---
type: "Bill"
title: "AN ACT RELATING TO COMMERCIAL LAW -- GENERAL REGULATORY PROVISIONS -- DECEPTIVE TRADE PRACTICES"
description: "Provides protection from and prevent the unethical, improper conduct and the collection of fees by, anyone advising or assisting a veteran filing a claim for disability benefits with the Department of Veterans Affairs except as authorized by federal law."
jurisdiction: "us/states/ri"
legislature: "Rhode Island General Assembly"
session: "2025"
identifier: "HB 5043"
citation: "Rhode Island HB 5043 (2025)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Azzinaro", "Casimiro", "Corvese", "Fellela", "Kennedy", "Serpa"]
version_count: 1
action_count: 17
vote_count: 2
first_action: "2025-01-15"
last_action: "2025-06-30"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/c0466554-3658-4745-877d-a506498d009c"
source_url: "https://status.rilegislature.gov/"
source_hash: "4a546f4af6b55c19cbc67e79ecd8c0ccccb8d1022eff8fe96a454f2e2a9fad0f"
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 5043 (2025) — AN ACT RELATING TO COMMERCIAL LAW -- GENERAL REGULATORY PROVISIONS -- DECEPTIVE TRADE PRACTICES

Provides protection from and prevent the unethical, improper conduct and the collection of fees by, anyone advising or assisting a veteran filing a claim for disability benefits with the Department of Veterans Affairs except as authorized by federal law.

## Version chain

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

1. **5043 SUB A** (committee substitute) — [source](http://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText25/HouseText25/H5043A.pdf)

## Votes

- IN CONCURRENCE — **73–0** (pass) · lower
- PASSAGE — **70–0** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Azzinaro — primary (person)
- Casimiro — primary (person)
- Corvese — primary (person)
- Fellela — primary (person)
- Kennedy — primary (person)
- Serpa — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2025-01-15** 01/15/2025 Introduced, referred to House Corporations `introduction, referral-committee`
- **2025-03-21** 03/21/2025 Scheduled for hearing and/or consideration (03/25/2025)
- **2025-03-25** 03/25/2025 Committee recommended measure be held for further study `committee-failure`
- **2025-04-04** 04/04/2025 Scheduled for consideration (04/08/2025)
- **2025-04-08** 04/08/2025 Committee recommends passage `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2025-04-25** 04/25/2025 Placed on House Calendar (04/29/2025) `reading-3`
- **2025-04-29** 04/29/2025 House read and passed `passage`
- **2025-05-02** 05/02/2025 Referred to Senate Special Legislation and Veterans Affairs `referral-committee`
- **2025-06-16** 06/16/2025 Scheduled for consideration (06/18/2025)
- **2025-06-17** 06/17/2025 Proposed Substitute `substitution`
- **2025-06-18** 06/18/2025 Committee recommends passage of Sub A `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2025-06-18** 06/18/2025 Placed on Senate Calendar (06/20/2025) `reading-3`
- **2025-06-20** 06/20/2025 Senate passed Sub A `passage`
- **2025-06-20** 06/20/2025 Placed on House Calendar (06/20/2025) `reading-3`
- **2025-06-20** 06/20/2025 House passed Sub A in concurrence `passage`
- **2025-06-23** 06/23/2025 Transmitted to Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2025-06-30** 06/30/2025 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/c0466554-3658-4745-877d-a506498d009c`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Rhode Island legislature records).