Rhode Island 2025 Regular Session

Rhode Island House Bill H5865 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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5	5	2025 -- H 5865
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7	7	LC001884
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9	9	S T A T E O F R H O D E I S L A N D
10	10	IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
11	11	JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2025
12	12	____________
13	13
14	14	A N A C T
15	15	RELATING TO ANIMALS AND ANIMAL HUSBANDRY -- CRUELTY TO ANIMALS
16	16	Introduced By: Representatives Lima, J. Brien, Serpa, Fellela, O'Brien, Potter, Kislak,
17	17	Hull, Knight, and Cruz
18	18	Date Introduced: February 28, 2025
19	19	Referred To: House Health & Human Services
20	20
21	21
22	22	It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
23	23	SECTION 1. Sections 4-1-1 and 4-1-3 of the General Laws in Chapter 4-1 entitled "Cruelty 1
24	24	to Animals" are hereby amended to read as follows: 2
25	25	4-1-1. Definitions — Responsibility for agents and employees. 3
26	26	(a) In this chapter and in §§ 4-4-9, 4-4-10, and 23-19-8: 4
27	27	(1) “Animal” and “animals” means every living creature except a human being. 5
28	28	(2) "Cosmetic" means any: 6
29	29	(i) Articles intended to be rubbed, poured, sprinkled, or sprayed on, introduced into, or 7
30	30	otherwise applied to the human body or any part thereof for cleansing, beautifying, promoting 8
31	31	attractiveness, or altering the appearance; and 9
32	32	(ii) Articles intended for use as a component of any such articles; except that such term 10
33	33	shall not include soap. 11
34	34	(3) "Cosmetic animal testing" means the internal or external application or exposure of any 12
35	35	cosmetic product, or any cosmetic ingredient or non-functional constituent, to the skin, eyes, or 13
36	36	other body part (organ or extremity) of a live non-human vertebrate for the purpose of evaluating 14
37	37	the safety or efficacy of a cosmetic product or a cosmetic ingredient or non-functional constituent 15
38	38	for the use in a cosmetic product. 16
39	39	(4) "Cosmetic product" means a finished cosmetic the manufacture of which has been 17
40	40	completed. 18
41	41	(2)(5) “Licensed graduate veterinarian” or “veterinarian” means a person licensed to 19
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45	45	engage in the practice of veterinary medicine, surgery, and dentistry in this state who is a graduate 1
46	46	of an accredited veterinary medical, surgical, and dental school or college of a standard recognized 2
47	47	by the Rhode Island Veterinary Medical Association. 3
48	48	(3)(6) “Owner,” “person,” and “whoever” means corporations as well as individuals. 4
49	49	(4)(7) “Guardian” shall mean a person(s) having the same rights and responsibilities of an 5
50	50	owner, and both terms shall be used interchangeably. A guardian shall also mean a person who 6
51	51	possesses, has title to or an interest in, harbors, or has control, custody, or possession of an animal 7
52	52	and who is responsible for an animal’s safety and well-being. 8
53	53	(8) "Cosmetic ingredient" means any single chemical entity or mixture used as a 9
54	54	component of a cosmetic product as defined by 21 C.F.R. 700.3. 10
55	55	(9) "Manufacturer" means any entity whose name appears on the label of a cosmetic 11
56	56	product pursuant to the requirements of 21 C.F.R. 701.12. 12
57	57	(10) "Non-functional constituent" means any incidental ingredient as defined by 21 C.F.R. 13
58	58	701.3. 14
59	59	(11) "Supplier" means any entity that supplies, directly or through a third party, any 15
60	60	ingredient used in the formulation of a cosmetic product. 16
61	61	(5)(12) Except for livestock as defined in § 4-26-3(6), “adequate living conditions” shall 17
62	62	mean a sanitary environment that is dry and free of accumulated feces and free of debris and 18
63	63	garbage that may clutter the environment, pose a danger, or entangle the animal. The environment 19
64	64	in which the animal is kept must be consistent with federal regulatory requirements, where 20
65	65	applicable, or generally recognized professional standards, where applicable, or otherwise be of 21
66	66	sufficient size so as not to inhibit comfortable rest, normal posture, or range of movement, and 22
