House committee adopts substitute to rename bridge for Staff Sgt. Christopher Potts

The House Committee on Special Legislation voted Thursday to indefinitely postpone the original version of House Bill 5050 and adopt a substitute (Sub A) that renames a bridge for Staff Sergeant Christopher Potts.

Committee Chairwoman Karen Alsate presided over the April 3 meeting and said the change in the substitute came at the request of the Rhode Island Bridge and Turnpike Authority. The substitute adds the word "River" so the structure will be named the Staff Sergeant Christopher Potts Sacconic River Bridge, the committee was told.

Representative Alzenaro moved to indefinitely postpone the original bill and place Sub A in its stead; Second Vice Chair Lombardi seconded the motion. The committee conducted a roll-call vote and the motion passed, the clerk reported. Committee members who recorded votes during the roll call included Chairwoman Karen Alsate and First Vice Chair Diaz; the motion passed by voice roll call and was recorded as approved.

The committee also considered a Senate duplicate of the same measure. Senator Filag's duplicate was treated identically: the committee voted to indefinitely postpone the original and adopt the substitute, and the motion passed on a roll-call vote.

The committee discussion as reflected in the meeting record focused on the technical change requested by the Rhode Island Bridge and Turnpike Authority to include "River" in the official name. No other substantive amendments were recorded on the floor during the meeting.

The committee recorded the actions as approvals of the substitute versions of the bill and its Senate duplicate; no further details on subsequent steps were provided during the meeting.