---
type: "Bill"
title: "AN ACT RELATING TO INSURANCE -- PHARMACY BENEFIT MANAGERS ACT"
description: "Requires pharmacy benefit managers to apply for certificate of authority from DBR to operate such a business in this state. Empowers the health insurance commissioner to oversee pharmacy benefit managers and penalize violations."
jurisdiction: "us/states/ri"
legislature: "Rhode Island General Assembly"
session: "2026"
identifier: "HB 8579"
citation: "Rhode Island HB 8579 (2026)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Donovan", "Spears"]
version_count: 1
action_count: 12
vote_count: 2
first_action: "2026-05-22"
last_action: "2026-06-22"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/69da7958-dda9-43a0-956d-ef8127d83c32"
source_url: "https://status.rilegislature.gov/"
source_hash: "75da2824ace240bc567559b3cb6a06ddaefcab53ecd85b90ba0a501b594dcbdb"
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 8579 (2026) — AN ACT RELATING TO INSURANCE -- PHARMACY BENEFIT MANAGERS ACT

Requires pharmacy benefit managers to apply for certificate of authority from DBR to operate such a business in this state. Empowers the health insurance commissioner to oversee pharmacy benefit managers and penalize violations.

## Version chain

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

1. **8579 SUB A as amended** (committee substitute) — [source](http://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H8579Aaa.pdf)

## Votes

- AS AMENDED — **70–0** (pass) · lower
- PASSAGE OF AMENDMENT — **68–0** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Donovan — primary (person)
- Spears — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2026-05-22** 05/22/2026 Introduced, referred to House Health & Human Services `introduction, referral-committee`
- **2026-05-22** 05/22/2026 Scheduled for hearing and/or consideration (05/28/2026)
- **2026-05-28** 05/28/2026 Committee recommended measure be held for further study `committee-failure`
- **2026-06-07** 06/07/2026 Scheduled for consideration (06/09/2026)
- **2026-06-07** 06/07/2026 Proposed Substitute `substitution`
- **2026-06-09** 06/09/2026 Committee recommends passage of Sub A `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2026-06-09** 06/09/2026 Placed on House Calendar (06/10/2026) `reading-3`
- **2026-06-10** 06/10/2026 House passed Sub A as amended (floor amendment) `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 as amended in concurrence `passage`
- **2026-06-18** 06/18/2026 Transmitted to Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2026-06-22** 06/22/2026 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/69da7958-dda9-43a0-956d-ef8127d83c32`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Rhode Island legislature records).