---
type: "Bill"
title: "AN ACT RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES -- LAW PRACTICE (Provide that the rules of the unauthorized practice of law committee would be approved and promulgated by the supreme court.)"
description: "AN ACT RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES -- LAW PRACTICE (Provide that the rules of the unauthorized practice of law committee would be approved and promulgated by the supreme court.)"
jurisdiction: "us/states/ri"
legislature: "Rhode Island General Assembly"
session: "2021"
identifier: "HB 5975"
citation: "Rhode Island HB 5975 (2021)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Courts", "Criminal Offense", "Criminal Procedure", "Judiciary"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Batista"]
version_count: 1
action_count: 14
vote_count: 1
first_action: "2021-02-26"
last_action: "2021-07-02"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/3388f90d-35fb-433e-aed9-1c6194fdff19"
source_url: "https://status.rilegislature.gov/"
source_hash: "742a5f714a416dd24c36c29d63a7f087e8e1376e2d7918783ec44b39e407f69f"
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 5975 (2021) — AN ACT RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES -- LAW PRACTICE (Provide that the rules of the unauthorized practice of law committee would be approved and promulgated by the supreme court.)

## Version chain

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

1. **5975** (committee substitute) — [source](http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText21/HouseText21/H5975.pdf)

## Votes

- PASSAGE — **69–0** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Batista — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2021-02-26** 02/26/2021 Introduced, referred to House Judiciary `introduction, referral-committee`
- **2021-03-26** 03/26/2021 Scheduled for hearing and/or consideration (03/31/2021)
- **2021-03-31** 03/31/2021 Committee recommended measure be held for further study
- **2021-06-04** 06/04/2021 Scheduled for consideration (06/10/2021)
- **2021-06-10** 06/10/2021 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`
- **2021-06-17** 06/17/2021 Referred to Senate Judiciary `referral-committee`
- **2021-06-18** 06/18/2021 Scheduled for consideration (06/21/2021)
- **2021-06-21** 06/21/2021 Committee recommends passage in concurrence `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2021-06-26** 06/26/2021 Placed on the Senate Consent Calendar (06/29/2021)
- **2021-06-29** 06/29/2021 Senate passed in concurrence `passage`
- **2021-06-30** 06/30/2021 Transmitted to Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2021-07-02** 07/02/2021 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/3388f90d-35fb-433e-aed9-1c6194fdff19`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Rhode Island legislature records).