---
type: "Bill"
title: "AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS (Removes the overtime exemption for firefighters and rescue service personnel employed by the cities and towns.)"
description: "AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS (Removes the overtime exemption for firefighters and rescue service personnel employed by the cities and towns.)"
jurisdiction: "us/states/ri"
legislature: "Rhode Island General Assembly"
session: "2019"
identifier: "HB 5663"
citation: "Rhode Island HB 5663 (2019)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Edwards"]
version_count: 1
action_count: 14
vote_count: 1
first_action: "2019-02-27"
last_action: "2019-05-17"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/6b953438-00b8-4624-aeb2-b33fdf6c59ca"
source_url: "http://status.rilin.state.ri.us/"
source_hash: "3cd18ee21123a2a60c6437df73295c5f48dc1a15ef06d1d4939dc931100f01b5"
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 5663 (2019) — AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS (Removes the overtime exemption for firefighters and rescue service personnel employed by the cities and towns.)

## Version chain

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

1. **5663** (committee substitute) — [source](http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText19/HouseText19/H5663.pdf)

## Votes

- PASSAGE — **62–9** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Edwards — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2019-02-27** 02/27/2019 Introduced, referred to House Labor `introduction, referral-committee`
- **2019-03-15** 03/15/2019 Scheduled for hearing and/or consideration (03/20/2019)
- **2019-03-20** 03/20/2019 Committee recommended measure be held for further study
- **2019-03-29** 03/29/2019 Scheduled for consideration (04/03/2019)
- **2019-04-03** 04/03/2019 Committee recommends passage `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2019-04-05** 04/05/2019 Placed on House Calendar (04/09/2019)
- **2019-04-09** 04/09/2019 House read and passed `passage`
- **2019-04-30** 04/30/2019 Referred to Senate Labor `referral-committee`
- **2019-05-03** 05/03/2019 Scheduled for consideration (05/07/2019)
- **2019-05-07** 05/07/2019 Committee recommends passage in concurrence `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2019-05-07** 05/07/2019 Placed on Senate Calendar (05/09/2019)
- **2019-05-09** 05/09/2019 Senate passed in concurrence `passage`
- **2019-05-09** 05/09/2019 Transmitted to Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2019-05-17** 05/17/2019 Effective without Governor's signature `became-law`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/6b953438-00b8-4624-aeb2-b33fdf6c59ca`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Rhode Island legislature records).