---
type: "Bill"
title: "AN ACT RELATING TO PUBLIC OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES -- RHODE ISLAND PUBLIC EMPLOYEE PENSION REVOCATION AND REDUCTION ACT"
description: "Authorizes the state retirement board to revoke or reduce an individual’s pension benefit if that individual is convicted or pleads guilty or no contest to a felony sex crime related to their public office or public employment."
jurisdiction: "us/states/ri"
legislature: "Rhode Island General Assembly"
session: "2026"
identifier: "HB 7656"
citation: "Rhode Island HB 7656 (2026)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Bennett", "Caldwell", "Dawson", "McEntee", "McNamara", "O'Brien", "Read", "Spears"]
version_count: 1
action_count: 15
vote_count: 1
first_action: "2026-02-11"
last_action: "2026-06-23"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/fbf0c60c-d596-4d96-82ff-17c74863b22e"
source_url: "https://status.rilegislature.gov/"
source_hash: "64bd022a67336a18bd783fb6f00d509e1c107b337927c340e22395fff0e7d358"
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 7656 (2026) — AN ACT RELATING TO PUBLIC OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES -- RHODE ISLAND PUBLIC EMPLOYEE PENSION REVOCATION AND REDUCTION ACT

Authorizes the state retirement board to revoke or reduce an individual’s pension benefit if that individual is convicted or pleads guilty or no contest to a felony sex crime related to their public office or public employment.

## Version chain

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

1. **7656** (committee substitute) — [source](http://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7656.pdf)

## Votes

- PASSAGE — **73–0** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Bennett — primary (person)
- Caldwell — primary (person)
- Dawson — primary (person)
- McEntee — primary (person)
- McNamara — primary (person)
- O'Brien — primary (person)
- Read — primary (person)
- Spears — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2026-02-11** 02/11/2026 Introduced, referred to House Judiciary `introduction, referral-committee`
- **2026-03-06** 03/06/2026 Scheduled for hearing and/or consideration (03/12/2026)
- **2026-03-12** 03/12/2026 Committee recommended measure be held for further study `committee-failure`
- **2026-03-27** 03/27/2026 Scheduled for consideration (04/02/2026)
- **2026-04-02** 04/02/2026 Committee recommends passage `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2026-04-03** 04/03/2026 Placed on House Calendar (04/07/2026) `reading-3`
- **2026-04-07** 04/07/2026 House read and passed `passage`
- **2026-04-14** 04/14/2026 Referred to Senate Judiciary `referral-committee`
- **2026-05-29** 05/29/2026 Committee transferred to Senate Finance
- **2026-06-05** 06/05/2026 Scheduled for consideration (06/08/2026)
- **2026-06-08** 06/08/2026 Committee recommends passage in concurrence `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2026-06-09** 06/09/2026 Placed on the Senate Consent Calendar (06/10/2026) `reading-3`
- **2026-06-10** 06/10/2026 Senate passed in concurrence `passage`
- **2026-06-18** 06/18/2026 Transmitted to Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2026-06-23** 06/23/2026 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/fbf0c60c-d596-4d96-82ff-17c74863b22e`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Rhode Island legislature records).