---
type: "Bill"
title: "AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- NEWBORN SCREENING PROGRAM (Mandates DOH rules/regulations for newborn screening to include screening tests for all disorders/conditions with early detection/treatment medical benefit plus new disorders/conditions within 2 yrs. unless not practicable for new disorders.)"
description: "AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- NEWBORN SCREENING PROGRAM (Mandates DOH rules/regulations for newborn screening to include screening tests for all disorders/conditions with early detection/treatment medical benefit plus new disorders/conditions within 2 yrs. unless not practicable for new disorders.)"
jurisdiction: "us/states/ri"
legislature: "Rhode Island General Assembly"
session: "2021"
identifier: "SB 234"
citation: "Rhode Island SB 234 (2021)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Children and Families", "Health & Safety", "Health Care Plans/Services", "Medical", "Minors"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Bell", "Cano", "DiMario", "Goldin", "Lawson", "Miller", "Murray", "Quezada", "Valverde"]
version_count: 1
action_count: 15
vote_count: 1
first_action: "2021-02-10"
last_action: "2021-07-12"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/9904665f-ebf2-4ee0-8764-37ee8548928f"
source_url: "https://status.rilegislature.gov/"
source_hash: "aaa2cb5b9e97dcbcb4c1d5b61b000350761e8542ccf13918c36b944aa4a45176"
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 SB 234 (2021) — AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- NEWBORN SCREENING PROGRAM (Mandates DOH rules/regulations for newborn screening to include screening tests for all disorders/conditions with early detection/treatment medical benefit plus new disorders/conditions within 2 yrs. unless not practicable for new disorders.)

## Version chain

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

1. **234 SUB A** (committee substitute) — [source](http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText21/SenateText21/S0234A.pdf)

## Votes

- Passage — **36–0** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Bell — primary (person)
- Cano — primary (person)
- DiMario — primary (person)
- Goldin — primary (person)
- Lawson — primary (person)
- Miller — primary (person)
- Murray — primary (person)
- Quezada — primary (person)
- Valverde — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2021-02-10** 02/10/2021 Introduced, referred to Senate Health and Human Services `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
- **2021-05-21** 05/21/2021 Scheduled for consideration (05/27/2021)
- **2021-05-26** 05/26/2021 Proposed Substitute
- **2021-05-27** 05/27/2021 Committee recommends passage of Sub A `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2021-05-28** 05/28/2021 Placed on Senate Calendar (06/01/2021)
- **2021-06-01** 06/01/2021 Senate passed Sub A `passage`
- **2021-06-02** 06/02/2021 Referred to House Health & Human Services `referral-committee`
- **2021-06-25** 06/25/2021 Scheduled for consideration (06/28/2021)
- **2021-06-28** 06/28/2021 Committee recommends passage of Sub A in concurrence `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2021-06-29** 06/29/2021 Placed on the House Consent Calendar (07/01/2021)
- **2021-07-01** 07/01/2021 House passed Sub A in concurrence `passage`
- **2021-07-08** 07/08/2021 Transmitted to Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2021-07-12** 07/12/2021 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/9904665f-ebf2-4ee0-8764-37ee8548928f`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Rhode Island legislature records).