---
type: "Bill"
title: "AN ACT RELATING TO EDUCATION -- HEALTH AND SAFETY OF PUPILS (Allows students in public schools to possess and use sunscreen without a physician's note or prescription, if the product is regulated by the FDA for over-the-counter use.)"
description: "AN ACT RELATING TO EDUCATION -- HEALTH AND SAFETY OF PUPILS (Allows students in public schools to possess and use sunscreen without a physician's note or prescription, if the product is regulated by the FDA for over-the-counter use.)"
jurisdiction: "us/states/ri"
legislature: "Rhode Island General Assembly"
session: "2021"
identifier: "SB 34"
citation: "Rhode Island SB 34 (2021)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Education", "Food and Drugs", "Health & Safety", "Physicians", "Prescription drugs"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Acosta", "Cano", "Coyne", "DiMario", "Miller", "Murray", "Quezada", "Valverde"]
version_count: 1
action_count: 14
vote_count: 1
first_action: "2021-01-19"
last_action: "2021-07-09"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/e2fe16fc-80f4-4753-b58b-3e9dc0eed6b0"
source_url: "https://status.rilegislature.gov/"
source_hash: "4a678fe779c2c277067327373ac5eb23dcbb6b4571d28ca1119eb7a1c5769fdf"
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 34 (2021) — AN ACT RELATING TO EDUCATION -- HEALTH AND SAFETY OF PUPILS (Allows students in public schools to possess and use sunscreen without a physician's note or prescription, if the product is regulated by the FDA for over-the-counter use.)

## Version chain

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

1. **34 SUB A** (committee substitute) — [source](http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText21/SenateText21/S0034A.pdf)

## Votes

- Passage — **38–0** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Acosta — primary (person)
- Cano — primary (person)
- Coyne — primary (person)
- DiMario — primary (person)
- Miller — primary (person)
- Murray — primary (person)
- Quezada — primary (person)
- Valverde — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2021-01-19** 01/19/2021 Introduced, referred to Senate Education `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
- **2021-06-25** 06/25/2021 Scheduled for consideration
- **2021-06-25** 06/25/2021 Meeting postponed (06/30/2021)
- **2021-06-25** 06/25/2021 Scheduled for consideration (06/28/2021)
- **2021-06-27** 06/27/2021 Proposed Substitute
- **2021-06-28** 06/28/2021 Committee recommends passage of Sub A `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2021-06-28** 06/28/2021 Placed on Senate Calendar (06/30/2021)
- **2021-06-30** 06/30/2021 Senate passed Sub A `passage`
- **2021-07-01** 07/01/2021 Placed on the House Consent Calendar (07/01/2021)
- **2021-07-01** 07/01/2021 House passed Sub A in concurrence `passage`
- **2021-07-07** 07/07/2021 Transmitted to Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2021-07-09** 07/09/2021 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/e2fe16fc-80f4-4753-b58b-3e9dc0eed6b0`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Rhode Island legislature records).