67	67	suitable to maintain the animal in a good state of health. “Adequate living conditions” for livestock 23
68	68	as defined in § 4-26-3(6) shall mean best management practices established, no later than July 1, 24
69	69	2014, by the Rhode Island livestock welfare and care standards advisory council. 25
70	70	(6)(13) Except for livestock as defined in § 4-26-3, “hazardous accumulation of animals” 26
71	71	means the accumulation of a large number of animals, to a point where the owner, possessor, or 27
72	72	person having the charge of custody of the aforementioned animals fails to or is unable to provide 28
73	73	“adequate living conditions” as defined herein, resulting in harm or danger to the health and 29
74	74	wellbeing of the animals. 30
75	75	(b) The knowledge and acts of agents of and persons employed by corporations in regard 31
76	76	to animals transported, owned or employed by or in the custody of that corporation are held to be 32
77	77	the acts and knowledge of that corporation. 33
78	78	4-1-3. Unnecessary cruelty. 34
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82	82	(a) Every owner, possessor, or person having the charge or custody of any animal, who 1
83	83	cruelly drives or works that animal when unfit for labor, or cruelly abandons that animal, or who 2
84	84	carries that animal or who fails to provide that animal with adequate living conditions as defined 3
85	85	in § 4-1-1, or who engages in the hazardous accumulation of animals as defined in § 4-1-1, or 4
86	86	causes that animal, to be carried, in or upon any vehicle or otherwise, in a cruel or inhuman manner; 5
87	87	or willfully, intentionally, maliciously, recklessly, and/or knowingly authorizes or permits that 6
88	88	animal to be subjected to unnecessary torture, suffering, or cruelty of any kind; or who places, or 7
89	89	causes to have placed, on any animal any substance that may produce irritation or pain or that is 8
90	90	declared a hazardous substance by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or by the state 9
91	91	department of health, shall be punished for each offense in the manner provided in § 4-1-2. If the 10
92	92	offense described in this section results in the death of the animal, the person shall be punished in 11
93	93	the manner provided in § 4-1-5. If any owner, possessor, or person having the charge or custody of 12
94	94	any animal is found guilty of or pleads nolo contendere to a violation of this section and said 13
95	95	violation involves the hazardous accumulation of animals, the court shall, in imposing a penalty 14
96	96	under this section, take into account whether the defendant’s conduct could be considered to be the 15
97	97	result of a mental health disorder as defined in § 27-38.2-2. 16
98	98	(b) The substances proscribed by subsection (a) do not include any drug having curative 17
99	99	and therapeutic effect for disease in animals and that is prepared and intended for veterinary use. 18
100	100	(c) University, college, or hospital research facilities licensed and/or inspected by the U.S. 19
101	101	Department of Agriculture or the U.S. Public Health Service of the Department of Health and 20
102	102	Human Services shall be exempt from the provisions of subsection (a) provided that they are in 21
103	103	good standing with the federal agency responsible for licensing or assurance of the facility. 22
104	104	(d)(1) No manufacturer shall sell or offer for sale in the state any cosmetic that was 23
105	105	developed or manufactured using cosmetic animal testing, if the testing was conducted or 24
106	106	contracted by the manufacturer or any supplier of the manufacturer on or after January 1, 2026. 25
107	107	(2) The prohibitions of subsection (d)(1) of this section do not apply to cosmetics 26
108	108	developed or manufactured using cosmetic animal testing if: 27
109	109	(i) Such testing is requested, conducted, or required by a federal or state regulatory 28
110	110	authority and: 29
111	111	(A) There is no non-animal alternative method or strategy recognized by any federal 30
112	112	agency or the organization for economic cooperation and development for the relevant safety 31
113	113	endpoints for the cosmetic ingredient or non-functional constituent; 32
114	114	(B) The cosmetic ingredient or non-functional constituent poses a risk of causing a specific 33
