---
type: "Bill"
title: "AN ACT RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- APPROPRIATE DISABILITY LANGUAGE (Ensures appropriate disability language is used in all job descriptions and statutes.)"
description: "AN ACT RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- APPROPRIATE DISABILITY LANGUAGE (Ensures appropriate disability language is used in all job descriptions and statutes.)"
jurisdiction: "us/states/ri"
legislature: "Rhode Island General Assembly"
session: "2019"
identifier: "SB 171"
citation: "Rhode Island SB 171 (2019)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Developmentally Disabled", "General Assembly", "Handicapped"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Coyne", "DiPalma", "Seveney", "Sosnowski", "Valverde"]
version_count: 1
action_count: 20
vote_count: 3
first_action: "2019-01-24"
last_action: "2019-06-28"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/98071966-21ab-469a-8902-131e03bc0dcb"
source_url: "http://status.rilin.state.ri.us/"
source_hash: "df16e22609ebd9e9de06d72d15e4b8d272d98bfa3f57e970f86ceed26ca4e4a6"
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 171 (2019) — AN ACT RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- APPROPRIATE DISABILITY LANGUAGE (Ensures appropriate disability language is used in all job descriptions and statutes.)

## Version chain

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

1. **171 SUB A** (committee substitute) — [source](http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText19/SenateText19/S0171A.pdf)

## Votes

- PASSAGE — **73–0** (pass) · upper
- Passage — **38–0** (pass) · upper
- Passage — **37–0** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Coyne — primary (person)
- DiPalma — primary (person)
- Seveney — primary (person)
- Sosnowski — primary (person)
- Valverde — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2019-01-24** 01/24/2019 Introduced, referred to Senate Labor `introduction, referral-committee`
- **2019-02-22** 02/22/2019 Scheduled for hearing and/or consideration (02/27/2019)
- **2019-02-27** 02/27/2019 Committee recommended measure be held for further study
- **2019-03-29** 03/29/2019 Scheduled for consideration (04/03/2019)
- **2019-04-03** 04/03/2019 Committee recommends passage `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2019-04-04** 04/04/2019 Placed on Senate Calendar (04/10/2019)
- **2019-04-10** 04/10/2019 Senate read and passed `passage`
- **2019-04-11** 04/11/2019 Referred to House Labor `referral-committee`
- **2019-05-31** 05/31/2019 Committee transferred to House H.E.W.
- **2019-06-07** 06/07/2019 Scheduled for hearing and/or consideration (06/12/2019)
- **2019-06-12** 06/12/2019 Committee recommended measure be held for further study
- **2019-06-14** 06/14/2019 Scheduled for consideration (06/19/2019)
- **2019-06-14** 06/14/2019 Proposed Substitute
- **2019-06-19** 06/19/2019 Committee recommends passage of Sub A `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2019-06-20** 06/20/2019 Placed on the House Consent Calendar (06/24/2019)
- **2019-06-24** 06/24/2019 House passed Sub A `passage`
- **2019-06-25** 06/25/2019 Placed on Senate Calendar (06/26/2019)
- **2019-06-26** 06/26/2019 Senate passed Sub A in concurrence `passage`
- **2019-06-26** 06/26/2019 Transmitted to Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2019-06-28** 06/28/2019 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/98071966-21ab-469a-8902-131e03bc0dcb`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Rhode Island legislature records).