---
type: "Bill"
title: "AN ACT RELATING TO MILITARY AFFAIRS AND DEFENSE -- RHODE ISLAND VETERANS' HOME (Removes the word “war” from the sentence “honorable discharged war veteran.”)"
description: "AN ACT RELATING TO MILITARY AFFAIRS AND DEFENSE -- RHODE ISLAND VETERANS' HOME (Removes the word “war” from the sentence “honorable discharged war veteran.”)"
jurisdiction: "us/states/ri"
legislature: "Rhode Island General Assembly"
session: "2021"
identifier: "SB 863"
citation: "Rhode Island SB 863 (2021)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Military Affairs", "Miscellaneous", "Veterans"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Felag"]
version_count: 1
action_count: 12
vote_count: 3
first_action: "2021-04-30"
last_action: "2021-06-11"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/491d7a30-d85b-4b35-bbde-fcc140c674fb"
source_url: "https://status.rilegislature.gov/"
source_hash: "58689c3d513a65a37411022e5932ab668bc133d26d0d15c44f825704823210a1"
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 863 (2021) — AN ACT RELATING TO MILITARY AFFAIRS AND DEFENSE -- RHODE ISLAND VETERANS' HOME (Removes the word “war” from the sentence “honorable discharged war veteran.”)

## Version chain

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

1. **863** (committee substitute) — [source](http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText21/SenateText21/S0863.pdf)

## Votes

- IN CONCURRENCE — **71–0** (pass) · upper
- VETERANS' HOME — **32–4** (pass) · upper
- VETERANS' HOME — **36–0** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Felag — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2021-04-30** 04/30/2021 Introduced, referred to Senate Special Legislation and Veterans Affairs `introduction, referral-committee`
- **2021-04-30** 04/30/2021 Scheduled for hearing and/or consideration (05/05/2021)
- **2021-05-05** 05/05/2021 Committee recommends passage `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2021-05-05** 05/05/2021 Placed on Senate Calendar (05/11/2021)
- **2021-05-11** 05/11/2021 Senate read and passed `passage`
- **2021-05-12** 05/12/2021 Referred to House Veterans Affairs `referral-committee`
- **2021-05-14** 05/14/2021 Scheduled for consideration (05/17/2021)
- **2021-05-17** 05/17/2021 Committee recommends passage in concurrence `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2021-06-04** 06/04/2021 Placed on House Calendar (06/08/2021)
- **2021-06-08** 06/08/2021 House passed in concurrence `passage`
- **2021-06-09** 06/09/2021 Transmitted to Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2021-06-11** 06/11/2021 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/491d7a30-d85b-4b35-bbde-fcc140c674fb`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Rhode Island legislature records).