# Rhode Island S2975: AN ACT RELATING TO COURTS AND CIVIL PROCEDURE-- PROCEDURE IN PARTICULAR ACTION -- SMALL CLAIMS AND CONSUMER CLAIMS . Rhode Island S2975, AN ACT RELATING TO COURTS AND CIVIL PROCEDURE-- PROCEDURE IN PARTICULAR ACTION -- SMALL CLAIMS AND CONSUMER CLAIMS ., is a 2026 Regular Session Senate bill sponsored by Mark P. McKenney (Democratic); status became law, last action 2026-06-24 (Effective without Governor's signature — Chapter 323); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-11-01). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/RI-S2975-2026 - 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 S2975 - State: Rhode Island - Session: 2026 Regular Session - Title: AN ACT RELATING TO COURTS AND CIVIL PROCEDURE-- PROCEDURE IN PARTICULAR ACTION -- SMALL CLAIMS AND CONSUMER CLAIMS . - Status: became law - Chamber: Senate - Introduced: 2026-03-04 - Last action: 2026-06-24, Effective without Governor's signature — Chapter 323 - Sponsor: Mark P. McKenney (Democratic) - Cosponsors: 0 - Touches household money: yes - Roll calls: 2 (106 yes, 0 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 4 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - Higher $5,000 limit in small claims: benefit, high. Beginning January 1, 2027, the district court can decide small claims and counterclaims up to $5,000. If a defendant’s counterclaim is more than $5,000 and the court finds more than $5,000 is due, the court enters a decision against the plaintiff and awards the defendant costs only. The court does… - No appeal after consumer-product default: cost, low. Beginning January 1, 2027, if the plaintiff is a buyer of a consumer product seeking damages and you are defaulted for not answering, the district court’s judgment is final. You forfeit the right to appeal. You are not entitled to a new trial in superior court. - You must waive appeal to file: cost, low. Beginning January 1, 2027, a plaintiff must file a written waiver of the right to appeal when filing a small claims or consumer claim. A defendant who files a compulsory counterclaim must also file a written waiver of appeal for that counterclaim. After you file the waiver, you cannot appeal that c… - Standard $75 fees and mediation fund: mixed, low. Beginning January 1, 2027, it costs $75 to file a small claims or consumer claim in district court. $20 of that fee goes into a court account to pay mediators. If you appeal a small claims decision, you also pay a $75 appeal filing fee. These amounts include the court’s processing and technology su… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Mark P. McKenney (Democratic), Senate ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2026-06-08 | House | SMALL CLAIMS AND CONSUMER CLAIMS PASSAGE IN CONCURRENCE | pass | 69 | 0 | | | 2026-06-03 | Senate | COURTS/CIVIL PROCEDURE-- SMALL CLAIMS AND CONSUMER CLAIMS Passage | pass | 37 | 0 | | ## Actions (11) - 2026-06-24: Effective without Governor's signature — Chapter 323 (Governor) - 2026-06-16: Transmitted to Governor (Governor) - 2026-06-08: House passed in concurrence (House) - 2026-06-05: Placed on the House Consent Calendar (06/08/2026) (House) - 2026-06-03: Senate read and passed (Senate) - 2026-05-29: Placed on Senate Calendar (06/03/2026) (Senate) - 2026-05-28: Committee recommends passage - 2026-05-26: Scheduled for consideration (05/28/2026) - 2026-03-31: Committee recommended measure be held for further study - 2026-03-27: Scheduled for hearing and/or consideration (03/31/2026) - 2026-03-04: Introduced, referred to Senate Judiciary (Senate) ## Bill text - S2975 - As Introduced, 2026-03-04: [HTML](https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText26/SenateText26/S2975.htm), [PDF](https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText26/SenateText26/S2975.pdf) ## Related bills - S3047: AN ACT RELATING TO COURTS AND CIVIL PROCEDURE -- PROCEDURE GENERALLY -- DISTRICT COURT PRACTICE . (became law) - H8605: JOINT RESOLUTION MAKING AN APPROPRIATION TO PAY CERTAIN CLAIMS . (became law) - H8580: AN ACT RELATING TO THE NORTH TIVERTON FIRE DISTRICT . (became law) - H8586: AN ACT RELATING TO HIGHWAYS -- RHODE ISLAND TURNPIKE AND BRIDGE AUTHORITY . (became law) - H8525: AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION -- LEVY AND ASSESSMENT OF LOCAL TAXES . (became law) - H8506: AN ACT RELATING TO TOWNS AND CITIES -- RELATING TO CENTRAL FALLS PENSION PLAN . (became law) ## Sources - [S2975 - As Introduced (HTML)](https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText26/SenateText26/S2975.htm) - [S2975 - As Introduced (PDF)](https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText26/SenateText26/S2975.pdf) ## Related - [S3047: AN ACT RELATING TO COURTS AND CIVIL PROCEDURE -- PROCEDURE GENERALLY -- DISTRIC…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/RI-S3047-2026) - [H8605: JOINT RESOLUTION MAKING AN APPROPRIATION TO PAY CERTAIN CLAIMS .](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/RI-H8605-2026) - [H8580: AN ACT RELATING TO THE NORTH TIVERTON FIRE DISTRICT .](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/RI-H8580-2026) - [H8586: AN ACT RELATING TO HIGHWAYS -- RHODE ISLAND TURNPIKE AND BRIDGE AUTHORITY .](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/RI-H8586-2026) - [H8525: AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION -- LEVY AND ASSESSMENT OF LOCAL TAXES .](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/RI-H8525-2026) - [H8506: AN ACT RELATING TO TOWNS AND CITIES -- RELATING TO CENTRAL FALLS PENSION PLAN .](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/RI-H8506-2026) - [Rhode Island bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/rhode-island/bills) - [Rhode Island state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/rhode-island) - [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/RI-S2975-2026 (as of 2026-11-01).