R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-17-38.1 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-17 / Section 23-17-38.1
§ 23-17-38.1. Hospitals  Licensing fee.
Status: in_force

(a) There is imposed a hospital licensing fee described in subsections (c) through (f) for state fiscal years 2024 and 2025 against net patient-services revenue of every non-government owned hospital as defined herein for the hospitals first fiscal year ending on or after January 1, 2022. The hospital licensing fee shall have three (3) tiers with differing fees based on inpatient and outpatient net patient-services revenue. The executive office of health and human services, in consultation with the tax administrator, shall identify the hospitals in each tier, subject to the definitions in this section, by July 15, 2023, and shall notify each hospital of its tier by August 1, 2023.

(b) There is also imposed a hospital licensing fee described in subsections (c) through (f) for state fiscal year 2026 against net patient-services revenue of every non-government owned hospital as defined herein for the hospitals first fiscal year ending on or after January 1, 2023. The hospital licensing fee shall have three (3) tiers with differing fees based on inpatient and outpatient net patient-services revenue. The executive office of health and human services, in consultation with the tax administrator, shall identify the hospitals in each tier, subject to the definitions in this section, by July 15, 2025, and shall notify each hospital of its assigned tier by August 1, 2025.

(c) Tier 1 is composed of hospitals that do not meet the description of either Tier 2 or Tier 3.

(1) The inpatient hospital licensing fee for Tier 1 is equal to thirteen and twelve hundredths percent (13.12%) of the inpatient net patient-services revenue derived from inpatient net patient-services revenue of every Tier 1 hospital.

(2) The outpatient hospital licensing fee for Tier 1 is equal to thirteen and thirty hundredths percent (13.30%) of the net patient-services revenue derived from outpatient net patient-services revenue of every Tier 1 hospital.

(d) Tier 2 is composed of high Medicaid/uninsured cost hospitals and independent hospitals.

(1) The inpatient hospital licensing fee for Tier 2 is equal to two and sixty-three hundredths percent (2.63%) of the inpatient net patient-services revenue derived from inpatient net patient-services revenue of every Tier 2 hospital.

(2) The outpatient hospital licensing fee for Tier 2 is equal to two and sixty-six hundredths percent (2.66%) of the outpatient net patient-services revenue derived from outpatient net patient-services revenue of every Tier 2 hospital.

(e) Tier 3 is composed of hospitals that are Medicare-designated low-volume hospitals and rehabilitative hospitals.

(1) The inpatient hospital licensing fee for Tier 3 is equal to one and thirty-one hundredths percent (1.31%) of the inpatient net patient-services revenue derived from inpatient net patient-services revenue of every Tier 3 hospital.

(2) The outpatient hospital licensing fee for Tier 3 is equal to one and thirty-three hundredths percent (1.33%) of the outpatient net patient-services revenue derived from outpatient net patient-services revenue of every Tier 3 hospital.

(f) There is also imposed a hospital licensing fee for state fiscal year 2024 against state-government owned and operated hospitals in the state as defined herein. The hospital licensing fee is equal to five and twenty-five hundredths percent (5.25%) of the net patient-services revenue of every hospital for the hospitals first fiscal year ending on or after January 1, 2022. There is also imposed a hospital licensing fee for state fiscal years 2025 and 2026 against state-government owned and operated hospitals in the state as defined herein equal to five and twenty-five hundredths percent (5.25%) of the net patient-services revenue of every hospital for the hospitals first fiscal year ending on or after January 1, 2023.

(g) The hospital licensing fee described in subsections (b) through (f) is subject to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services approval of a request to waive the requirement that healthcare-related taxes be imposed uniformly as contained in 42 C.F.R. § 433.68(d).

(h) This hospital licensing fee shall be administered and collected by the tax administrator, division of taxation within the department of revenue, and all the administration, collection, and other provisions of chapter 51 of title 44 shall apply. Every hospital shall pay the licensing fee to the tax administrator before June 25 of each fiscal year, and payments shall be made by electronic transfer of monies to the tax administrator and deposited to the general fund. Every hospital shall, on or before August 1 of each fiscal year, make a return to the tax administrator containing the correct computation of inpatient and outpatient net patient-services revenue for the hospital data referenced in subsection (a) and/or (b), and the licensing fee due upon that amount. All returns shall be signed by the hospitals authorized representative, subject to the pains and penalties of perjury.

(i) For purposes of this section the following words and phrases have the following meanings:

(1) Gross patient-services revenue means the gross revenue related to patient care services.

(2) High Medicaid/uninsured cost hospital means a hospital for which the hospitals total uncompensated care, as calculated pursuant to § 40-8.3-2(4), divided by the hospitals total net patient-services revenues, is equal to six percent (6.0%) or greater.

(3) Hospital means the actual facilities and buildings in existence in Rhode Island, licensed pursuant to § 23-17-1 et seq. on June 30, 2010, and thereafter any premises included on that license, regardless of changes in licensure status pursuant to chapter 17.14 of this title (hospital conversions) and § 23-17-6(b) (change in effective control), that provides short-term acute inpatient and/or outpatient care to persons who require definitive diagnosis and treatment for injury, illness, disabilities, or pregnancy. Notwithstanding the preceding language, the negotiated Medicaid managed care payment rates for a court-approved purchaser that acquires a hospital through receivership, special mastership, or other similar state insolvency proceedings (which court-approved purchaser is issued a hospital license after January 1, 2013) shall be based upon the newly negotiated rates between the court-approved purchaser and the health plan, and such rates shall be effective as of the date that the court-approved purchaser and the health plan execute the initial agreement containing the newly negotiated rate. The rate-setting methodology for inpatient hospital payments and outpatient hospital payments set forth in §§ 40-8-13.4(b) and 40-8-13.4(b)(2), respectively, shall thereafter apply to negotiated increases for each annual twelve-month (12) period as of July 1 following the completion of the first full year of the court-approved purchasers initial Medicaid managed care contract.

