---
type: "Bill"
title: "AN ACT RELATING TO MOTOR AND OTHER VEHICLES -- SIZE, WEIGHT, AND LOAD LIMITS (Authorizes the department of transportation to impose a weight restriction or close any state, local or privately-owned bridge, in the interest of public safety.)"
description: "AN ACT RELATING TO MOTOR AND OTHER VEHICLES -- SIZE, WEIGHT, AND LOAD LIMITS (Authorizes the department of transportation to impose a weight restriction or close any state, local or privately-owned bridge, in the interest of public safety.)"
jurisdiction: "us/states/ri"
legislature: "Rhode Island General Assembly"
session: "2021"
identifier: "SB 794"
citation: "Rhode Island SB 794 (2021)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Bridges", "Cities & Towns", "Health & Safety", "Public Works", "Transportation"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Goodwin"]
version_count: 1
action_count: 19
vote_count: 3
first_action: "2021-04-08"
last_action: "2021-07-08"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/c63e58d3-4cd1-477e-9b83-efe79a903fe9"
source_url: "https://status.rilegislature.gov/"
source_hash: "ced162cd8082456ad405b6b19d63bf2b853d388b48af73e9e62bd34a619a47b8"
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 794 (2021) — AN ACT RELATING TO MOTOR AND OTHER VEHICLES -- SIZE, WEIGHT, AND LOAD LIMITS (Authorizes the department of transportation to impose a weight restriction or close any state, local or privately-owned bridge, in the interest of public safety.)

## Version chain

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

1. **794 SUB A** (committee substitute) — [source](http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText21/SenateText21/S0794A.pdf)

## Votes

- LOAD LIMITS — **36–0** (pass) · upper
- LOAD LIMITS — **36–1** (pass) · upper
- PASSAGE — **58–9** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Goodwin — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2021-04-08** 04/08/2021 Introduced, referred to Senate Housing and Municipal Government `introduction, referral-committee`
- **2021-04-30** 04/30/2021 Scheduled for hearing and/or consideration (05/06/2021)
- **2021-05-06** 05/06/2021 Committee recommended measure be held for further study
- **2021-05-21** 05/21/2021 Scheduled for consideration (05/27/2021)
- **2021-05-27** 05/27/2021 Committee recommends passage `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2021-05-28** 05/28/2021 Placed on Senate Calendar (06/01/2021)
- **2021-06-01** 06/01/2021 Senate read and passed `passage`
- **2021-06-02** 06/02/2021 Referred to House State Government & Elections `referral-committee`
- **2021-06-23** 06/23/2021 Scheduled for consideration (06/25/2021)
- **2021-06-25** 06/25/2021 Committee recommended measure be held for further study
- **2021-06-25** 06/25/2021 Scheduled for consideration (06/28/2021)
- **2021-06-25** 06/25/2021 Proposed Substitute
- **2021-06-28** 06/28/2021 Committee recommends passage of Sub A `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2021-06-29** 06/29/2021 Placed on House Calendar (06/30/2021)
- **2021-06-30** 06/30/2021 House passed Sub A `passage`
- **2021-07-01** 07/01/2021 Placed on Senate Calendar (07/01/2021)
- **2021-07-01** 07/01/2021 Senate passed Sub A in concurrence `passage`
- **2021-07-02** 07/02/2021 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/c63e58d3-4cd1-477e-9b83-efe79a903fe9`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Rhode Island legislature records).