---
type: "Bill"
title: "AN ACT RELATING TO PUBLIC OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES -- MERIT SYSTEM (Allows a classified employee to seek elected office provided that they resign their position upon being elected.)"
description: "AN ACT RELATING TO PUBLIC OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES -- MERIT SYSTEM (Allows a classified employee to seek elected office provided that they resign their position upon being elected.)"
jurisdiction: "us/states/ri"
legislature: "Rhode Island General Assembly"
session: "2022"
identifier: "HB 7213"
citation: "Rhode Island HB 7213 (2022)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Ajello", "Amore", "Batista", "Diaz", "Morales", "Noret", "Slater"]
version_count: 1
action_count: 19
vote_count: 1
first_action: "2022-01-26"
last_action: "2022-06-27"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/0e4a526d-aa01-438f-a8f5-584d01c4b3f0"
source_url: "https://status.rilegislature.gov/"
source_hash: "b4f667c4a9e21c77cbf25d1ce92cd010066dc8af845888811223ee88e9383286"
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 7213 (2022) — AN ACT RELATING TO PUBLIC OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES -- MERIT SYSTEM (Allows a classified employee to seek elected office provided that they resign their position upon being elected.)

## Version chain

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

1. **7213 SUB A** (committee substitute) — [source](http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText22/HouseText22/H7213A.pdf)

## Votes

- PASSAGE — **61–4** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Ajello — primary (person)
- Amore — primary (person)
- Batista — primary (person)
- Diaz — primary (person)
- Morales — primary (person)
- Noret — primary (person)
- Slater — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2022-01-26** 01/26/2022 Introduced, referred to House State Government & Elections `introduction, referral-committee`
- **2022-01-28** 01/28/2022 Scheduled for hearing and/or consideration (02/01/2022)
- **2022-02-01** 02/01/2022 Committee recommended measure be held for further study `committee-failure`
- **2022-04-22** 04/22/2022 Scheduled for consideration
- **2022-04-26** 04/26/2022 Committee postponed at request of sponsor (04/28/2022)
- **2022-04-22** 04/22/2022 Proposed Substitute `substitution`
- **2022-04-26** 04/26/2022 Committee postponed at request of sponsor (04/28/2022)
- **2022-05-06** 05/06/2022 Scheduled for consideration (05/10/2022)
- **2022-05-06** 05/06/2022 Proposed Substitute `substitution`
- **2022-05-10** 05/10/2022 Committee recommends passage of Sub A `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2022-05-13** 05/13/2022 Placed on House Calendar (05/18/2022) `reading-3`
- **2022-05-18** 05/18/2022 House passed Sub A `passage`
- **2022-05-20** 05/20/2022 Referred to Senate Judiciary `referral-committee`
- **2022-06-03** 06/03/2022 Scheduled for consideration (06/09/2022)
- **2022-06-09** 06/09/2022 Committee recommends passage of Sub A in concurrence `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2022-06-21** 06/21/2022 Placed on the Senate Consent Calendar (06/22/2022) `reading-3`
- **2022-06-22** 06/22/2022 Senate passed Sub A in concurrence `passage`
- **2022-06-22** 06/22/2022 Transmitted to Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2022-06-27** 06/27/2022 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/0e4a526d-aa01-438f-a8f5-584d01c4b3f0`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Rhode Island legislature records).