Status: Bill Passed.
The RI Doula Bill
Ensures that doula care is covered by insurance, increasing access for families and providing a better pathway to a fair wage for doulas.
photo: DoRI co-president Felicia Love on her way to the state house to testify for the doula bill
photo: Felicia Love
Step 1: Craft the bill
Status: completed
The Bill has been crafted in collaboration with doulas, policy makers, healthcare providers, doula families, and a few key legislators.
note: there must be two identical bills passed, one on the house side, and one on the senate side.
Step 2: Sponsors introduce the bill
Status: Completed
The two lead bill sponsors are Senator Ana Quezada and Representative Marcia Ranglin-Vassel.
They are joined by a robust list of co-sponsors all of whom are listed on our supporters page (Thank you to all our bill sponsors)
the bill is introduced to house and senate leadership who will decide if it moves on to the next phase: committee hearings.
Advocacy opportunity:
contact House Speaker Joe Shekarchi at rep-shekarchi@rilegislature.gov, (401) 222-2447
and
Senate President Dominic Ruggerio at sen-ruggerio@rilegislature.gov, (401) 222-6655
ask them to support and move this bill to committee hearing ASAP
photo: Bill Sponsors Ana Quezada and Marcia Ranglin-Vassel.
Step 3: Bill moves to committees for hearings.
Status: complete
House Finance Committee: Hearing April 14 2021.
Click here to submit testimony
Assigned to Senate Health + Human Services Committee: Heard the bill Wednesday March 24, held for further study, awaiting vote.
The RI senate president and RI speaker of the house send the bills to committees where they will have hearings. During hearings, anyone is allowed to speak for or against a proposed bill.
Advocacy Opportunity:
Submit testimony in support of the doula bill. Click here for instructions to submit testimony to the House Finance Committee hearing.
photo: doulas and doula advocates waiting to testify at the 2020 House Finance Committee doula bill hearing
Step 4: Committee votes
Status: Senate - complete
House finance committee sent the bill to House committee on Health and Human services, HHS committee voted yes.
The committees schedule a vote to decide if they will send the bill to the full house and senate floors for a vote, or to hold the bill for further study.
In 2020, the Senate Health and Human services committee voted to send the bill to the full senate where it was passed unanimously. Unfortunately the House Finance committee failed to vote on the bill due to the legislation closure in light of Covid-19.
Advocacy Opportunity: Contact the committee chairs and committee members and ask them to vote to send the bill to the floor with recommendation of passage.
photo: RI Senate 2020 Health and Human Services committee discusses the doula bill.
photo: Steve Ahlquist, UpriseRI
Step 5: Floor votes
Status: Senate: PASSED!
House: PASSED!
The full RI Senate and RI House must both vote to pass identical versions of the bill in both chambers to advance it to the Governor’s desk to be signed into law.
Advocacy Opportunity: Contact your state senator and state rep and ask them to commit to vote YES on the doula bill.
Find your State Representative by clicking here and their contact info here
Find your State Senator by clicking here here and their contact info here.
The 2019 Rhode Island House of Representatives.
photo: Tim Faulkner, ecoRI News
Step 6: Governor signs the bill into law
Status: Bill signed!
The final step is for the Governor to sign the bill into Law.
photo: Governor McKee signs the 2021 RI doula reimbursement act into law.
photo: WPRI