‘Don’t get roofied!’ RI House, Senate pass legislation to make bars offer anti-drugging drink lids

Despite objections from the hospitality industry, legislation that would require Rhode Island bars and nightclubs to provide drink lids to patrons to prevent spiking overwhelmingly passed in the House and Senate Tuesday.

Slightly differing bills sponsored by Sen. Pamela Lauria, a Barrington Democrat, and Rep. June Speakman, a Warren Democrat, both mandate that licensed establishments with liquor consumption on the premises offer tamper-proof lids with a seal upon a customer’s request starting Jan. 1, 2027. 

Both bills would allow bars to charge an additional fee for providing a lid with a customer’s drink, so long as it does not “exceed a reasonable amount based on the wholesale cost of those lids.”

Violations would result in a warning for the first offense. The bill doesn’t spell out the consequences for multiple offenses nor who would enforce it.

Lids would not be required for every type of drink container, but the legislation mandates they “shall fit at least one.”

The proposals are modeled after California lawmakers passed similar legislation last year.

Although lawmakers acknowledged that the risk of sexual assault caused by drink-spiking exists, they did not cite any data on its prevalence in Rhode Island.

“I had hoped to bring you some data,” Speakman told the House Committee on Small Business during her bill’s initial hearing on March 25. “It’s difficult to assess the frequency of drink-spiking — the victim often suffers from memory loss, making reporting difficult.”

Lauria, a nurse practitioner for Brown University Health in East Greenwich, said she treated women who had their drinks spiked when she was an emergency room nurse. The patients were unsure what happened to them.

“The body metabolizes these drugs very quickly, meaning they’re rarely caught in lab studies hours later,” Lauria said on the Senate floor Tuesday.

Lauria’s version requires businesses to post signs in a “prominent and conspicuous location” alerting customers about the lids, while Speakman’s would not. 

Speakman did not immediately respond to requests for comment Wednesday. Lauria said that keeping the signage is critical in ensuring the public is aware lids are available should her bill become law.

“There’s no mechanism to educate other than the sign,” she said in a phone interview.

But the signage mandate drew criticism from the Rhode Island Hospitality Association after the original versions of both bills specified that notices must include the language: “Don’t get roofied! Drink lids available here. Ask a staff member for details.”

Ryan Moot, the association’s manager of business development and government affairs, wrote in testimony submitted to the House Committee on Small Business and the Senate Committee on Special Legislation and Veterans’ Affairs that requiring signs “could have unintended consequences.”

“Messaging such as ‘Don’t get roofied!’ may create alarm among patrons and inadvertently suggest that such incidents are widespread within licensed establishments, which does not reflect the reality of the vast majority of safe and responsibly operated venues in Rhode Island,” Moot wrote.

Lauria’s legislation was amended so that signs would instead state: “Drink lids available here. Ask a staff member for details.”

Farouk Rajab, executive director for the association, said he appreciates the Senate’s update but still feels that mandated signage “can unintentionally send the wrong message about one of the safest and most community-oriented industries in Rhode Island.”

“Public policy should strike a balance between awareness and creating unnecessary perceptions that widespread safety issues exist within local establishments,” he said in an emailed statement.

Rajab also questioned the need for lids to be available at all food and beverage establishments across the state.

“Rhode Island’s hospitality industry is made up overwhelmingly of responsible operators who already prioritize guest safety and train their teams accordingly,” he said.

Lauria and Speakman’s bills now head to each other’s chambers for consideration.

Speakman’s bill was approved by 54-9 in the House, with the entire present Republican caucus voting against. Senators voted 37-0 to approve Lauria’s legislation.