---
type: "Bill"
title: "AN ACT RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- STATEWIDE BODY-WORN CAMERA PROGRAM (Creates a statewide body-worn camera program for police departments in the state.)"
description: "AN ACT RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- STATEWIDE BODY-WORN CAMERA PROGRAM (Creates a statewide body-worn camera program for police departments in the state.)"
jurisdiction: "us/states/ri"
legislature: "Rhode Island General Assembly"
session: "2021"
identifier: "HB 6438"
citation: "Rhode Island HB 6438 (2021)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Attorney General", "Computer Technology", "Health & Safety", "Police & Fire", "State Affairs"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Alzate", "Baginski", "Batista", "Biah", "Cassar", "Diaz", "Henries", "Potter", "Slater", "Williams"]
version_count: 1
action_count: 11
vote_count: 1
first_action: "2021-06-16"
last_action: "2021-07-08"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/0dec8d27-be2e-46f3-8509-c29e452d4582"
source_url: "https://status.rilegislature.gov/"
source_hash: "0ec600dbcf2cd3c62857f7a34dee1d95ec042a12b55314c8d83bba6da19cc70d"
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 6438 (2021) — AN ACT RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- STATEWIDE BODY-WORN CAMERA PROGRAM (Creates a statewide body-worn camera program for police departments in the state.)

## Version chain

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

1. **6438** (committee substitute) — [source](http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText21/HouseText21/H6438.pdf)

## Votes

- PASSAGE — **70–0** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Alzate — primary (person)
- Baginski — primary (person)
- Batista — primary (person)
- Biah — primary (person)
- Cassar — primary (person)
- Diaz — primary (person)
- Henries — primary (person)
- Potter — primary (person)
- Slater — primary (person)
- Williams — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2021-06-16** 06/16/2021 Introduced, referred to House Judiciary `introduction, referral-committee`
- **2021-06-16** 06/16/2021 Scheduled for hearing and/or consideration (06/18/2021)
- **2021-06-18** 06/18/2021 Committee recommended measure be held for further study
- **2021-06-18** 06/18/2021 Scheduled for consideration (06/21/2021)
- **2021-06-21** 06/21/2021 Committee recommends passage `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2021-06-21** 06/21/2021 Placed on House Calendar (06/23/2021)
- **2021-06-23** 06/23/2021 House read and passed `passage`
- **2021-06-28** 06/28/2021 Placed on the Senate Consent Calendar (06/30/2021)
- **2021-06-30** 06/30/2021 Senate passed in concurrence `passage`
- **2021-07-06** 07/06/2021 Transmitted to Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2021-07-08** 07/08/2021 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/0dec8d27-be2e-46f3-8509-c29e452d4582`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Rhode Island legislature records).