(4) Independent hospitals means a hospital not part of a multi-hospital system.

(5) Inpatient net patient-services revenue means the charges related to inpatient care services less (i) Charges attributable to charity care; (ii) Bad debt expenses; and (iii) Contractual allowances.

(6) Medicare-designated low-volume hospital means a hospital that qualifies under 42 C.F.R. 412.101(b)(2) for additional Medicare payments to qualifying hospitals for the higher incremental costs associated with a low volume of discharges.

(7) Net patient-services revenue means the charges related to patient care services less (i) Charges attributable to charity care; (ii) Bad debt expenses; and (iii) Contractual allowances.

(8) Non-government owned hospitals means a hospital not owned and operated by the state of Rhode Island.

(9) Outpatient net patient-services revenue means the charges related to outpatient care services less (i) Charges attributable to charity care; (ii) Bad debt expenses; and (iii) Contractual allowances.

(10) Rehabilitative hospital means Rehabilitation Hospital Center licensed by the Rhode Island department of health.

(11) State-government owned and operated hospitals means a hospital facility licensed by the Rhode Island department of health, owned and operated by the state of Rhode Island.

(j) The tax administrator in consultation with the executive office of health and human services shall make and promulgate any rules, regulations, and procedures not inconsistent with state law and fiscal procedures that he or she deems necessary for the proper administration of this section and to carry out the provisions, policy, and purposes of this section.

(k) The licensing fee imposed by subsections (a) through (f) shall apply to hospitals as defined herein that are duly licensed on July 1, 2024, and shall be in addition to the inspection fee imposed by § 23-17-38 and to any licensing fees previously imposed in accordance with this section.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-17-9 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-17 / Section 23-17-9
§ 23-17-9. Judicial review of license action.
Status: in_force

Any person who has exhausted all administrative remedies available to him or her within the licensing agency and who is aggrieved by a final decision of the licensing agency is entitled to judicial review in accordance with the provisions of §§ 42-35-15 and 42-35-16.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-26-28 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-26 / Section 23-26-28
§ 23-26-28. Disposition of fees and penalties.
Status: in_force

Notwithstanding the provisions of any other general, local, or special law, all fees, fines, penalties, and other money derived from the operation of this chapter shall be paid to the department of business regulation and deposited as general revenues.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-1-20 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-1 / Section 23-1-20
§ 23-1-20. Compliance order.
Status: in_force

Whenever the director determines that there are reasonable grounds to believe that there is a violation of any law administered by him or her or of any rule or regulation adopted pursuant to authority granted to him or her, the director may give notice of the alleged violation to the person responsible for it. The notice shall be in writing, shall set forth the alleged violation, shall provide for a time within which the alleged violation shall be remedied, and shall inform the person to whom it is directed that a written request for a hearing on the alleged violation may be filed with the director within ten (10) days after service of the notice. The notice will be deemed properly served upon a person if a copy of the notice is served upon him or her personally, or sent by registered or certified mail to the last known address of that person, or if that person is served with notice by any other method of service now or later authorized in a civil action under the laws of this state. If no written request for a hearing is made to the director within ten (10) days of the service of notice, the notice shall automatically become a compliance order.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-105-2 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-105 / Section 23-105-2
§ 23-105-2. Protection of patients in a medical spa.
Status: in_force

(a) Each medical spa shall appoint a medical director who shall be:

(1) Trained in the indications for, and performance of, cosmetic medical procedures, including all medical devices or instruments that can alter or cause biological change or damage to the skin or subcutaneous tissue. Training programs provided by a manufacturer or vendor of a medical device or supplies shall not be a medical directors, supervising physicians, supervising PA in collaboration with a physician, or CNPs only education in the cosmetic medical service or the operation of medical devices to be used;

(2) Responsible for implementing policies and procedures to ensure quality patient care;

(3) Responsible for the delegation and supervision of cosmetic procedures;

(4) Responsible for developing and maintaining written office protocols for each cosmetic medical procedure. Such protocols shall be kept on site at the medical spa for review and/or inspection by the department;

(5) Responsible for the oversight of all cosmetic medical procedures performed by physicians, PAs, APRNs, and RNs;

(6) Responsible for ensuring that all supervisory physicians, supervising PAs in collaboration with a physician and supervising APRNs, any physicians, PAs and APRNs performing cosmetic medical procedures, and any non-physicians and non-APRNs delegated to perform cosmetic medical procedures, are properly trained in the safe and effective performance of all cosmetic medical procedures that they perform at the medical spa; and

(7) On site or off site and able to directly observe the treatment being performed, though not necessarily in the same room (i.e., direct supervision).

(b) A physician, PA, or APRN who performs cosmetic medical procedures, or supervises such procedures delegated to and performed by a non-physician, non-PA, or non-APRN, must be trained in the indications for and performance of the cosmetic medical procedure. An APRN who performs cosmetic medical procedures, or supervises such procedures delegated to and performed by a non-physician, non-PA, or non-APRN, must be accredited by the state board of nursing.

(c) The supervising physician, supervising APRN, or supervising PA in collaboration with a physician shall:

(1) Perform an initial assessment of the patient.

(2) Prepare a written treatment plan for each patient, which plan shall include, as applicable, diagnoses, course of treatment, and specifications for any device being used.

(3) Obtain patient consent and document the patients consent, in the patients medical record.

(4) Create and maintain medical records in a manner consistent with applicable laws and regulations and accepted medical practice.

(d) Non-physicians, non-PAs, and non-APRNs may only perform cosmetic medical procedures:

(1) For which they have the requisite training; and

(2) Which have been delegated to them by a supervising physician, supervising PA in collaboration with a physician or supervising APRN.

