---
type: "Bill"
title: "AN ACT RELATING TO CORPORATIONS, ASSOCIATIONS, AND PARTNERSHIPS - RHODE ISLAND NONPROFIT CORPORATION ACT (Simplifies process for foreign corporations to obtain certificate of authority by producing only certificate of good standing legal assistance from incorporating state or country.)"
description: "AN ACT RELATING TO CORPORATIONS, ASSOCIATIONS, AND PARTNERSHIPS - RHODE ISLAND NONPROFIT CORPORATION ACT (Simplifies process for foreign corporations to obtain certificate of authority by producing only certificate of good standing legal assistance from incorporating state or country.)"
jurisdiction: "us/states/ri"
legislature: "Rhode Island General Assembly"
session: "2017"
identifier: "HB 5647"
citation: "Rhode Island HB 5647 (2017)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Secretary of State", "Business & Professions", "Corporations"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Ackerman", "Edwards", "McKiernan", "O'Brien", "Solomon"]
version_count: 1
action_count: 16
vote_count: 2
first_action: "2017-03-01"
last_action: "2017-06-19"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/5a64e81c-188a-41a8-89ef-0b0dc5ca78f2"
source_url: "http://status.rilin.state.ri.us/"
source_hash: "9c403117dc5d7c1157657a7a8524ef2c98f98e702abff73a5daab6ef0edbc0e2"
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 5647 (2017) — AN ACT RELATING TO CORPORATIONS, ASSOCIATIONS, AND PARTNERSHIPS - RHODE ISLAND NONPROFIT CORPORATION ACT (Simplifies process for foreign corporations to obtain certificate of authority by producing only certificate of good standing legal assistance from incorporating state or country.)

## Version chain

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

1. **5647 SUB A as amended** (committee substitute) — [source](http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText17/HouseText17/H5647Aaa.pdf)

## Votes

- PASSAGE OF AMENDMENT — **69–0** (pass) · legislature
- AS AMENDED — **68–0** (pass) · legislature

## Sponsors

- Ackerman — primary (person)
- Edwards — primary (person)
- McKiernan — primary (person)
- O'Brien — primary (person)
- Solomon — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2017-03-01** 03/01/2017 Introduced, referred to House Corporations `referral-committee, introduction`
- **2017-03-10** 03/10/2017 Scheduled for hearing and/or consideration
- **2017-03-13** 03/13/2017 Meeting postponed (03/14/2017)
- **2017-03-13** 03/13/2017 Scheduled for hearing and/or consideration (03/15/2017)
- **2017-03-15** 03/15/2017 Committee recommended measure be held for further study
- **2017-04-03** 04/03/2017 Scheduled for consideration (04/05/2017)
- **2017-04-05** 04/05/2017 Committee recommends passage of Sub A `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2017-04-07** 04/07/2017 Placed on House Calendar (04/11/2017)
- **2017-04-11** 04/11/2017 House passed Sub A as amended (floor amendment) `passage`
- **2017-05-30** 05/30/2017 Referred to Senate Commerce `referral-committee`
- **2017-06-02** 06/02/2017 Scheduled for hearing and/or consideration (06/06/2017)
- **2017-06-06** 06/06/2017 Committee recommends passage of Sub A as amended in concurrence `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2017-06-13** 06/13/2017 Placed on the Senate Consent Calendar (06/14/2017)
- **2017-06-14** 06/14/2017 Senate passed Sub A as amended in concurrence `passage`
- **2017-06-14** 06/14/2017 Transmitted to Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2017-06-19** 06/19/2017 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/5a64e81c-188a-41a8-89ef-0b0dc5ca78f2`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Rhode Island legislature records).