# Rhode Island H7608: AN ACT RELATING TO PUBLIC UTILITIES AND CARRIERS -- OPERATION OF RAILROADS GENERALLY .

Rhode Island H7608, AN ACT RELATING TO PUBLIC UTILITIES AND CARRIERS -- OPERATION OF RAILROADS GENERALLY ., is a 2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Matthew S. Dawson (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-06-18 (Signed by Governor — Chapter 110) (as of 2026-11-01).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/RI-H7608-2026
- As of: 2026-11-01
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Rhode Island H7608
- State: Rhode Island
- Session: 2026 Regular Session
- Title: AN ACT RELATING TO PUBLIC UTILITIES AND CARRIERS -- OPERATION OF RAILROADS GENERALLY .
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-02-11
- Last action: 2026-06-18, Signed by Governor — Chapter 110
- Sponsor: Matthew S. Dawson (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 1 (72 yes, 0 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 1

## Summary

No summary available.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Two-person freight crews and fines: mixed, low. Beginning October 1, 2026, any train or light engine moving freight in Rhode Island must have at least two crew members. Hostler service and utility employees do not count toward the two. Companies, individuals, or other entities that willfully break this rule face fines per occurrence. Fines are $…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Matthew S. Dawson (Democratic), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-05-12 | House | OPERATION OF RAILROADS GENERALLY PASSAGE | pass | 72 | 0 |   |

## Actions (16)

- 2026-06-18: Signed by Governor — Chapter 110 (Governor)
- 2026-06-16: Transmitted to Governor (Governor)
- 2026-06-09: Senate passed in concurrence (Senate)
- 2026-06-05: Placed on the Senate Consent Calendar (06/09/2026) (Senate)
- 2026-05-28: Committee recommends passage in concurrence
- 2026-05-26: Scheduled for consideration (05/28/2026)
- 2026-05-15: Referred to Senate Housing and Municipal Government (Senate)
- 2026-05-12: House read and passed (House)
- 2026-05-01: Placed on House Calendar (05/12/2026) (House)
- 2026-04-28: Committee recommends passage
- 2026-04-24: Scheduled for consideration (04/28/2026)
- 2026-03-03: Committee recommended measure be held for further study
- 2026-02-27: Scheduled for hearing and/or consideration (03/03/2026)
- 2026-02-23: Meeting postponed (02/24/2026)
- 2026-02-19: Scheduled for hearing and/or consideration
- 2026-02-11: Introduced, referred to House Corporations (House)

## Bill text

- H7608 - As Introduced, 2026-02-11: [HTML](https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText26/HouseText26/H7608.htm), [PDF](https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText26/HouseText26/H7608.pdf)

## Related bills

- H8025: AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION -- PROPERTY SUBJECT TO TAXATION . (became law)
- H8046: AN ACT RELATING TO COURTS AND CIVIL PROCEDURE--PROCEDURE GENERALLY -- FEES . (became law)
- H7866: AN ACT RELATING TO INSURANCE -- UNFAIR CLAIMS SETTLEMENT PRACTICES ACT . (became law)
- H7642: AN ACT RELATING TO COURTS AND CIVIL PROCEDURE -- PROCEDURE GENERALLY -- DISTRICT COURT PRACTICE . (became law)
- S3363: AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION -- PROPERTY SUBJECT TO TAXATION . (became law)
- S3353: JOINT RESOLUTION MAKING AN APPROPRIATION TO PAY CERTAIN CLAIMS . (became law)

## Sources
- [H7608 - As Introduced (HTML)](https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText26/HouseText26/H7608.htm)
- [H7608 - As Introduced (PDF)](https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText26/HouseText26/H7608.pdf)

## Related
- [H8025: AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION -- PROPERTY SUBJECT TO TAXATION .](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/RI-H8025-2026)
- [H8046: AN ACT RELATING TO COURTS AND CIVIL PROCEDURE--PROCEDURE GENERALLY -- FEES .](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/RI-H8046-2026)
- [H7866: AN ACT RELATING TO INSURANCE -- UNFAIR CLAIMS SETTLEMENT PRACTICES ACT .](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/RI-H7866-2026)
- [H7642: AN ACT RELATING TO COURTS AND CIVIL PROCEDURE -- PROCEDURE GENERALLY -- DISTRIC…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/RI-H7642-2026)
- [S3363: AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION -- PROPERTY SUBJECT TO TAXATION .](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/RI-S3363-2026)
- [S3353: JOINT RESOLUTION MAKING AN APPROPRIATION TO PAY CERTAIN CLAIMS .](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/RI-S3353-2026)
- [Rhode Island bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/rhode-island/bills)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/RI-H7608-2026 (as of 2026-11-01).