---
type: "Bill"
title: "AN ACT RELATING TO BUSINESSES AND PROFESSIONS -- MENTAL HEALTH COUNSELORS AND MARRIAGE AND FAMILY THERAPISTS (Creates entry-level licensing program to allow applicants as a mental health counselor assoc. or marriage/family therapist assoc. to practice under supervision prior to becoming licensed a mental health counselor or licensed marriage/family therapist.)"
description: "AN ACT RELATING TO BUSINESSES AND PROFESSIONS -- MENTAL HEALTH COUNSELORS AND MARRIAGE AND FAMILY THERAPISTS (Creates entry-level licensing program to allow applicants as a mental health counselor assoc. or marriage/family therapist assoc. to practice under supervision prior to becoming licensed a mental health counselor or licensed marriage/family therapist.)"
jurisdiction: "us/states/ri"
legislature: "Rhode Island General Assembly"
session: "2022"
identifier: "HB 7872"
citation: "Rhode Island HB 7872 (2022)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Ajello", "Carson", "Donovan", "Fogarty", "Hull", "J Lombardi", "McEntee", "Ranglin-Vassell", "Ruggiero", "Shallcross Smith"]
version_count: 1
action_count: 21
vote_count: 1
first_action: "2022-03-04"
last_action: "2022-06-27"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/b37a165a-6d02-4298-887d-6968dda93c4a"
source_url: "https://status.rilegislature.gov/"
source_hash: "8906c217448e4bcce7dedd0ac8d3fc7d6ee57a75973bc8ee425b80eac48cc543"
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 7872 (2022) — AN ACT RELATING TO BUSINESSES AND PROFESSIONS -- MENTAL HEALTH COUNSELORS AND MARRIAGE AND FAMILY THERAPISTS (Creates entry-level licensing program to allow applicants as a mental health counselor assoc. or marriage/family therapist assoc. to practice under supervision prior to becoming licensed a mental health counselor or licensed marriage/family therapist.)

## Version chain

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

1. **7872 SUB A as amended** (committee substitute) — [source](http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText22/HouseText22/H7872Aaa.pdf)

## Votes

- PASSAGE — **66–0** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Ajello — primary (person)
- Carson — primary (person)
- Donovan — primary (person)
- Fogarty — primary (person)
- Hull — primary (person)
- J Lombardi — primary (person)
- McEntee — primary (person)
- Ranglin-Vassell — primary (person)
- Ruggiero — primary (person)
- Shallcross Smith — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2022-03-04** 03/04/2022 Introduced, referred to House Health & Human Services `introduction, referral-committee`
- **2022-04-01** 04/01/2022 Scheduled for hearing and/or consideration
- **2022-04-03** 04/03/2022 Committee postponed at request of sponsor (04/05/2022)
- **2022-04-22** 04/22/2022 Scheduled for hearing and/or consideration (04/26/2022)
- **2022-04-26** 04/26/2022 Committee recommended measure be held for further study `committee-failure`
- **2022-05-13** 05/13/2022 Scheduled for consideration (05/18/2022)
- **2022-05-17** 05/17/2022 Proposed Substitute `substitution`
- **2022-05-18** 05/18/2022 Committee recommends passage of Sub A `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2022-05-20** 05/20/2022 Placed on House Calendar (05/25/2022) `reading-3`
- **2022-05-25** 05/25/2022 House passed Sub A `passage`
- **2022-06-09** 06/09/2022 Placed on Senate Calendar (06/09/2022) `reading-3`
- **2022-06-09** 06/09/2022 Senate passed Sub A as amended (floor amendment) `passage`
- **2022-06-10** 06/10/2022 Referred to House Health & Human Services `referral-committee`
- **2022-06-11** 06/11/2022 Scheduled for consideration (06/14/2022)
- **2022-06-14** 06/14/2022 Committee recommends passage of Sub A as amended in concurrence `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2022-06-15** 06/15/2022 Placed on House Calendar (06/17/2022) `reading-3`
- **2022-06-17** 06/17/2022 House passed Sub A as amended (floor amendment) `passage`
- **2022-06-17** 06/17/2022 Placed on Senate Calendar (06/21/2022) `reading-3`
- **2022-06-21** 06/21/2022 Senate passed Sub A as amended in concurrence `passage`
- **2022-06-21** 06/21/2022 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/b37a165a-6d02-4298-887d-6968dda93c4a`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Rhode Island legislature records).