESSIONS - BOARD OF MEDICAL LICENSURE AND DISCIPLINE (Includes in the definition of unprofessional conduct performing a pelvic examination without consent of an anesthetized or unconscious female patient.)"
description: "AN ACT RELATING TO BUSINESSES AND PROFESSIONS - BOARD OF MEDICAL LICENSURE AND DISCIPLINE (Includes in the definition of unprofessional conduct performing a pelvic examination without consent of an anesthetized or unconscious female patient.)"
jurisdiction: "us/states/ri"
legislature: "Rhode Island General Assembly"
session: "2021"
identifier: "HB 5544"
citation: "Rhode Island HB 5544 (2021)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Business & Professions", "Criminal Procedure", "Medical", "Physicians"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Alzate", "Carson", "Donovan", "Fenton-Fung", "Fogarty", "Henries", "McEntee", "Shallcross Smith", "Speakman", "Tanzi"]
version_count: 1
action_count: 16
vote_count: 1
first_action: "2021-02-12"
last_action: "2021-07-14"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/ccad6a45-2275-45b8-8b08-f871b5ae7cb8"
source_url: "https://status.rilegislature.gov/"
source_hash: "65fd155e010a375727020039ead6a2d46ed325ec0fd8f1d50ef7e5c52f797bc5"
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 5544 (2021) — AN ACT RELATING TO BUSINESSES AND PROFESSIONS - BOARD OF MEDICAL LICENSURE AND DISCIPLINE (Includes in the definition of unprofessional conduct performing a pelvic examination without consent of an anesthetized or unconscious female patient.)

## Version chain

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

1. **5544** (committee substitute) — [source](http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText21/HouseText21/H5544.pdf)

## Votes

- PASSAGE — **72–0** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Alzate — primary (person)
- Carson — primary (person)
- Donovan — primary (person)
- Fenton-Fung — primary (person)
- Fogarty — primary (person)
- Henries — primary (person)
- McEntee — primary (person)
- Shallcross Smith — primary (person)
- Speakman — primary (person)
- Tanzi — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2021-02-12** 02/12/2021 Introduced, referred to House Health & Human Services `introduction, referral-committee`
- **2021-03-05** 03/05/2021 Scheduled for hearing and/or consideration (03/08/2021)
- **2021-03-08** 03/08/2021 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 (06/03/2021)
- **2021-06-03** 06/03/2021 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 hearing (06/10/2021)
- **2021-06-10** 06/10/2021 Committee continued
- **2021-06-25** 06/25/2021 Scheduled for consideration (06/28/2021)
- **2021-06-28** 06/28/2021 Committee recommends passage in concurrence `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2021-07-01** 07/01/2021 Placed on the Senate Consent Calendar (07/01/2021)
- **2021-07-01** 07/01/2021 Senate passed in concurrence `passage`
- **2021-07-12** 07/12/2021 Transmitted to Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2021-07-14** 07/14/2021 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/ccad6a45-2275-45b8-8b08-f871b5ae7cb8`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Rhode Island legislature records).