---
type: "Bill"
title: "AN ACT RELATING TO EDUCATION -- CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES -- STATUTES AND STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION (Replaces terms \"mentally retarded\"/\"retarded\" or \"alcoholic\"/\"drug abuser\" used in general laws with \"intellectual or developmental disability\" or \"person with an intellectual or developmental disability\" or \"person with substance use disorder.\")"
description: "AN ACT RELATING TO EDUCATION -- CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES -- STATUTES AND STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION (Replaces terms \"mentally retarded\"/\"retarded\" or \"alcoholic\"/\"drug abuser\" used in general laws with \"intellectual or developmental disability\" or \"person with an intellectual or developmental disability\" or \"person with substance use disorder.\")"
jurisdiction: "us/states/ri"
legislature: "Rhode Island General Assembly"
session: "2023"
identifier: "SB 722"
citation: "Rhode Island SB 722 (2023)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Dept. of BHDDH", "Education", "Persons with Disabilities"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Acosta", "DiPalma", "Miller"]
version_count: 1
action_count: 18
vote_count: 3
first_action: "2023-03-22"
last_action: "2023-06-14"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/d922c52b-4726-4aca-929e-b07e49f0d257"
source_url: "https://status.rilegislature.gov/"
source_hash: "ba4c139bb9121e9c363313e4193aaeaf09f0f1b8da10e536eae7345776e4c905"
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 722 (2023) — AN ACT RELATING TO EDUCATION -- CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES -- STATUTES AND STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION (Replaces terms "mentally retarded"/"retarded" or "alcoholic"/"drug abuser" used in general laws with "intellectual or developmental disability" or "person with an intellectual or developmental disability" or "person with substance use disorder.")

## Version chain

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

1. **722 SUB B** (committee substitute) — [source](http://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText23/SenateText23/S0722B.pdf)

## Votes

- CONSTRUCTION — **36–1** (pass) · upper
- PASSAGE — **73–0** (pass) · upper
- In Concurrence — **37–0** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Acosta — primary (person)
- DiPalma — primary (person)
- Miller — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2023-03-22** 03/22/2023 Introduced, referred to Senate Health and Human Services `introduction, referral-committee`
- **2023-04-14** 04/14/2023 Scheduled for hearing and/or consideration
- **2023-04-17** 04/17/2023 Meeting postponed (04/20/2023)
- **2023-04-20** 04/20/2023 Scheduled for hearing and/or consideration (04/27/2023)
- **2023-04-26** 04/26/2023 Proposed Substitute `substitution`
- **2023-04-27** 04/27/2023 Committee recommends passage of Sub A `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2023-04-28** 04/28/2023 Placed on Senate Calendar (05/09/2023) `reading-3`
- **2023-05-09** 05/09/2023 Senate passed Sub A `passage`
- **2023-05-10** 05/10/2023 Referred to House Health & Human Services `referral-committee`
- **2023-05-26** 05/26/2023 Scheduled for consideration (06/01/2023)
- **2023-05-26** 05/26/2023 Proposed Substitute `substitution`
- **2023-06-01** 06/01/2023 Committee recommends passage of Sub B `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2023-06-02** 06/02/2023 Placed on House Calendar (06/06/2023) `reading-3`
- **2023-06-06** 06/06/2023 House passed Sub B `passage`
- **2023-06-07** 06/07/2023 Placed on Senate Calendar (06/13/2023) `reading-3`
- **2023-06-08** 06/08/2023 Senate passed Sub B in concurrence `passage`
- **2023-06-08** 06/08/2023 Transmitted to Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2023-06-14** 06/14/2023 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/d922c52b-4726-4aca-929e-b07e49f0d257`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Rhode Island legislature records).