Rhode Island legislation · 2026 Regular Session
Rhode Island S3180: AN ACT RELATING TO BUSINESSES AND PROFESSIONS -- VETERINARY PRACTICE (Authorizes veterinarians to establish a client-patient relationship through electronic means, subject to limitations and requirements such as Vet making a good faith effort to determine if care should be provided through telemedicine instead of in person.)
Status: Signed into law, June 23, 2026
What the bill says
From the introduced text, April 3, 2026:
2026 -- S 3180 ======== LC006245 ======== STATEOFRHODEISLAND IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2026 ____________ ANACT RELATING TO BUSINESSES AND PROFESSIONS -- VETERINARY PRACTICE Introduced By: Senators Thompson, Britto, Murray, DiPalma, Tikoian, Ciccone, Sosnowski, and Patalano Date Introduced: April 03, 2026 Referred To: Senate Environment & Agriculture It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: SECTION 1. Section 5-25-2 of the General Laws in Chapter 5-25 entitled "Veterinary Practice" is hereby amended to read as follows: 5-25-2. Definitions. As used in this chapter: (1) "Animal" means any animal other than humans and includes, by way of illustration, not limitation, fowl, birds, fish, livestock, and reptiles, wild or domestic, living or dead. (2) "Department" means the Rhode Island department of health. (3) "Director" means the director of the Rhode Island department of health. (4) "Division" means the division of professional regulation within the department of health established in chapter 26 of this title. (5) "Veterinarian" means a person who practices is licensed to practice veterinary medicine in the State of Rhode Island. (6) "Veterinarian/client/patient relationship" means a relationship where all of the following conditions have been met: (i) The veterinarian has assumed the responsibility for making medical judgments regarding the health of the animal or animals and the need for medical treatment, and the client has agreed to follow …
Sponsors
- Brian Thompson (D, SD-020) · primary sponsor
- Robert Britto (D, SD-018)
- Melissa Murray (D, SD-024)
- DiPalma, Louis (D, SD-012)
- David Tikoian (D, SD-022)
- Frank Ciccone (D, SD-007)
- Susan Sosnowski (D, SD-037)
- Todd Patalano (D, SD-026)
Latest actions
- : Signed by Governor
- : Transmitted to Governor
- : House passed in concurrence
- : Placed on the House Consent Calendar
- : Senate read and passed
- : Placed on Senate Calendar
- : Committee recommends passage
- : Scheduled for consideration
- : Committee recommended measure be held for further study
- : Scheduled for hearing and/or consideration
Votes
- House Seq #519: PASSAGE IN CONCURRENCE (June 11, 2026): 67 yea, 0 nay, passed
- Senate Seq #565: (June 10, 2026): 32 yea, 6 nay, passed
- Senate Committee on Environment & Agriculture: Passage (June 9, 2026): 6 yea, 0 nay, passed
- Senate Committee on Environment & Agriculture: Passage (May 20, 2026): 8 yea, 0 nay, passed
Subjects: BUSINESSES AND PROFESSIONS
Common questions
- What is S3180?
- S3180 is a bill in the Rhode Island Legislature (2026 Regular Session): AN ACT RELATING TO BUSINESSES AND PROFESSIONS -- VETERINARY PRACTICE (Authorizes veterinarians to establish a client-patient relationship through electronic means, subject to limitations and requirements such as Vet making a good faith effort to determine if care should be provided through telemedicine instead of in person.).
- What is the status of S3180?
- Signed into law as of June 23, 2026. Latest action: Signed by Governor (June 23, 2026).
- Who sponsored S3180?
- Brian Thompson (D, SD-020), with 7 co-sponsors.
- Where is the official record for S3180?
- On the Rhode Island Legislature website: http://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S3180.pdf
Source: official Rhode Island record. Tracked by Delilah, AI for legislation across all 50 states and Congress.