---
type: "Bill"
title: "AN ACT RELATING TO BUSINESSES AND PROFESSIONS -- PUBLIC ACCOUNTANCY (Eliminates the words \"moral turpitude\" as a cause of refusal to issue a license to various professionals.)"
description: "AN ACT RELATING TO BUSINESSES AND PROFESSIONS -- PUBLIC ACCOUNTANCY (Eliminates the words \"moral turpitude\" as a cause of refusal to issue a license to various professionals.)"
jurisdiction: "us/states/ri"
legislature: "Rhode Island General Assembly"
session: "2021"
identifier: "HB 5599"
citation: "Rhode Island HB 5599 (2021)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Business & Professions", "Code of Ethics", "Licenses", "Miscellaneous"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Ajello", "Cassar", "Donovan", "Fogarty", "Handy", "Kislak", "Knight", "McEntee", "Speakman", "Tanzi"]
version_count: 1
action_count: 14
vote_count: 1
first_action: "2021-02-12"
last_action: "2021-07-13"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/1f20504a-705e-47e9-98d9-60efb9718849"
source_url: "https://status.rilegislature.gov/"
source_hash: "2f0989037190b1a7bfd952e3eb3b5ad2fd550fc23474397c0bfc0ce0c322b530"
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 5599 (2021) — AN ACT RELATING TO BUSINESSES AND PROFESSIONS -- PUBLIC ACCOUNTANCY (Eliminates the words "moral turpitude" as a cause of refusal to issue a license to various professionals.)

## Version chain

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

1. **5599** (committee substitute) — [source](http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText21/HouseText21/H5599.pdf)

## Votes

- PASSAGE — **69–0** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Ajello — primary (person)
- Cassar — primary (person)
- Donovan — primary (person)
- Fogarty — primary (person)
- Handy — primary (person)
- Kislak — primary (person)
- Knight — primary (person)
- McEntee — 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 State Government & Elections `introduction, referral-committee`
- **2021-02-26** 02/26/2021 Scheduled for hearing and/or consideration (03/01/2021)
- **2021-03-01** 03/01/2021 Committee recommended measure be held for further study
- **2021-06-04** 06/04/2021 Scheduled for consideration (06/07/2021)
- **2021-06-07** 06/07/2021 Committee recommends passage `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2021-06-11** 06/11/2021 Placed on House Calendar (06/16/2021)
- **2021-06-16** 06/16/2021 House read and passed `passage`
- **2021-06-28** 06/28/2021 Referred to Senate Judiciary `referral-committee`
- **2021-06-28** 06/28/2021 Scheduled for hearing and/or consideration (06/30/2021)
- **2021-06-30** 06/30/2021 Committee recommends passage in concurrence `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2021-07-01** 07/01/2021 Placed on Senate Calendar (07/01/2021)
- **2021-07-01** 07/01/2021 Senate passed in concurrence `passage`
- **2021-07-09** 07/09/2021 Transmitted to Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2021-07-13** 07/13/2021 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/1f20504a-705e-47e9-98d9-60efb9718849`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Rhode Island legislature records).