---
type: "Bill"
title: "AN ACT RELATING TO FOOD AND DRUGS -- THE RHODE ISLAND CANNABIS ACT"
description: "Amends sections of the Rhode Island Cannabis Act relative to proof of residency terminology, and amends the definition of applicant and provides a new process for the approval and certification for social equity and cannabis retail sales licenses."
jurisdiction: "us/states/ri"
legislature: "Rhode Island General Assembly"
session: "2026"
identifier: "HB 8544"
citation: "Rhode Island HB 8544 (2026)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Slater"]
version_count: 1
action_count: 11
vote_count: 1
first_action: "2026-05-13"
last_action: "2026-06-10"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/69ac3567-ed70-4eda-8697-226dedc86c5f"
source_url: "https://status.rilegislature.gov/"
source_hash: "b45ac011c2af29bc38545d7c9fac9d69b5b9b94ed2c40204d3acfd436d672491"
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 8544 (2026) — AN ACT RELATING TO FOOD AND DRUGS -- THE RHODE ISLAND CANNABIS ACT

Amends sections of the Rhode Island Cannabis Act relative to proof of residency terminology, and amends the definition of applicant and provides a new process for the approval and certification for social equity and cannabis retail sales licenses.

## Version chain

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

1. **8544** (committee substitute) — [source](http://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H8544.pdf)

## Votes

- PASSAGE — **63–1** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Slater — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2026-05-13** 05/13/2026 Introduced, referred to House Corporations `introduction, referral-committee`
- **2026-05-15** 05/15/2026 Scheduled for hearing and/or consideration (05/21/2026)
- **2026-05-21** 05/21/2026 Committee recommended measure be held for further study `committee-failure`
- **2026-05-29** 05/29/2026 Scheduled for consideration (06/02/2026)
- **2026-06-02** 06/02/2026 Committee recommends passage `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2026-06-02** 06/02/2026 Placed on House Calendar (06/04/2026) `reading-3`
- **2026-06-04** 06/04/2026 House read and passed `passage`
- **2026-06-05** 06/05/2026 Placed on Senate Calendar (06/09/2026) `reading-3`
- **2026-06-09** 06/09/2026 Senate passed in concurrence `passage`
- **2026-06-09** 06/09/2026 Transmitted to Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2026-06-10** 06/10/2026 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/69ac3567-ed70-4eda-8697-226dedc86c5f`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Rhode Island legislature records).