Four new laws signed on June 6 by Gov. Dan McKee aim to improve emergency care for heart attacks on golf courses, train lifeguards and park rangers to administer Narcan, extend the trial period for the state’s safe injection site in Providence, and formalize the waiting period before adults with drivers permits can take their road test.
Here’s a look at the legislation behind the four new laws:
1. Automatic external defibrillators will now be required on golf courses as a result of the David Casey Act. Its namesake is a Johnston golfer who died after having a heart attack on the 18th hole at the Cranston Country Club. Casey was 58 years old.
Companion bills, sponsored by Rep. Deborah Fellela and Sen. Andrew Dimitiri, both Johnston Democrats, amended the state’s rules on locations where defibrillators are mandatory.
State law had required defibrillators in enclosed spaces capable of holding 300 or more people. Spaces include bars, self-service laundry, shopping malls, arenas, government offices, and waiting rooms.
“David’s death was tragic, and has mobilized his widow, Betsy, to become an advocate for AEDs on all golf courses,” Felella said in a statement issued by the State House Tuesday. “She wants to make sure that David’s death makes a difference, and if we save even one life, we reach that goal.”
Rhode Island Department of Health Director Jerome “Jerry” Larkin voiced support for the legislation in a Feb. 6 letter to the House Committee on Health and Human Services. He stated that using defibrillators and performing CPR within minutes of cardiac arrest can significantly boost survival rates.
2. The nation’s first state-regulated safe injection site will continue for another two years. Project Weber/RENEW, the nonprofit that operates the South Providence site at 45 Willard Ave., was supposed to end its pilot overdose prevention program in 2026. Legislation sponsored by Rep. Jay Edwards, a Tiverton Democrat, extends the program through 2028.
The law also mandates new reporting requirements on the number of people connected to other specialists for addiction treatment, and total overdoses prevented.
McKee, Providence Mayor Brett Smiley and the Mental Health Association of Rhode Island each wrote to lawmakers to back the extension bill.
“Even one more life lost to substance use disorder and the opioid epidemic is one too many and HRCs are a critical preventative resource,” McKee wrote to the committee in February.
Companion legislation was sponsored in the Senate by Sen. Melissa Murray, a Woonsocket Democrat.
3. Rhode Island’s lifeguards and park rangers will now be required to be trained in administering opioid reversal drugs such as Narcan.
This mandate comes from companion bills sponsored by Rep. William O’Brien, a North Providence Democrat, and Senate Majority Whip David Tikoian, a Smithfield Democrat. The bill also requires public beaches and parks to have at least four doses of this medicine available at all times.
“The sad reality we find ourselves in today is that opioid overdoses can happen anytime and anywhere,” O’Brien said in a statement. “While we continue to combat the opioid crisis, this bill will save many lives.”
The legislation originated from North Providence High School student Brennan O’Connor’s senior project, according to a State House news release.
4. Rhode Island residents age 18 or older will have to wait at least 30 days after receiving a learner’s permit before taking the road test.
The law signed by McKee stems from matching bills sponsored by Democrats Rep. Robert Phillips of Woonsocket and Sen. Lou DiPalma of Middletown. It requires adults to wait at least 30 days after receiving a learner’s permit before taking the road test for a full license.
Rhode Island’s Division of Motor Vehicles already mandates a 30-day waiting period, agency spokesperson Paul Grimaldi said via email Tuesday. It just was never codified under state law.
“A way to make certain things clear and succinct — you put it into Rhode Island General Law” DiPalma said in an interview.
Under the new law, adult drivers’ permits would expire one year after being issued. Permits can be renewed, but just once.
This story was originally published by Rhode Island Current.