(e) At all times in the performance of their duties relative to cosmetic procedures, all providers shall:

(1) Review and follow written protocols for each delegated cosmetic medical procedure;

(2) Verify that the supervising physician, supervising PA in collaboration with a physician or supervising APRN has assessed the patient and given written treatment instructions for each procedure performed;

(3) Review the cosmetic medical procedure with each patient;

(4) Notify the medical director, as well as the supervising physician, supervising PA in collaboration with a physician or supervising APRN, before the patient leaves or as they become aware, of any adverse events or complications, and follow up with the patient post-procedure, as appropriate;

(5) Document all relevant details of the performed cosmetic medical procedure in the patients medical record; and

(6) As applicable, satisfy any requirements imposed upon them by their licensing boards.

(f) Medical procedures using ablative lasers or ablative energy devices shall only be performed by physicians, physician assistants, and certified nurse practitioners.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-1-38 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-1 / Section 23-1-38
§ 23-1-38. HIV antibody testing  Sperm collection or donation.
Status: in_force

The director shall promulgate guidelines for the prevention of transmission of HIV, and, particularly, in those instances of sperm collection or donation where the director shall require specific testing for HIV.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-1-50 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-1 / Section 23-1-50
§ 23-1-50. Public Records  Exemption  Requirements.
Status: in_force

(a) The department of health shall deem all application filings for certification, re-certification, and material modification, and correspondence directly related to those application filings, submitted under the provisions of chapters 17.12 and 17.13 of this title and chapter 41 of title 27, to be public records as defined in § 38-2-2(4). Entities or agents certified under one or more of these statutes may request that certain portions of their application filings, or correspondence directly related to their application filings, be regarded as exempt from public disclosure, but may do so only by claiming one or more of the specific grounds delineated in § 38-2-2(4).

(b) For each document or for each portion of a document requested to be exempt from public disclosure, the certified entity or agent must specify the specific exemption claimed and the rationale for the exemption. Each specific exemption and the rationale for it shall themselves be public documents. The department shall determine which of the documents, or parts of the documents, for which an exemption is sought shall be public records and which shall be exempt from the disclosure required by chapter 2 of title 38.

(c) Each application filing for certification, re-certification, or material modification submitted under the provisions of chapters 17.12 and 17.13 of this title and chapter 41 of title 27, and for which an exemption is sought, shall be made in three (3) parts:

(1) Part One shall be a complete application filing with no materials to be deleted. This part shall be for the official use of the department as appropriate.

(2) Part Two shall be a complete application filing, except that it shall not include those parts of the application filing which the filing party has claimed and the department determined to be exempt from the disclosure required by chapter 2 of title 38.

(3) Part Three of the application filing shall include those items and information requested to be excluded from the disclosure required by chapter 2 of title 38 with a delineation of the specific exemption and criteria claimed under § 38-2-2(4) and the application filings rationale for each specific exemption claimed.

(d) All application filings for certification, re-certification, or material modification submitted under the provisions of chapters 17.12 and 17.13 of this title and chapter 41 of title 27 that are not made consistent with the three (3) part form described in subsection (c) shall, except as otherwise prohibited by state or federal law, be deemed public records under the provisions of chapter 2 of title 38.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-19-18 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-19 / Section 23-19-18
§ 23-19-18. Trust funds.
Status: in_force

All money received pursuant to the authority of this chapter, whether as provided from the sale of bonds or notes or as revenues, receipts, or income, shall be trust funds to be held and applied solely as provided in the proceedings under which the bonds or notes are authorized. Any officer with whom or any bank or trust company with which moneys shall be deposited as trustee, shall hold and apply the trust funds for the purposes for which the bonds or notes are authorized, subject to the applicable provisions of this chapter, the proceedings authorizing the bonds or notes, and the trust agreement securing the bonds or notes, if any.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-33-27 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-33 / Section 23-33-27
§ 23-33-27. Fine for noncompliance.
Status: in_force

The lessee or owner or owners of any building, or, in case the lessee or owner, or any of them, be non compos mentis or a minor, the guardian of any such lessee or owner, or in case the lessee or owner, or any of them, be a nonresident, the agent of any such lessee or owner, having charge of the property, who shall neglect or fail to comply with the provisions of this chapter shall be fined in accordance with the provisions of § 22-33-20 for each day that an elevator or other device shall be used or operated in the building contrary to the provisions of this chapter. In case there shall be several such lessees or owners or agents in charge of any building in which an elevator or other device shall be used or operated contrary to the provisions of this chapter proceedings may be had against any or all of them jointly, or against any one of them, for the recovery of the fine.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-90-8 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-90 / Section 23-90-8
§ 23-90-8. Immunity.
Status: in_force

Each producer, retailer and the council shall be immune from liability for any claim of a violation of antitrust law, to the extent such producer or council is exercising authority pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, including but not limited to:

(1) The creation, implementation or management of a plan pursuant to § 23-90-5, and the types or quantities of used mattresses recycled or otherwise managed pursuant to a plan;

(2) The cost and structure of a plan; and

(3) The establishment, administration, collection or disbursement of the mattress stewardship fee associated with funding the implementation of the plan.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-19-38 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-19 / Section 23-19-38
§ 23-19-38. Report of the auditor general.
Status: in_force

The auditor general shall annually prepare a report for the joint committee on legislative services on the corporations financial and administrative activities related to the implementation of §§ 23-19-34 through 23-19-36.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-17-36 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-17 / Section 23-17-36
§ 23-17-36. Rules and regulations.
Status: in_force

The director of the department of health is authorized to promulgate rules and regulations to carry out the intent of this chapter as well as establishing administrative penalties for violations of the provisions of §§ 23-17-60 and 23-17-61.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-19-11.2 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-19 / Section 23-19-11.2
§ 23-19-11.2. Improvements of the central landfill.
Status: in_force

(a) Under the initial resource recovery system set forth in § 23-19-11.1, it will be necessary to continue to use the central landfill in Johnston for a significant portion of the states solid waste. In order to minimize the impact on the community of the use of the central landfill, the state and the corporation shall implement a central landfill improvement plan as soon as possible.

