---
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 a marriage/family therapist assoc. to practice under supervision prior to becoming a licensed mental health counselor or a 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 a marriage/family therapist assoc. to practice under supervision prior to becoming a licensed mental health counselor or a licensed marriage/family therapist.)"
jurisdiction: "us/states/ri"
legislature: "Rhode Island General Assembly"
session: "2022"
identifier: "SB 2616"
citation: "Rhode Island SB 2616 (2022)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Bell", "Burke", "Cano", "DiMario", "DiPalma", "Kallman", "Lawson", "Miller", "Murray", "Valverde"]
version_count: 1
action_count: 19
vote_count: 5
first_action: "2022-03-10"
last_action: "2022-06-27"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/bcaaca70-3d7f-4339-b654-c3c381a7b716"
source_url: "https://status.rilegislature.gov/"
source_hash: "cfb598b58f5b58fb977faed20610fd4fe3aaff7c8150329f499334486b2ae2a9"
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 2616 (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 a marriage/family therapist assoc. to practice under supervision prior to becoming a licensed mental health counselor or a licensed marriage/family therapist.)

## Version chain

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

1. **2616 SUB A as amended** (committee substitute) — [source](http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText22/SenateText22/S2616Aaa.pdf)

## Votes

- PASSAGE OF AMENDMENT — **55–5** (pass) · upper
- IN CONCURRENCE — **65–0** (pass) · upper
- RECONSIDERATION — **62–0** (pass) · upper
- PASSAGE — **54–6** (pass) · upper
- FAMILY THERAPISTS — **38–0** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Bell — primary (person)
- Burke — primary (person)
- Cano — primary (person)
- DiMario — primary (person)
- DiPalma — primary (person)
- Kallman — primary (person)
- Lawson — primary (person)
- Miller — primary (person)
- Murray — primary (person)
- Valverde — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2022-03-10** 03/10/2022 Introduced, referred to Senate Health and Human Services `introduction, referral-committee`
- **2022-03-11** 03/11/2022 Scheduled for hearing and/or consideration (03/17/2022)
- **2022-03-17** 03/17/2022 Committee recommended measure be held for further study `committee-failure`
- **2022-05-13** 05/13/2022 Scheduled for consideration (05/17/2022)
- **2022-05-16** 05/16/2022 Proposed Substitute `substitution`
- **2022-05-17** 05/17/2022 Committee recommends passage of Sub A `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2022-05-18** 05/18/2022 Placed on Senate Calendar (05/24/2022) `reading-3`
- **2022-05-24** 05/24/2022 Senate passed Sub A `passage`
- **2022-05-26** 05/26/2022 Referred to House Health & Human Services `referral-committee`
- **2022-05-27** 05/27/2022 Scheduled for hearing and/or consideration (06/01/2022)
- **2022-06-01** 06/01/2022 Committee recommends passage of Sub A in concurrence `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2022-06-03** 06/03/2022 Placed on House Calendar (06/09/2022) `reading-3`
- **2022-06-09** 06/09/2022 House passed Sub A in concurrence `passage`
- **2022-06-17** 06/17/2022 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/bcaaca70-3d7f-4339-b654-c3c381a7b716`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Rhode Island legislature records).