---
type: "Bill"
title: "AN ACT RELATING TO HIGHWAYS -- FREEWAYS (Eliminates the provision a person who solicits a ride in a motor vehicle or backs up a motor vehicle on a freeway is guilty of a misdemeanor. Adds $100 fine for advertising a motor vehicle for sale on a state highway to the schedule of violations.)"
description: "AN ACT RELATING TO HIGHWAYS -- FREEWAYS (Eliminates the provision a person who solicits a ride in a motor vehicle or backs up a motor vehicle on a freeway is guilty of a misdemeanor. Adds $100 fine for advertising a motor vehicle for sale on a state highway to the schedule of violations.)"
jurisdiction: "us/states/ri"
legislature: "Rhode Island General Assembly"
session: "2021"
identifier: "HB 5977"
citation: "Rhode Island HB 5977 (2021)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Education", "Fees", "Highways", "Judiciary", "Motor Vehicles", "Traffic Offenses"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Edwards", "Kennedy", "Solomon"]
version_count: 1
action_count: 14
vote_count: 1
first_action: "2021-02-26"
last_action: "2021-06-11"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/e62c3ee2-ec12-460a-936c-4886eac4cb1a"
source_url: "https://status.rilegislature.gov/"
source_hash: "e6d2709474a6e9b3483c7cee4b49c033da66481c36413849eb387be99e0b2c66"
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 5977 (2021) — AN ACT RELATING TO HIGHWAYS -- FREEWAYS (Eliminates the provision a person who solicits a ride in a motor vehicle or backs up a motor vehicle on a freeway is guilty of a misdemeanor. Adds $100 fine for advertising a motor vehicle for sale on a state highway to the schedule of violations.)

## Version chain

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

1. **5977** (committee substitute) — [source](http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText21/HouseText21/H5977.pdf)

## Votes

- PASSAGE — **72–2** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Edwards — primary (person)
- Kennedy — primary (person)
- Solomon — 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`
- **2021-03-19** 03/19/2021 Scheduled for hearing and/or consideration (03/24/2021)
- **2021-03-24** 03/24/2021 Committee recommended measure be held for further study
- **2021-05-07** 05/07/2021 Scheduled for consideration (05/12/2021)
- **2021-05-12** 05/12/2021 Committee recommends passage `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2021-05-21** 05/21/2021 Placed on House Calendar (05/27/2021)
- **2021-05-27** 05/27/2021 House read and passed `passage`
- **2021-05-28** 05/28/2021 Referred to Senate Judiciary `referral-committee`
- **2021-05-28** 05/28/2021 Scheduled for consideration (06/03/2021)
- **2021-06-03** 06/03/2021 Committee recommends passage in concurrence `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2021-06-04** 06/04/2021 Placed on the Senate Consent Calendar (06/08/2021)
- **2021-06-08** 06/08/2021 Senate passed in concurrence `passage`
- **2021-06-10** 06/10/2021 Transmitted to Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2021-06-11** 06/11/2021 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/e62c3ee2-ec12-460a-936c-4886eac4cb1a`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Rhode Island legislature records).