---
type: "Bill"
title: "AN ACT RELATING TO EDUCATION -- CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES -- STATUTES AND STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION (Replaces terms \"mentally retarded\"/\"retarded\" or \"alcoholic\"/\"drug abuser\" used in general laws with \"intellectual and/or developmental disability\" or \"person with an intellectual and/or developmental disability\" or \"person with substance use disorder.\")"
description: "AN ACT RELATING TO EDUCATION -- CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES -- STATUTES AND STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION (Replaces terms \"mentally retarded\"/\"retarded\" or \"alcoholic\"/\"drug abuser\" used in general laws with \"intellectual and/or developmental disability\" or \"person with an intellectual and/or developmental disability\" or \"person with substance use disorder.\")"
jurisdiction: "us/states/ri"
legislature: "Rhode Island General Assembly"
session: "2023"
identifier: "HB 5755"
citation: "Rhode Island HB 5755 (2023)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Dept. of BHDDH", "Education", "Human Services", "Persons with Disabilities", "Substance Use"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Giraldo"]
version_count: 1
action_count: 13
vote_count: 1
first_action: "2023-02-21"
last_action: "2023-06-14"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/15b501db-46a0-4041-8202-f4c814287775"
source_url: "https://status.rilegislature.gov/"
source_hash: "3f2d133de2baa051936250e902deffdfc8b712b2979cea2e694de1c4fd84ba11"
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 5755 (2023) — AN ACT RELATING TO EDUCATION -- CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES -- STATUTES AND STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION (Replaces terms "mentally retarded"/"retarded" or "alcoholic"/"drug abuser" used in general laws with "intellectual and/or developmental disability" or "person with an intellectual and/or developmental disability" or "person with substance use disorder.")

## Version chain

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

1. **5755 SUB A** (committee substitute) — [source](http://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText23/HouseText23/H5755A.pdf)

## Votes

- PASSAGE — **69–0** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Giraldo — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2023-02-21** 02/21/2023 Introduced, referred to House Judiciary `introduction, referral-committee`
- **2023-02-22** 02/22/2023 Committee transferred to House Health & Human Services
- **2023-02-24** 02/24/2023 Scheduled for hearing and/or consideration (02/28/2023)
- **2023-02-28** 02/28/2023 Committee recommended measure be held for further study `committee-failure`
- **2023-05-19** 05/19/2023 Scheduled for consideration (05/25/2023)
- **2023-05-19** 05/19/2023 Proposed Substitute `substitution`
- **2023-05-25** 05/25/2023 Committee recommends passage of Sub A `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2023-05-26** 05/26/2023 Placed on House Calendar (05/30/2023) `reading-3`
- **2023-05-30** 05/30/2023 House passed Sub A `passage`
- **2023-06-07** 06/07/2023 Placed on Senate Calendar (06/13/2023) `reading-3`
- **2023-06-08** 06/08/2023 Senate passed Sub A in concurrence `passage`
- **2023-06-08** 06/08/2023 Transmitted to Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2023-06-14** 06/14/2023 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/15b501db-46a0-4041-8202-f4c814287775`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Rhode Island legislature records).