---
type: "Bill"
title: "AN ACT RELATING TO BUSINESSES AND PROFESSIONS -- VETERINARY PRACTICE (Removes certain restrictions on who can perform routine husbandry procedures on livestock and allows a licensed human medical practitioner to assist a licensed veterinarian.)"
description: "AN ACT RELATING TO BUSINESSES AND PROFESSIONS -- VETERINARY PRACTICE (Removes certain restrictions on who can perform routine husbandry procedures on livestock and allows a licensed human medical practitioner to assist a licensed veterinarian.)"
jurisdiction: "us/states/ri"
legislature: "Rhode Island General Assembly"
session: "2017"
identifier: "HB 5470"
citation: "Rhode Island HB 5470 (2017)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Animals", "Dept. of Environmental Management", "Business & Professions", "Medical", "Physicians"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Bennett", "Cunha", "Filippi", "Shanley", "Shekarchi"]
version_count: 1
action_count: 14
vote_count: 1
first_action: "2017-02-15"
last_action: "2017-07-05"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/985aa594-6012-473d-bd24-9bf82094b575"
source_url: "http://status.rilin.state.ri.us/"
source_hash: "38b84ff69cbbaf0f85c2203f8517f7376ded3ceda37085be3bb82a350e809f84"
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 HB 5470 (2017) — AN ACT RELATING TO BUSINESSES AND PROFESSIONS -- VETERINARY PRACTICE (Removes certain restrictions on who can perform routine husbandry procedures on livestock and allows a licensed human medical practitioner to assist a licensed veterinarian.)

## Version chain

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

1. **5470** (committee substitute) — [source](http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText17/HouseText17/H5470.pdf)

## Votes

- PASSAGE — **71–0** (pass) · legislature

## Sponsors

- Bennett — primary (person)
- Cunha — primary (person)
- Filippi — primary (person)
- Shanley — primary (person)
- Shekarchi — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2017-02-15** 02/15/2017 Introduced, referred to House H.E.W. `referral-committee, introduction`
- **2017-03-03** 03/03/2017 Scheduled for hearing and/or consideration (03/08/2017)
- **2017-03-08** 03/08/2017 Committee recommended measure be held for further study
- **2017-06-02** 06/02/2017 Scheduled for consideration (06/07/2017)
- **2017-06-07** 06/07/2017 Committee recommends passage `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2017-06-09** 06/09/2017 Placed on House Calendar (06/14/2017)
- **2017-06-14** 06/14/2017 House read and passed `passage`
- **2017-06-14** 06/14/2017 Referred to Senate Environment and Agriculture `referral-committee`
- **2017-06-17** 06/17/2017 Scheduled for hearing and/or consideration (06/21/2017)
- **2017-06-21** 06/21/2017 Committee recommends passage in concurrence `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2017-06-22** 06/22/2017 Placed on the Senate Consent Calendar (06/27/2017)
- **2017-06-27** 06/27/2017 Senate passed in concurrence `passage`
- **2017-06-29** 06/29/2017 Transmitted to Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2017-07-05** 07/05/2017 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/985aa594-6012-473d-bd24-9bf82094b575`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Rhode Island legislature records).