Rhode Island legislation · 2026 Regular Session
Rhode Island S3135: AN ACT RELATING TO MOTOR AND OTHER VEHICLES -- MISCELLANEOUS RULES (Restores law enforcement discretion, allowing officers to issue a verbal warning when appropriate or pursue misdemeanor or felony charges in more egregious cases where a child is left unattended in a motor vehicle.)
Status: Signed into law, June 23, 2026
What the bill says
From the introduced text, March 20, 2026:
2026 -- S 3135 ======== LC005636 ======== STATEOFRHODEISLAND IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2026 ____________ ANACT RELATING TO MOTOR AND OTHER VEHICLES -- MISCELLANEOUS RULES Introduced By: Senators Raptakis, Dimitri, McKenney, LaMountain, Burke, Quezada, and Thompson Date Introduced: March 20, 2026 Referred To: Senate Judiciary (Attorney General) It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: SECTION 1. Section 31-22-22.1 of the General Laws in Chapter 31-22 entitled "Miscellaneous Rules" is hereby amended to read as follows: 31-22-22.1. Child passenger protection -- Warnings of hazard and risk. (a) All law enforcement officers in this state are authorized to may provide a verbal warning to any person who shall be is deemed to have left a child under the age of seven (7) unattended in a motor vehicle. The warning shall apprise inform the offending person of the dangers of this practice including, but not limited to, the risk of kidnapping and/or abduction, and the dangers which may result from the accumulation of excessive temperatures within the motor vehicle. (b) No fine or sanction shall be imposed for a violation of this section, other than a verbal warning, and no record of any kind shall be maintained of the warning. Nothing in this section shall preclude prosecution under any applicable criminal law for acts arising from leaving a child unattended …
Sponsors
- Leonidas Raptakis (D, SD-033) · primary sponsor
- Andrew Dimitri (D, SD-025)
- Mark McKenney (D, SD-030)
- Matthew LaMountain (D, SD-031)
- John Burke (D, SD-009)
- Ana Quezada (D, SD-002)
- Brian Thompson (D, SD-020)
Latest actions
- : Signed by Governor
- : Transmitted to Governor
- : House passed in concurrence
- : Placed on House Calendar
- : Committee recommends passage in concurrence
- : Scheduled for consideration
- : Referred to House Judiciary
- : Senate read and passed
- : Placed on Senate Calendar
- : Committee recommends passage
Votes
- House Seq #481: PASSAGE IN CONCURRENCE (June 10, 2026): 69 yea, 0 nay, passed
- House Committee on Judiciary: Passage in concurrence (June 8, 2026): 12 yea, 0 nay, passed
- Senate Seq #438: (June 4, 2026): 37 yea, 0 nay, passed
- Senate Committee on Judiciary: Passage (June 2, 2026): 9 yea, 0 nay, passed
- Senate Committee on Judiciary: Passage (April 9, 2026): 9 yea, 0 nay, passed
Subjects: MOTOR AND OTHER VEHICLES
Common questions
- What is S3135?
- S3135 is a bill in the Rhode Island Legislature (2026 Regular Session): AN ACT RELATING TO MOTOR AND OTHER VEHICLES -- MISCELLANEOUS RULES (Restores law enforcement discretion, allowing officers to issue a verbal warning when appropriate or pursue misdemeanor or felony charges in more egregious cases where a child is left unattended in a motor vehicle.).
- What is the status of S3135?
- Signed into law as of June 23, 2026. Latest action: Signed by Governor (June 23, 2026).
- Who sponsored S3135?
- Leonidas Raptakis (D, SD-033), with 6 co-sponsors.
- Where is the official record for S3135?
- On the Rhode Island Legislature website: http://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S3135.pdf
Source: official Rhode Island record. Tracked by Delilah, AI for legislation across all 50 states and Congress.