(b) The central landfill improvement plan shall include, but shall not be limited to, the following projects:

(1) The installation of city water in certain parts of the west of Johnston adjoining the landfill or which are impacted by its operation.

(2) Reconstruction of Green Hill Road from Plainfield Pike to Shun Pike.

(3) Minimization of visual impact of the central landfill to the extent possible by the use of fencing, grading, seeding, or the planting of vegetation and the development of an industrial/business park pursuant to § 23-19-35.1(c).

(c) The director of the department of administration is authorized and empowered to make advances from the general fund of the state to the corporation to fund the improvements set forth in subsection (b). The advances shall be returned to the general fund at the time or times that the director shall have specified and that the total amount of the advances shall be returned to the general fund at the time or times that the director shall have specified, and that the total amount of the outstanding and unreturned advances at any one time shall not exceed four million dollars ($4,000,000); and the state controller is authorized and directed to draw his or her orders upon the general treasurer for the payment of the advances upon receipt by him or her of proper vouchers signed by the director of administration; and the corporation shall repay the advances with proceeds of the bonds or notes issued by the corporation to permanently fund the improvements or from other corporation funds.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-19-11 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-19 / Section 23-19-11
§ 23-19-11. Planning requirements.
Status: in_force

Planning responsibilities of the corporation shall include, but not be limited to:

(1) The preparation of a statewide resource recovery system development plan which will indicate the location, type, and size of solid waste management facilities, including without limitation, transfer stations, waste processing facilities, and ultimate disposal facilities which may be required to serve the future needs of the state and its municipalities through the development of an integrated statewide resource recovery system for the effective management of solid waste;

(2) The plan shall be in conformity with the applicable provisions of the state guide plan;

(3) The plan will be subject to amendment;

(4) In developing the plan, the corporation will assure that:

(i) The orderly extension of future solid waste facilities and management systems are provided for in a manner consistent with the needs and plans of the whole area, and in a manner consistent with the state departments of health and environmental management rules and regulations for locating and operating solid waste facilities;

(ii) All aspects of planning, zoning, population estimates, engineering, and economics are taken into consideration to delineate with all practical precision those portions of the area which may reasonably be expected to be served by a given time frame, as determined by the corporation;

(iii) Appropriate time schedules are set for the phasing in of the required component parts of the system.

(iv) Future solid waste disposal facilities shall be regional in size and emphasize the geographic and political nature of the surrounding area.

(5) In the interim prior to the completion of the statewide plan, the corporation is authorized to develop component facilities as may be required to carry out the purposes of this chapter; provided, however, upon completion of the plan, all projects of the corporation undertaken thereafter shall be in conformity with the plan; and

(6) The corporation shall cooperate with the department of environmental management and other state and local agencies in the development of a comprehensive statewide solid waste management plan, of which the corporations statewide resource recovery system development plan shall be a component part. Nothing in this chapter shall be interpreted as limiting the authority of the department of environmental management to prepare a statewide, comprehensive, solid waste management plan, including, but not limited to, any plan required by any federal law, rules, or regulations to meet federal requirements that may be conditions precedent to receiving federal assistance.

(7) The plan shall not include incineration of solid waste.

(8) The plan shall limit the use of landfills to providing temporary backup or bypass disposal capacity and residue disposals from waste processing facilities. The plan shall also seek to minimize landfilling of any type of waste and phase out the use of landfills for waste disposal.

(9) The plan shall include composting of yard waste and other appropriate organic wastes.

(10) The plan shall consider the financial feasibility of modifying, curtailing, or supplanting the provisions of chapter 19.1 of this title in light of the requirements for waste processing facilities.

(11) The plan shall primarily rely on a system of waste processing facilities.

(12) The plan shall provide that the corporation actively pursue research and develop new uses for materials recovered from solid waste to maximize revenue from recycled materials.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-17-15 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-17 / Section 23-17-15
§ 23-17-15. Information confidential.
Status: in_force

Information received by the licensing agency through filed reports, inspection, or as otherwise authorized under this chapter shall not be disclosed publicly in any manner that identifies individuals except in a proceeding involving the question of licensure.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-1-22 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-1 / Section 23-1-22
§ 23-1-22. Hearing.
Status: in_force

If a person upon whom a notice of violation has been served under the provisions of § 23-1-20 or if a person aggrieved by any notice of violation requests a hearing before the director within ten (10) days of the service of notice of violation, the director shall set a time and place for the hearing, and shall give the person requesting a hearing at least five (5) days written notice of the hearing. After the hearing, the director may make findings of fact and shall sustain, modify, or withdraw the notice of violation. If the director sustains or modifies the notice, that decision shall be deemed a compliance order and shall be served upon the person responsible in any manner provided for the service of the notice in § 23-1-20. The compliance order shall state a time within which the violation shall be remedied, and the original time specified in the notice of violation shall be extended to the time set in that order.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-25-6.1 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-25 / Section 23-25-6.1
§ 23-25-6.1. Registration fee  Surcharge.
Status: in_force

(a) In addition to the annual registration fee of fifty dollars ($50.00) as required by § 23-25-6, an additional two hundred fifty dollars ($250) registration surcharge fee shall be imposed upon each pesticide to be sold or used within the state, unless the director has determined the subject product is a statewide minor use product pursuant to § 23-25-6(b)(3). The registration surcharge fee shall be deposited as general revenues. The director may require that the registration surcharge required by this section be paid electronically.