115	115	human health problem that is substantiated and the need to conduct cosmetic animal testing is 34
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119	119	justified and supported by a detailed research protocol proposed as the basis for the evaluation of 1
120	120	the cosmetic ingredient, or non-functional constituent; and 2
121	121	(C) The cosmetic ingredient or non-functional constituent is in wide use and, in the case of 3
122	122	a cosmetic ingredient, cannot be replaced by another ingredient capable of performing a similar 4
123	123	function; 5
124	124	(ii) Such testing is conducted outside the United States to comply with a requirement of a 6
125	125	foreign regulatory authority; provided that, no evidence derived from such testing is relied upon to 7
126	126	substantiate the safety of the cosmetic in Rhode Island; 8
127	127	(iii) Such testing is conducted on a product or ingredient subject to the requirements of 9
128	128	subchapter V of the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, 21 U.S.C. § 351 et seq.; or 10
129	129	(iv) Such testing is conducted for a cosmetic ingredient intended to be used in a product 11
130	130	that is not a cosmetic product and conducted pursuant to a requirement of a federal, state, or foreign 12
131	131	regulatory authority as long as no evidence derived from animal testing conducted after the 13
132	132	effective date of this subsection is relied upon to substantiate the safety of a cosmetic sold in the 14
133	133	state by a manufacturer, unless all of the following apply: 15
134	134	(A) There is no non-animal alternative method or strategy recognized by any federal or 16
135	135	state agency or the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development for the relevant 17
136	136	safety endpoints for such ingredient; 18
137	137	(B) There is documented evidence of the non-cosmetic intent of the test; and 19
138	138	(C) There is a history of use of the ingredient outside of cosmetics at least one year prior 20
139	139	to the manufacturer's reliance on such data. 21
140	140	(3) The provisions of subsection (d) of this section shall not apply to: 22
141	141	(i) A cosmetic product if the cosmetic in its final form was tested on animals before January 23
142	142	1, 2025 even if the cosmetic is manufactured on or after that date; provided that, no new animal 24
143	143	testing in violation subsection (d) of this section occurs after January 1, 2026; 25
144	144	(ii) An ingredient in a cosmetic if the cosmetic ingredient was tested on animals before 26
145	145	January 1, 2025 even if the ingredient is manufactured on or after that date; provided that, no new 27
146	146	animal testing in violation of subsection (d) of this section occurs after January 1, 2026; or 28
147	147	(iii) A manufacturer reviewing, assessing, or retaining evidence from a cosmetic animal 29
148	148	test. 30
149	149	(4) No political subdivision of the state may establish or continue any prohibition on or 31
150	150	relating to cosmetic animal testing, as defined in this section, that is not identical to the prohibitions 32
151	151	set forth in this section. 33
152	152	(5) Any person or manufacturer that violates subsection (d)(1) of this section shall be 34
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156	156	subject to a penalty of up to one thousand dollars ($1,000) for each offense. If the violation is of a 1
157	157	continuing nature, each day during which it continues constitutes an additional, separate, and 2
158	158	distinct offense. 3
159	159	SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage. 4
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166	166	EXPLANATION
167	167	BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
168	168	OF
169	169	A N A C T
170	170	RELATING TO ANIMALS AND ANIMAL HUSBANDRY -- CRUELTY TO ANIMALS
171	171	***
172	172	This act would ban a person or manufacturer from selling or offering for sale in this state 1
173	173	any cosmetic that was developed or manufactured using animal testing, if the test was conducted 2
174	174	or contracted by the manufacturer or any supplier of the manufacturer on or after January 1, 2026. 3
175	175	A violation of this act would result in a one thousand dollar ($1,000) fine for each offense. 4
176	176	This act would take effect upon passage. 5
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