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H 7848Product Safety

Commercial Law - General Regulatory Provisions - Unfair Sales Practices

Retailers must provide free replacements for defective continuous glucose monitors within 24 hours or face criminal penalties.

Held for study
Population
Affected
8
Email Legislator
Introduced Feb 27, 2026Committee House Corporations

Plain-English Summary

This legislation mandates that retailers selling continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) in Rhode Island must maintain a replacement policy for defective devices. If a monitor or sensor fails due to specific defects like adhesive issues or electronic malfunction, the retailer is required to provide a replacement immediately or within twenty-four hours at no cost to the consumer. Retailers must post notices regarding these rights and submit annual reports to the Department of Health detailing returns and replacements. Violations of this law are classified as a misdemeanor punishable by a $500 fine.

For younger readers

Some people with diabetes need a special machine called a glucose monitor to check their sugar levels and stay safe. Sometimes, these machines break or don't stick to the skin like they should. This new law says that if a store sells these machines, they must give the person a new one right away or within one day if the first one is broken. The store has to do this for free. This helps make sure people can keep checking their health without waiting too long for a working machine.

Who & Where It Applies

Impacted groups
Diabetics using CGMsPharmacies and Medical Supply RetailersGlucose Monitor ManufacturersDepartment of HealthAttorney General's Office
Impacted communities
All

Constitutional & Fiscal Check

None Likely

Estimated cost
None
Estimated revenue
$500/fine

Bill Analysis

Both viewpoints
For Progressives
  • Protects vulnerable individuals with diabetes from financial exploitation and health risks by guaranteeing immediate, free access to functioning medical equipment.
  • Empowers consumers against corporate negligence by mandating clear signage of rights and holding retailers accountable for the products they profit from.
  • Creates a mechanism for data collection through the Department of Health to monitor the prevalence of defective medical devices, potentially identifying systemic manufacturing issues.
  • May disproportionately burden small, independent community pharmacies that lack the logistical infrastructure of large chains to guarantee twenty-four-hour replacements.
  • The use of criminal misdemeanor charges for regulatory business violations contributes to the over-criminalization of society rather than relying on restorative civil remedies.
  • Could lead to "pharmacy deserts" for these specific devices if smaller retailers stop carrying them to avoid the legal risks and inventory mandates.
For Conservatives
  • Ensures that consumers receive the specific functionality they paid for, upholding the basic free-market principle of fair exchange for goods.
  • Includes clear exemptions for damage caused by user misuse, protecting business owners from liability resulting from consumer negligence.
  • Explicitly excludes general technology like cell phones from the regulation, preventing government overreach into non-medical device markets.
  • Imposes heavy-handed government mandates on private business inventory and return policies, directly interfering with free enterprise and operational autonomy.
  • Creates significant administrative burdens and costs for businesses by requiring detailed annual reporting to the state government.
  • Weaponizes the legal system by turning a commercial dispute over return policies into a criminal misdemeanor offense.

Votes

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Full Bill Text

Changes to existing Rhode Island law · 55 additions

SECTION 1. Chapter 6-13 of the General Laws entitled "Unfair Sales Practices" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following section: 6-13-22. Continuous glucose monitors.

(a) Definition. For purposes of this section, "glucose monitor" means a device designed to be placed upon or into a person for the purpose of monitoring and recording blood glucose (sugar) levels in a person with diabetes mellitus. Said device consists of a sensory unit which monitors glucose levels and transmits readings to another (receiving) device. The receiving unit shows the user current glucose levels as well as past levels and calculates possible levels, warning user of low glucose levels that pose a safety risk to the individual user and also to the general public due to the possibility of the user becoming unconscious.

(b) It shall be unlawful for any retailer, to sell within this state, any glucose monitors without having a replacement policy for glucose monitors that fail or are defective and any sensors thereto that provides for an immediate, point of sale replacement or replacement within twenty- four (24) hours at no charge to the consumer for any glucose monitors sold by the retailer.

(c) Failure of the glucose monitor shall include the following defects:

(1) Failure of the sensor unit to adhere to an individual due to the absence of adhesive;

(2) Failure of the sensor to adhere upon placement of the device to the individual;

(3) Failure of probe to enter the skin of the person and enter the subcutaneous tissue, rendering the device unable to function;

(4) Failure to adhere to the individual under normal operating conditions and under normal daily use and activities within the intended usage time of the sensor unit; and

(5) Failure of the device to communicate with a receiver for the following reasons:

(i) The sensor claims to have been scanned by another receiving device and will not work with the intended receiver;

(ii) The scanner prematurely stops working prior to its intended end of usage time, claiming it has reached its intended usage time but has not;

(iii) The electronics malfunction thus rendering the device inoperable, including expired battery; and

(iv) The receiving device fails due to electronic malfunction or the inability to be able to recharge the battery.

(d) Retailers inventory. Retailers of glucose monitors shall maintain a sufficient inventory of the monitors or have sufficient replacement vendors to enable replacement within twenty-four

(24) hours to any customer who has purchased a glucose monitor from the retailer. Any retailer unable to meet the immediate replacement request requirement shall, upon the valid request for replacement of a defective glucose monitor:

(1) Obtain a replacement within twenty-four (24) hours of the request by the consumer;

(2) Arrange for the delivery of a replacement glucose monitor to the consumer within twenty-four (24) hours; or

(3) Inform and direct the customers to a location where a replacement glucose monitor may be obtained with the cost of the monitor being the responsibility of the retailer who sold the defective glucose monitor.

(e) Notice. All retailers of glucose monitors shall display at the point of sale location a copy of this section of law and a sign explaining the customer's rights to a replacement glucose monitor pursuant to this section and the contact information for the customer protection division of the attorney general's office.

(f) Reporting. Retailers affected by the provisions of this section shall annually report to the department of health:

(1) The total number of glucose monitoring devices returned to their store;

(2) The total number of glucose monitoring devices returned by the retailer to the manufacturers;

(3) The number of replacement glucose monitors provided by the manufacturer; and

(4) The total amount of time spent replacing the glucose monitors.

(g) Exemptions. The provisions of the section shall not apply to:

(1) Any device that receives signals including, but not limited to, cell phones; and

(2) Any damage to a glucose monitor caused by misuse or mistreatment.

(h) Penalties. Any person who violates the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall pay a fine of five hundred dollars ($500).

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect on January 1, 2027.