---
type: "Bill"
title: "AN ACT RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- THE LADDERS TO LICENSURE PROGRAM"
description: "Implements a grant program to fund public or private partnerships that provide opportunities for healthcare paraprofessionals to pursue higher education degrees and health professional licensure."
jurisdiction: "us/states/ri"
legislature: "Rhode Island General Assembly"
session: "2024"
identifier: "HB 8078"
citation: "Rhode Island HB 8078 (2024)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Ackerman", "Ajello", "Felix", "Fogarty", "Hull", "Kislak", "Lombardi", "McNamara", "Shallcross Smith", "Tanzi"]
version_count: 1
action_count: 9
vote_count: 2
first_action: "2024-03-15"
last_action: "2024-06-26"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/c3df54f4-8c9e-470d-8ab8-19ea8545dffe"
source_url: "https://status.rilegislature.gov/"
source_hash: "e1d768db5543e37f3addb3524eeac0b92347dc62c7afd253b51caf592e5be109"
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 8078 (2024) — AN ACT RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- THE LADDERS TO LICENSURE PROGRAM

Implements a grant program to fund public or private partnerships that provide opportunities for healthcare paraprofessionals to pursue higher education degrees and health professional licensure.

## Version chain

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

1. **8078 as amended** (committee substitute) — [source](http://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText24/HouseText24/H8078aa.pdf)

## Votes

- AS AMENDED — **68–0** (pass) · lower
- PASSAGE OF AMENDMENT — **66–0** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Ackerman — primary (person)
- Ajello — primary (person)
- Felix — primary (person)
- Fogarty — primary (person)
- Hull — primary (person)
- Kislak — primary (person)
- Lombardi — primary (person)
- McNamara — primary (person)
- Shallcross Smith — primary (person)
- Tanzi — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2024-03-15** 03/15/2024 Introduced, referred to House Finance `introduction, referral-committee`
- **2024-04-26** 04/26/2024 Scheduled for hearing (05/01/2024)
- **2024-05-01** 05/01/2024 Committee recommended measure be held for further study `committee-failure`
- **2024-06-12** 06/12/2024 Placed on House Calendar (06/13/2024) `reading-3`
- **2024-06-13** 06/13/2024 House passed as amended (floor amendment) `passage`
- **2024-06-13** 06/13/2024 Placed on Senate Calendar (06/13/2024) `reading-3`
- **2024-06-13** 06/13/2024 Senate passed as amended in concurrence `passage`
- **2024-06-20** 06/20/2024 Transmitted to Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2024-06-26** 06/26/2024 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/c3df54f4-8c9e-470d-8ab8-19ea8545dffe`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Rhode Island legislature records).