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HB 5865

AN ACT RELATING TO ANIMALS AND ANIMAL HUSBANDRY -- CRUELTY TO ANIMALS

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Jon Brien and 9 co-sponsors

Prohibits Rhode Island sale of cosmetics developed or manufactured using animal testing after Jan 1, 2026, with limited safety and regulatory exemptions.

03/13/2025 Committee recommended measure be held for further study
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Bill Summary · HB 5865

Summary — HB 5865: "An Act Relating to Animals and Animal Husbandry — Cruelty to Animals"

Status (latest): Committee recommended measure be held for further study (03/13/2025).
Introduced: Feb 28, 2025 (House, Rhode Island General Assembly). Referred to House Health & Human Services. Sponsors: Reps. Lima, J. Brien, Serpa, Fellela, O'Brien, Potter, Kislak, Hull, Knight, and Cruz.

Purpose
- To update Rhode Island’s cruelty-to-animals law (amending R.I. Gen. Laws ch. 4-1) by (1) clarifying and expanding statutory definitions related to animal care and cosmetic testing, (2) strengthening the prohibition on unnecessary cruelty (including hazardous accumulations and inadequate living conditions), and (3) banning the sale in-state of cosmetics developed or manufactured using animal testing after a specified date, with narrow exemptions.

Key provisions
- Statutory amendments: Revises sections 4-1-1 and 4-1-3 to add or revise definitions and offenses.
- New/clarified definitions include: “cosmetic,” “cosmetic product,” “cosmetic animal testing,” “cosmetic ingredient,” “non‑functional constituent,” “manufacturer,” and “supplier.”
- “Adequate living conditions” is defined to require sanitary, dry, uncluttered environments consistent with federal requirements or recognized professional standards. “Hazardous accumulation of animals” is defined (except for certain livestock) as an accumulation that prevents provision of adequate living conditions and harms animal health/welfare.

  • Unnecessary cruelty (expanded enforcement language):

    • Makes it an offense for owners/possessors to cruelly drive, work, abandon, carry, fail to provide adequate living conditions for, or permit hazardous accumulation of animals.
    • Specifies courts must consider whether hazardous accumulation offenses may be related to the defendant’s mental health disorder when sentencing.
    • Maintains existing exemptions for duly licensed university, college, or hospital research facilities that are in good standing with USDA or PHS.

  • Cosmetic animal testing ban:

    • Prohibits any manufacturer from selling or offering for sale in Rhode Island any cosmetic that was developed or manufactured using cosmetic animal testing conducted or contracted by the manufacturer or any supplier on or after January 1, 2026.
    • Narrow exemptions where animal testing may still be permitted include testing required by federal or state regulators when:
    • No non‑animal alternative method or OECD-recognized strategy exists for the relevant safety endpoints;
    • Testing is justified by a detailed research protocol and the ingredient poses a substantiated risk to human health;
    • The ingredient is widely used and cannot be replaced by a suitable alternative.
    • Additional details and other exemptions appear in subsections truncated in the available document.

Who is affected
- Animal owners, guardians, caretakers, and persons in possession of animals (criminal liability and standards of care).
- Cosmetic manufacturers, suppliers, and entities selling cosmetics in Rhode Island (must ensure products were not developed/manufactured using covered animal testing after 1/1/2026).
- Research institutions (certain federal-licensed research facilities are exempt); veterinarians and animal welfare enforcement agencies; courts applying sentencing standards (including mental‑health considerations).

Penalties and enforcement
- Violations of cruelty provisions are punishable under existing Rhode Island statutes cited in the bill (references to §§ 4-1-2 and 4-1-5 for sanctions; where animal death occurs, enhanced penalties apply). The bill preserves federal/licensed-research exemptions and imposes criminal liability on owners/agents for prohibited acts.

Procedural/timeline notes
- Introduced in the Rhode Island House (Feb 28, 2025) and referred to House Health & Human Services.
- Committee action: On 03/13/2025 the committee recommended holding the measure for further study.
- Effective date for the cosmetics sales prohibition (as stated) would be January 1, 2026 (for testing conducted/contracted on or after that date).

Limitations / caveats
- The available document is truncated; some exemption language and later subsections are not fully shown. For complete operative text, consult the bill in the General Assembly docket.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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