---
type: "Bill"
title: "AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- BALLOONS (Prohibits the release of balloons inflated with lighter-than-air gas.)"
description: "AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- BALLOONS (Prohibits the release of balloons inflated with lighter-than-air gas.)"
jurisdiction: "us/states/ri"
legislature: "Rhode Island General Assembly"
session: "2021"
identifier: "SB 38"
citation: "Rhode Island SB 38 (2021)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Environment", "Fees", "Health & Safety", "Solid Waste", "Waste (Hazardous/Solid/Toxic)"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Coyne", "Euer", "McCaffrey", "Ruggerio", "Sosnowski"]
version_count: 1
action_count: 12
vote_count: 2
first_action: "2021-01-19"
last_action: "2021-07-08"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/64d66ebb-55ad-47ce-9f83-09aaa61fa6a8"
source_url: "https://status.rilegislature.gov/"
source_hash: "937f6bf138703e52fae00680a0120b005ed3f33321698607241e63656c27967f"
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 38 (2021) — AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- BALLOONS (Prohibits the release of balloons inflated with lighter-than-air gas.)

## Version chain

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

1. **38 SUB A as amended** (committee substitute) — [source](http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText21/SenateText21/S0038Aaa.pdf)

## Votes

- Approval of Amendment — **32–0** (pass) · upper
- Passage as Amended — **34–2** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Coyne — primary (person)
- Euer — primary (person)
- McCaffrey — primary (person)
- Ruggerio — primary (person)
- Sosnowski — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2021-01-19** 01/19/2021 Introduced, referred to Senate Environment and Agriculture `introduction, referral-committee`
- **2021-02-19** 02/19/2021 Scheduled for hearing and/or consideration (02/24/2021)
- **2021-02-24** 02/24/2021 Committee recommended measure be held for further study
- **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 as amended (floor amendment) `passage`
- **2021-06-30** 06/30/2021 Placed on the House Consent Calendar (07/01/2021)
- **2021-07-01** 07/01/2021 House passed Sub A as amended 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/64d66ebb-55ad-47ce-9f83-09aaa61fa6a8`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Rhode Island legislature records).