---
type: "Bill"
title: "AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- EMPLOYMENT SECURITY"
description: "Eliminates the \"until June 30, 2026\" sunset on the increase in the total amount of earnings a partial-unemployment insurance claimant can receive before being entirely disqualified for unemployment insurance benefits."
jurisdiction: "us/states/ri"
legislature: "Rhode Island General Assembly"
session: "2026"
identifier: "HB 7962"
citation: "Rhode Island HB 7962 (2026)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Bennett", "Caldwell", "McEntee", "O'Brien", "Spears"]
version_count: 1
action_count: 12
vote_count: 1
first_action: "2026-02-27"
last_action: "2026-06-19"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/96bd3dcc-6ef8-4fbd-95c4-a1fbdb6d1721"
source_url: "https://status.rilegislature.gov/"
source_hash: "347c3e949a9970e94b95f28fcbbdd8006b2273467ab295660f9a93a9adff3a50"
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 7962 (2026) — AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- EMPLOYMENT SECURITY

Eliminates the "until June 30, 2026" sunset on the increase in the total amount of earnings a partial-unemployment insurance claimant can receive before being entirely disqualified for unemployment insurance benefits.

## Version chain

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

1. **7962 SUB A** (committee substitute) — [source](http://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7962A.pdf)

## Votes

- PASSAGE — **66–3** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

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

## Timeline

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

- **2026-02-27** 02/27/2026 Introduced, referred to House Labor `introduction, referral-committee`
- **2026-02-27** 02/27/2026 Scheduled for hearing and/or consideration (03/05/2026)
- **2026-03-05** 03/05/2026 Committee recommended measure be held for further study `committee-failure`
- **2026-06-03** 06/03/2026 Scheduled for consideration (06/05/2026)
- **2026-06-03** 06/03/2026 Proposed Substitute `substitution`
- **2026-06-05** 06/05/2026 Committee recommends passage of Sub A `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 passed Sub A `passage`
- **2026-06-10** 06/10/2026 Placed on Senate Calendar (06/11/2026) `reading-3`
- **2026-06-11** 06/11/2026 Senate passed Sub A in concurrence `passage`
- **2026-06-16** 06/16/2026 Transmitted to Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2026-06-19** 06/19/2026 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/96bd3dcc-6ef8-4fbd-95c4-a1fbdb6d1721`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Rhode Island legislature records).