(b) In addition to the registration surcharge, the director may charge a processing fee. The department shall set the amount of such fees through rules and regulations, with processing fees not to exceed five percent (5%) of the registration surcharge per application.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-17-12.6 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-17 / Section 23-17-12.6
§ 23-17-12.6. Independent quality monitor, quality consultant and temporary manager.
Status: in_force

(a) Under the authority granted to the director in § 23-1-21 and in addition to any other statutory authority, whenever the director determines that there is a deficiency in a nursing facility that constitutes immediate jeopardy to health and safety of a resident or residents, the director may take the following actions:

(1) Appoint an independent quality monitor, at the facilitys expense, to conduct periodic inspections to assess the efforts made by the nursing facility to achieve compliance with state and federal regulations governing nursing facilities that participate in the Medicare and medical assistance programs and to report its findings to the director;

(2) Require the nursing facility to engage, at the facilitys expense, an independent quality consultant to advise and assist the nursing facilitys management to achieve and maintain compliance with state and federal regulations governing nursing facilities that participate in the Medicare and medical assistance programs and to develop and implement the nursing facilitys quality improvement program; and/or

(3) Require the nursing facility to engage, at the facilitys expense, a temporary manager to assist the nursing facility to achieve and maintain compliance with state and federal regulations governing nursing facilities that participate in the Medicare and medical assistance programs and to implement the nursing facilitys quality improvement program.

(b) The appointment of a state quality monitor, and ordering the facility to hire an independent quality consultant or temporary manager are sanctions that may be in addition to or in lieu of other sanctions imposed by the state.

(c) Any state appointed quality monitor, or quality consultant or temporary manager hired by the nursing facility may not be employees of the department.

(d) For purposes of this section, temporary manager means any person, corporation, or other entity, as required to be hired by the department to provide management services that assist the facility in the correction of deficiencies and financial difficulties identified in the facilitys operation.

(e) The director may require the hiring of a temporary manager for a nursing facility when the director determines that a nursing facility is:

(1) Experiencing severe financial difficulties which if continued, present a substantial probability of financial insolvency; or

(2) A facility is operating in such a manner or condition that continued operation by the licensee, or his or her representative, presents a substantial probability of immediate jeopardy to the health or safety of the residents.

(f) The qualifications of any quality consultant or temporary manager as required under this section shall be approved by the department. Any quality consultant or temporary manager hired by the nursing facility under this section shall report on progress toward quality improvement to the department in a manner and format determined by the director.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-25-14 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-25 / Section 23-25-14
§ 23-25-14. Certification of private applicators  Renewal  Regulations.
Status: in_force

(a) No private applicator shall purchase, acquire, possess, apply, or supervise the application of any pesticide classified for use only by or under the direct supervision of a certified applicator by EPA or by the director without first becoming certified under this section and regulations adopted under this section, except that the pesticide purchase, acquisition, possession, or application may be made without certification if done under the direct supervision of a certified applicator.

(b) The director is authorized to adopt regulations, including but not limited to regulations:

(1) Establishing procedures for filing an application for certification and determining prior experience and qualifications of applicants, the location and nature of their operations, and setting annual expiration dates and type of credentials verifying certification;

(2) Requiring written or oral and, as necessary, other types of examinations designed to enable the applicant to demonstrate his or her knowledge, in accordance with the standards established under § 23-25-10, of pesticides and their effects and his or her competency to handle and use the restricted use and/or limited use pesticides he or she may apply in his or her normal operations or for any special uses for which he or she is being examined;

(3) Establishing an annual certification fee not to exceed twenty-five dollars ($25.00) and requiring certified private applicators to keep records of their purchase and use of restricted use and/or limited use pesticides.

(c) If the director finds the applicant qualified, the director shall issue to him or her a certified private applicators certificate limited to the types of operations or special uses for which he or she was examined, which shall expire one year from the date of issue or otherwise as determined by regulation, unless it has been suspended or revoked prior to the expiration by the director for cause. The director may limit the applicant to the use of certain pesticides or certain uses if deemed necessary to protect the applicant, other persons, or the environment. If a certificate or renewal is not granted as applied for, the director shall inform the applicant, in writing, of the reason for not granting it and, if requested, provide opportunity for a hearing before the director.

(d) The director shall send a renewal application to each certified private applicator at least thirty (30) days prior to the expiration date, and the director may renew any applicants certification under the classification(s) for which the applicant is certified subject to re-examination or other requirements imposed by the director by regulation to ensure that the applicator continues to meet the requirements of changing technology and to assure a continuing level of competence and ability to use pesticides safely and properly.

(e) Certified private applicators who, in any year, fail to file a renewal application even though they did not receive a mailed renewal application prior to an expiration date established by regulation shall lose their certification as of sixty (60) days later and prior to that date shall be notified in writing. Those applicators may regain certification under this section by re-examination.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-59-13 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-59 / Section 23-59-13
§ 23-59-13. Special provisions for existing providers  Rights of residents with certain existing providers.
Status: in_force

(a) Providers existing prior to June 18, 1987 shall comply with this chapters provisions within six (6) months of that date. However, the department may extend the period within which an existing facility shall comply with this chapter for an additional six (6) months, for good cause shown.

(b) Continuing care contracts entered into prior to June 18, 1987 or prior to registration of the provider shall be valid and binding upon both parties in accordance with their terms.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-13-1 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-13 / Section 23-13-1
§ 23-13-1. Acceptance of federal act  Administration and purpose of program.
Status: in_force

(a) The state accepts the provisions of Title V, relative to maternal and child health services, of an act passed by the congress of the United States, entitled the Social Security Act, approved August 14, 1935, and as subsequently amended, 42 U.S.C. § 701 et seq., and designates the state department of health as the state agency for administering in Rhode Island the provisions of Title V of the Social Security Act relative to maternal and child health services.

