---
type: "Bill"
title: "AN ACT RELATING TO SOLEMNIZATION OF MARRIAGES"
description: "Allows Joseph Couto to join Brandon Kemmy and Jacqueline Manousos in Marriage on or about August 2, 2026, within the Town of Tiverton, Rhode Island."
jurisdiction: "us/states/ri"
legislature: "Rhode Island General Assembly"
session: "2026"
identifier: "HB 8509"
citation: "Rhode Island HB 8509 (2026)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Donovan"]
version_count: 1
action_count: 12
vote_count: 1
first_action: "2026-05-01"
last_action: "2026-06-23"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/42d8460a-b622-4240-9eb2-08e94e2e871a"
source_url: "https://status.rilegislature.gov/"
source_hash: "9c04b5aa182d904932acaa7cd05913c534776d1d4506fcfb163093eb79c64813"
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 8509 (2026) — AN ACT RELATING TO SOLEMNIZATION OF MARRIAGES

Allows Joseph Couto to join Brandon Kemmy and Jacqueline Manousos in Marriage on or about August 2, 2026, within the Town of Tiverton, Rhode Island.

## Version chain

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

1. **8509** (committee substitute) — [source](http://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H8509.pdf)

## Votes

- PASSAGE — **64–0** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Donovan — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2026-05-01** 05/01/2026 Introduced, referred to House Special Legislation `introduction, referral-committee`
- **2026-05-08** 05/08/2026 Scheduled for hearing and/or consideration (05/12/2026)
- **2026-05-12** 05/12/2026 Committee recommends passage `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2026-05-15** 05/15/2026 Placed on House Calendar (05/19/2026) `reading-3`
- **2026-05-19** 05/19/2026 House read and passed `passage`
- **2026-05-29** 05/29/2026 Referred to Senate Judiciary `referral-committee`
- **2026-06-01** 06/01/2026 Scheduled for hearing and/or consideration (06/03/2026)
- **2026-06-03** 06/03/2026 Committee recommends passage in concurrence `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2026-06-05** 06/05/2026 Placed on the Senate Consent Calendar (06/09/2026) `reading-3`
- **2026-06-09** 06/09/2026 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/42d8460a-b622-4240-9eb2-08e94e2e871a`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Rhode Island legislature records).