---
type: "Bill"
title: "AN ACT RELATING TO MOTOR AND OTHER VEHICLES -- DEFINITIONS AND GENERAL CODE PROVISIONS"
description: "Clarifies when mobile equipment can travel on a public highway as an incidentally permitted practice limited to the active participation in an active work zone."
jurisdiction: "us/states/ri"
legislature: "Rhode Island General Assembly"
session: "2026"
identifier: "HB 7870"
citation: "Rhode Island HB 7870 (2026)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Azzinaro", "Bennett", "Biah", "Hull", "Shallcross Smith"]
version_count: 1
action_count: 11
vote_count: 1
first_action: "2026-02-27"
last_action: "2026-06-23"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/f4baba1c-d8bd-4bb2-93d1-63ee21b0a197"
source_url: "https://status.rilegislature.gov/"
source_hash: "79b368f8054c6c656e191990535d5beaca9e3a50d6cfcd746080968210594131"
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 7870 (2026) — AN ACT RELATING TO MOTOR AND OTHER VEHICLES -- DEFINITIONS AND GENERAL CODE PROVISIONS

Clarifies when mobile equipment can travel on a public highway as an incidentally permitted practice limited to the active participation in an active work zone.

## Version chain

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

1. **7870** (committee substitute) — [source](http://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7870.pdf)

## Votes

- PASSAGE — **67–0** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Azzinaro — primary (person)
- Bennett — primary (person)
- Biah — primary (person)
- Hull — primary (person)
- Shallcross Smith — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2026-02-27** 02/27/2026 Introduced, referred to House State Government & Elections `introduction, referral-committee`
- **2026-02-27** 02/27/2026 Scheduled for hearing and/or consideration (03/03/2026)
- **2026-03-03** 03/03/2026 Committee recommended measure be held for further study `committee-failure`
- **2026-05-29** 05/29/2026 Scheduled for consideration (06/04/2026)
- **2026-06-04** 06/04/2026 Committee recommends passage `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2026-06-05** 06/05/2026 Placed on House Calendar (06/08/2026) `reading-3`
- **2026-06-08** 06/08/2026 House read and passed `passage`
- **2026-06-08** 06/08/2026 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/f4baba1c-d8bd-4bb2-93d1-63ee21b0a197`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Rhode Island legislature records).