(b) The state department of health shall administer a program of ambulatory health services for mothers and children and shall supervise the administration of those services included in the program which are not directly administered by the department. The purposes of those programs shall be: to reduce maternal and infant mortality, to reduce the incidence and prevalence of preventable diseases and disabling conditions among children, to reduce the need for inpatient and long-term care services, to increase the number of children (especially low income children) receiving immunization, health assessment, diagnostic, and treatment services, to develop, extend, and improve ambulatory health services to locate, diagnose, care for, and rehabilitate children with disabling conditions, and otherwise preserve, protect, and promote the health of mothers and children. The director of health is authorized to promulgate rules and regulations that may be necessary to carry into effect the provisions of this section.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-9-6 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-9 / Section 23-9-6
§ 23-9-6. Penalty for refusal to anchor in quarantine.
Status: in_force

Every commander of a ship or vessel who shall, upon being hailed and directed by the sentinel, refuse or neglect to bring his or her ship or vessel to anchor within the limits as described in § 23-9-4, shall be fined not exceeding five hundred dollars ($500) nor less than twenty dollars ($20.00), to the use of the city or town.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-22-11 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-22 / Section 23-22-11
§ 23-22-11. Access and inspection powers.
Status: in_force

For the purpose of this chapter the director of health or his or her duly authorized agents or employees shall at all reasonable times have authority to enter upon any and all parts of the premises on which any swimming pool is located and of the premises appurtenant to it to make the inspection or to obtain samples of water for the analyses provided for in this chapter, or to make any examination or investigation for the purpose of determining whether the provisions of this chapter and any rules or regulations of the department are being violated or whether the condition and method of maintenance of any swimming pool will be detrimental to the health and safety of its users.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-23-9 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-23 / Section 23-23-9
§ 23-23-9. Operation of approved system as sufficient compliance.
Status: in_force

Any person who shall adopt or use and who shall properly operate a system or means to prevent air pollution in compliance with an order of the director shall, as long as the approval or order remains unrevoked or unmodified, be deemed to have complied with all orders and determinations of the director issued during that period under the authority conferred upon him or her by this chapter.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-94-5 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-94 / Section 23-94-5
§ 23-94-5. Severability.
Status: in_force

If any provision of this chapter or of any rule or regulation made under this chapter, or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, the remainder of the chapter, rule, or regulation and the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances shall not be affected by this invalidity. The invalidity of any section or sections or parts of any section or sections shall not affect the validity of the remainder of the chapter.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-100-4 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-100 / Section 23-100-4
§ 23-100-4. Privacy.
Status: in_force

The department shall not make publicly available individual data acquired pursuant to § 23-100-3. Individualized healthcare workforce data elements shall remain confidential and shall only be available as de-identified aggregate analysis to support healthcare planning, workforce analysis, and other health program and policy recommendations. Publicly available data may include, but not be limited to:

(1) Aggregate de-identified data and information on current healthcare workforce capacity;

(2) Geographic distribution of healthcare professionals actively practicing;

(3) Provider-to-population rates; and

(4) Projections of healthcare workforce need.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-60-5 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-60 / Section 23-60-5
§ 23-60-5. Distributor acceptance  Reimbursement by distributor.
Status: in_force

(a) A distributor or manufacturer shall not refuse to accept from any dealer any used vehicle battery in reasonably clean and substantially unbroken condition of the kind, size, and brand sold by the distributor or manufacturer.

(b) Whenever a dealer or group of dealers receives a shipment or consignment of, or in any manner acquires, vehicle batteries outside Rhode Island for sale to consumers in Rhode Island, the dealer or dealers shall comply with this chapter as if they were distributors, as well as dealers.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-8-18 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-8 / Section 23-8-18
§ 23-8-18. Proclamation of general quarantine.
Status: in_force

The power to establish quarantine in this state shall also be vested in the governor; and whenever the governor shall deem it advisable for the preservation of public health and the prevention of the spread of infectious diseases, he or she may, by proclamation, place under quarantine the whole state or that portion of the state that he or she may deem necessary, and he or she shall authorize and empower the state director of health to take any action and make and enforce any rules and regulations that may be deemed necessary to prevent the introduction and to restrict the spread of infectious diseases in the state.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-22-10 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-22 / Section 23-22-10
§ 23-22-10. Duplicate license  Displaying license after suspension or revocation.
Status: in_force

Whenever a license while still effective may become defaced or destroyed, the department of health shall, upon application, issue a duplicate license upon payment of a fee as set forth in § 23-1-54 to the department. It shall be unlawful for any person to display or to keep displayed any license after the person has received notice of the suspension or revocation of the license.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-8-4 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-8 / Section 23-8-4
§ 23-8-4. Quarantine.
Status: in_force

If the state director of health, or his or her duly authorized agent, determines, upon investigation, that a threat to the public health exists because any person is suffering, or appears to be suffering, from a communicable disease, the director or his or her authorized agent may require or provide that person to be confined, in some proper place, for the purpose of isolation or quarantine, or another less restrictive intervention treatment, including, but not limited to, immunization, treatment, exclusion or other protective actions until the threat to the public health has abated. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent a person who is unable or unwilling for reasons of health, religion, or conscience to undergo immunization or treatment from choosing to submit to quarantine or isolation as an alternative to immunization or treatment. Orders under this chapter shall be in accordance with the procedures for compliance order and immediate compliance orders set forth in §§ 23-1-20  23-1-24. A person subject to quarantine under this section shall be entitled to file a petition for relief from such order at any time, included, but not limited to, a petition based upon compliance with a treatment under less restrictive alternatives.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-99-12 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-99 / Section 23-99-12
§ 23-99-12. Bonds eligible for investment.
Status: in_force

The notes and bonds of the hub shall be legal investments in which all public officers and public bodies of this state, its political subdivisions, all municipalities and municipal subdivisions, all insurance companies and associations and other persons carrying on an insurance business, all banks, bankers, banking institutions including savings and loan associations, building and loan associations, trust companies, savings banks and savings associations, investment companies and other persons carrying on a banking business, all administrators, guardians, executors, trustees, and other fiduciaries, and all other persons who are now or may hereafter be authorized to invest in bonds or in other obligations of the state, may properly and legally invest funds, including capital, in their control or belonging to them. The notes and bonds are also made securities which may properly and legally be deposited with and received by all public officers and bodies of the state or any agency or political subdivision of the state and all municipalities and public corporations for any purpose for which the deposit of bonds or other obligations of the state is now or may hereafter be authorized by law.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-91-1 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-91 / Section 23-91-1
§ 23-91-1. Service member licensure.
Status: in_force

(a) The director and each member of the examining and licensing boards shall, upon presentation of satisfactory evidence by an applicant for certification or licensure, accept education, training, or service completed by an individual as a member of the Armed Forces or Reserves of the United States, the National Guard of any state, the Military Reserves of any state, or the Naval Militia of any state toward the qualifications to receive the license or certification. The director and each appropriate examining and licensing board shall promulgate rules to implement this section.

