---
type: "Bill"
title: "AN ACT RELATING TO BUSINESSES AND PROFESSIONS -- THE HEALING ART OF ACUPUNCTURE AND ORIENTAL MEDICINE (Changes title of chapter 37.2 of title 5 and throughout, replacing the words \"Oriental medicine\" with \"Chinese medicine\". Allows individuals who are otherwise certified, to practice acupuncture & Chinese medicine using Chinese medical diagnostic methods.)"
description: "AN ACT RELATING TO BUSINESSES AND PROFESSIONS -- THE HEALING ART OF ACUPUNCTURE AND ORIENTAL MEDICINE (Changes title of chapter 37.2 of title 5 and throughout, replacing the words \"Oriental medicine\" with \"Chinese medicine\". Allows individuals who are otherwise certified, to practice acupuncture & Chinese medicine using Chinese medical diagnostic methods.)"
jurisdiction: "us/states/ri"
legislature: "Rhode Island General Assembly"
session: "2021"
identifier: "SB 47"
citation: "Rhode Island SB 47 (2021)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Business & Professions", "Health & Safety", "Health Care Plans/Services", "Licenses", "Medical"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Acosta", "Anderson", "Bell", "Cano", "DiMario", "Miller", "Murray", "Quezada"]
version_count: 1
action_count: 12
vote_count: 2
first_action: "2021-01-19"
last_action: "2021-06-25"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/de064abd-96ea-4aaf-98a3-eff6a858ee7c"
source_url: "https://status.rilegislature.gov/"
source_hash: "1e0e7e4738670fb1fb543253da744ad53bc941966fe90b3f086719264bae2e65"
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 47 (2021) — AN ACT RELATING TO BUSINESSES AND PROFESSIONS -- THE HEALING ART OF ACUPUNCTURE AND ORIENTAL MEDICINE (Changes title of chapter 37.2 of title 5 and throughout, replacing the words "Oriental medicine" with "Chinese medicine". Allows individuals who are otherwise certified, to practice acupuncture & Chinese medicine using Chinese medical diagnostic methods.)

## Version chain

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

1. **47** (committee substitute) — [source](http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText21/SenateText21/S0047.pdf)

## Votes

- IN CONCURRENCE — **61–9** (pass) · upper
- ORIENTAL MEDICINE — **37–0** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Acosta — primary (person)
- Anderson — primary (person)
- Bell — primary (person)
- Cano — primary (person)
- DiMario — primary (person)
- Miller — primary (person)
- Murray — primary (person)
- Quezada — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2021-01-19** 01/19/2021 Introduced, referred to Senate Health and Human Services `introduction, referral-committee`
- **2021-02-05** 02/05/2021 Scheduled for hearing and/or consideration (02/11/2021)
- **2021-02-11** 02/11/2021 Committee recommends passage `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2021-02-12** 02/12/2021 Placed on Senate Calendar (02/23/2021)
- **2021-02-23** 02/23/2021 Senate read and passed `passage`
- **2021-02-25** 02/25/2021 Referred to House Health & Human Services `referral-committee`
- **2021-06-07** 06/07/2021 Scheduled for consideration (06/10/2021)
- **2021-06-10** 06/10/2021 Committee recommends passage in concurrence `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2021-06-11** 06/11/2021 Placed on House Calendar (06/15/2021)
- **2021-06-15** 06/15/2021 House passed in concurrence `passage`
- **2021-06-17** 06/17/2021 Transmitted to Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2021-06-25** 06/25/2021 Effective without Governor's signature `became-law`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/de064abd-96ea-4aaf-98a3-eff6a858ee7c`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Rhode Island legislature records).