---
type: "Bill"
title: "AN ACT RELATING TO BUSINESSES AND PROFESSIONS -- NURSE LICENSURE COMPACT (Amends the interstate nurse licensure compact and adopts an enhanced and more comprehensive version of the compact, to allow nurses to hold a multi-state license allowing them to practice across state lines without having to obtain multiple licenses.)"
description: "AN ACT RELATING TO BUSINESSES AND PROFESSIONS -- NURSE LICENSURE COMPACT (Amends the interstate nurse licensure compact and adopts an enhanced and more comprehensive version of the compact, to allow nurses to hold a multi-state license allowing them to practice across state lines without having to obtain multiple licenses.)"
jurisdiction: "us/states/ri"
legislature: "Rhode Island General Assembly"
session: "2023"
identifier: "HB 5737"
citation: "Rhode Island HB 5737 (2023)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Business & Professions", "Health & Safety", "Labor", "Licenses", "Nurses"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Abney", "Azzinaro", "Diaz", "Edwards", "Kazarian", "Kennedy", "Vella-Wilkinson"]
version_count: 1
action_count: 18
vote_count: 1
first_action: "2023-02-21"
last_action: "2023-06-24"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/d2b6d6e1-51ac-4fad-a0e8-ab61151868b9"
source_url: "https://status.rilegislature.gov/"
source_hash: "ca90d92bcc109bd5b1ada4c502cbc78f8d99964e521c3dd28023e304a03c0b5b"
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 5737 (2023) — AN ACT RELATING TO BUSINESSES AND PROFESSIONS -- NURSE LICENSURE COMPACT (Amends the interstate nurse licensure compact and adopts an enhanced and more comprehensive version of the compact, to allow nurses to hold a multi-state license allowing them to practice across state lines without having to obtain multiple licenses.)

## Version chain

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

1. **5737 SUB A** (committee substitute) — [source](http://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText23/HouseText23/H5737A.pdf)

## Votes

- PASSAGE — **70–0** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Abney — primary (person)
- Azzinaro — primary (person)
- Diaz — primary (person)
- Edwards — primary (person)
- Kazarian — primary (person)
- Kennedy — primary (person)
- Vella-Wilkinson — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2023-02-21** 02/21/2023 Introduced, referred to House Corporations `introduction, referral-committee`
- **2023-03-03** 03/03/2023 Scheduled for hearing and/or consideration (03/08/2023)
- **2023-03-08** 03/08/2023 Committee recommended measure be held for further study `committee-failure`
- **2023-06-02** 06/02/2023 Scheduled for consideration
- **2023-06-05** 06/05/2023 Meeting postponed (06/06/2023)
- **2023-06-05** 06/05/2023 Meeting postponed (06/06/2023)
- **2023-06-06** 06/06/2023 Scheduled for consideration (06/08/2023)
- **2023-06-06** 06/06/2023 Proposed Substitute `substitution`
- **2023-06-08** 06/08/2023 Committee recommends passage of Sub A `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2023-06-09** 06/09/2023 Placed on House Calendar (06/12/2023) `reading-3`
- **2023-06-12** 06/12/2023 House passed Sub A `passage`
- **2023-06-13** 06/13/2023 Referred to Senate Health and Human Services `referral-committee`
- **2023-06-13** 06/13/2023 Scheduled for consideration (06/15/2023)
- **2023-06-15** 06/15/2023 Committee recommends passage of Sub A in concurrence `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2023-06-15** 06/15/2023 Placed on Senate Calendar (06/15/2023) `reading-3`
- **2023-06-15** 06/15/2023 Senate passed Sub A in concurrence `passage`
- **2023-06-19** 06/19/2023 Transmitted to Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2023-06-24** 06/24/2023 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/d2b6d6e1-51ac-4fad-a0e8-ab61151868b9`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Rhode Island legislature records).