(b) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, each health related board shall establish a procedure to expedite the issuance of a license, certification or permit to perform professional services regulated by each such board to a person who is certified or licensed in another state to perform professional services in a state other than Rhode Island. The procedure shall include:

(1) Issuing the person a license, certificate or permit, if, in the opinion of the board, the requirements for certification or licensure of such other state are substantially equivalent to that required in this state; or

(2) Developing a method to authorize the person to perform professional services regulated by the board in this state by issuing the person a temporary permit for a limited period of time to allow the person to perform professional services while completing any specific requirements that may be required in this state that were not required in the state in which the person was licensed or certified.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-3-1 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-3 / Section 23-3-1
§ 23-3-1. Definitions.
Status: in_force

As used in this chapter:

(1) Adoptee means a person who was born in this state and who has had an original birth certificate sealed due to an adoption.

(2) Adoptee vital records file means a file operated by the division of vital records that maintains adoptees birth certificates, makes available the contact preference forms, and provides adoptees with non-certified copies of their birth certificates.

(3) Adult adoptee means an adoptee eighteen years of age or older.

(4) Birth parent is the person, the father or mother of genetic origin of a child, who is legally presumed under the laws of this state to be the father or mother of genetic origin of a child.

(5) Community of residence means the city or town within the state of a persons home address at the time of his or her marriage or death, or of his or her mothers home address at the time of his or her birth.

(6) Contact preference form means the form prepared and maintained by the division that birth parent(s) of adoptees may file to express his or her preference regarding contact with the adoptee. The contact preference form shall include language informing the birth parent(s) of their ability to provide genetic, social, and health history to the Passive Voluntary Adoption Mutual Consent Registry as defined in chapter 7.2 of title 15.

(7) Dead body means a lifeless human body or parts of a lifeless human body or its bones from the state of which it reasonably may be concluded that death recently occurred.

(8) Direct line descendant means a person who is in direct line to an ancestor, such as a biological child, grandchild, or great-grandchild.

(9) Division means the division of vital records as defined in this chapter.

(10) Fetal death means death prior to the complete expulsion or extraction from its mother of a product of human conception, irrespective of the duration of pregnancy; the death is indicated by the fact that after the expulsion or extraction the fetus does not breathe or show any other evidence of life such as beating of the heart, pulsation of the umbilical cord, or definite movement of the voluntary muscles.

(11) Filing means the presentation of a certificate, report, or other record provided for in this chapter, of a birth, death, fetal death, adoption, marriage, or divorce for registration by the division of vital records.

(12) Final disposition means the burial, interment, cremation, or other disposition of a dead body or fetus.

(13) Institution means any establishment, public or private, that provides in-patient medical, surgical, or diagnostic care or treatment, or nursing, custodial or domiciliary care to two (2) or more unrelated individuals, or to which persons are committed by law.

(14) Legal representative means an individuals attorney, personal representative, or conservator and includes a guardian appointed by the court to make decisions regarding the person of an adult.

(15) Live birth means the complete expulsion or extraction from its mother of a product of human conception, irrespective of the duration of pregnancy, that, after that expulsion or extraction, breathes or shows any other evidences of life such as beating of the heart, pulsation of the umbilical cord, or definite movement of the voluntary muscles, whether or not the umbilical cord has been cut or the placenta is attached.

(16) Physician means a person authorized or licensed to practice medicine pursuant to chapter 37 of title 5.

(17) Registration means the acceptance by the division of vital records and the incorporation in its official records of certificates, reports, or other records provided for in this chapter, or births, deaths, fetal deaths, adoptions, marriages, or divorces.

(18) Signing or Signature means the application of either a hand signature to a paper record or an electronic process approved by the state registrar of vital records.

(19) System of vital records means the registration, collection, preservation, amendment, and certification of vital statistics records, and activities related to them including the tabulation, analysis, and publication of statistical data derived from those records.

(20) Vital records means records of birth, death, fetal death, marriage, divorce, and data related to those records.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-1-4 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-1 / Section 23-1-4
§ 23-1-4. Vital records.
Status: in_force

The department of health and director of health shall carry on the registration of vital records as provided by chapter 3 of this title and the director of health shall be ex officio state registrar of vital records.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-17-41 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-17 / Section 23-17-41
§ 23-17-41. Employer/employee relationships.
Status: in_force

A home nursing care provider and home care provider shall be considered for all purposes an employer; and those persons that it supplies on a temporary basis shall be considered employees and not independent contractors; and home nursing care providers and home care providers shall be subject to all state and federal laws which govern employer/employee relationships.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-17-25 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-17 / Section 23-17-25
§ 23-17-25. Privileges and immunities for peer review activities.
Status: in_force

(a) Neither the proceedings nor the records of peer review boards as defined in § 5-37-1 shall be subject to discovery or be admissible in evidence in any case save litigation arising out of the imposition of sanctions upon a physician. However, any imposition or notice of a restriction of privileges or a requirement of supervision imposed on a physician for unprofessional conduct as defined in § 5-37-5.1 shall be subject to discovery and be admissible in any proceeding against the physician for performing, or against any health care facility or health care provider which allows the physician to perform the medical procedures which are the subject of the restriction or supervision during the period of the restriction or supervision or subsequent to that period. Nothing contained in this section shall apply to records made in the regular course of business by a hospital or other provider of health care information. Documents or records otherwise available from original sources are not to be construed as immune from discovery or used in any civil proceedings merely because they were presented during the proceedings of the committee.

(b) There shall be no monetary liability on the part of, and no cause of action for damages shall arise against, any member of a duly appointed peer review board operated pursuant to written by-laws, for any act or proceeding undertaken or performed within the scope of the functions of any peer review board.

(c) There shall be no monetary liability on the part of, and no cause of action for damage shall arise against, any person on account of the communication of information in the possession of the person to any peer review board or the board of medical licensure and discipline, when the communication is intended to aid in the evaluation of the qualifications, fitness, or character of a practitioner of the healing arts, and does not represent as true any matter not reasonably believed to be true.

(d) Any peer review processes authorized by statute and carried out in good faith shall have the benefit of the state action exemption to the state antitrust law.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-59-7 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-59 / Section 23-59-7
§ 23-59-7. Sale or transfer of ownership or change in management.
Status: in_force

(a) No provider and no person or entity owning a provider shall sell or transfer, directly or indirectly, more than fifty percent (50%) of the ownership of the provider or of a continuing care facility without giving the department written notice of the intended sale or transfer at least thirty (30) days prior to the consummation of the sale or transfer. A series of sales or transfers to one person or entity, or one or more entities controlled by one person or entity, consummated within a six (6) month period that constitutes, in the aggregate, a sale or transfer of more than fifty percent (50%) of the ownership of a provider or of a continuing care facility shall be subject to the foregoing notice provisions.

(b) A provider or continuing care facility that shall change its chief executive officer, or its management firm if managed under a contract with a third party, shall promptly notify the department and the residents of each change of chief executive officer or management firm.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-10-7 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-10 / Section 23-10-7
§ 23-10-7. Laboratory culture for tuberculosis.
Status: in_force

All biological samples or specimens taken from Rhode Island residents for the purpose of performing laboratory culture for tuberculosis (Mycobacterium tuberculosis) or for determining antibiotic sensitivities of cases of tuberculosis, by or under the direction or order of any physician licensed to practice medicine in this state, shall be sent to the Rhode Island department of health laboratory for analysis. Those biological samples or specimens may be split at the time of procurement to permit one portion of the sample or specimen to be sent to the department of health laboratory for analysis and the other portion to be analyzed at another appropriately credentialed laboratory. In the case of split samples or specimens, third party payers shall pay both the department of health laboratory and the appropriately credentialed laboratory for analyzing those samples or specimens. The department of health shall waive the requirement for samples or specimens to be sent to the department of health laboratory and shall establish a written memorandum of agreement with any appropriately credentialed laboratory which can meet or exceed the most current laboratory standard of practice for tuberculosis testing, including maximum turnaround time.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-66-1 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-66 / Section 23-66-1
§ 23-66-1. Legislative findings.
Status: in_force

The general assembly recognizes and declares that:

(1) Proper disposal of sewage sludge is important because contaminated or improperly handled sewage sludge can result in pollutants in the environment;

(2) Improper sewage sludge management could lead to environmental degradation of land and air;

(3) Concern for air quality necessitates proper controls over sewage sludge incineration;

(4) Protection of the public health of the residents of Rhode Island is of paramount importance; and

(5) Sewage sludge means solid, semi-solid, or liquid residue generated during the treatment of sewage in a publicly owner treatment works. Sewage sludge includes, but is not limited to, domestic septage; scum or solids removed in primary, secondary, or advanced wastewater treatment processes; and a material derived from sewage sludge. Sewage sludge does not include ash generated during the firing of sewage sludge in a sewage sludge incinerator or grit and screenings generated during preliminary treatment of sewage in a publicly owned treatment works.

(6) Sewage sludge incineration facility means any plant, structure, equipment, and other property, real, personal, or mixed, for the incineration of sewage sludge, or any property or system to be used in whole or in part for the incineration of sewage sludge, whether or not another purpose is also served by it.

(7) The general assembly declares that in order to protect the public health and welfare, the construction and operation of new sewage sludge incineration facility must be preceded by a comprehensive health risk assessment (hereinafter called the assessment).
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-17-31 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-17 / Section 23-17-31
§ 23-17-31. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing  Hospitals.
Status: in_force

(a) Hospital patients in any hospital licensed under this chapter shall be offered testing for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) as set forth in chapter 23-6.3.

(b) [Deleted by P.L. 2009, ch. 196, § 7 and P.L. 2009, ch. 289, § 7.]

(c) [Deleted by P.L. 2009, ch. 196, § 7 and P.L. 2009, ch. 289, § 7.]

(d) [Deleted by P.L. 2009, ch. 196, § 7 and P.L. 2009, ch. 289, § 7.]
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-9-9 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-9 / Section 23-9-9
§ 23-9-9. Quarantine of vessels bound for Providence.
Status: in_force

If any vessel shall arrive in the waters of the state bound to the port of Providence at any time while the quarantine regulations of the city of Providence are in force, no person on board that vessel shall leave it until it has been visited and examined by the health officer of Providence, and permission to land has been given by that health officer or by the city council of Providence to that person to enter the city. Every person leaving that vessel without first obtaining permission, shall be fined not exceeding twenty dollars ($20.00); and the city council may cause that person to be returned to the vessel in case it is under quarantine, and to remain there until permitted to depart.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-25-4 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-25 / Section 23-25-4
§ 23-25-4. Definitions.
Status: in_force

As used in this chapter:

(1) Active ingredient means any ingredient that will prevent, destroy, repel, control, or mitigate pests, or that will act as a plant regulator, defoliant, or desiccant.

(2) Adulterated applies to any pesticide if its strength or purity falls below the professed standards of quality as expressed on its labeling under which it is sold, or if any substance has been substituted wholly or in part for the pesticide, or if any valuable constituent of the pesticide has been wholly or in part abstracted.

(3) Agricultural commodity means any plant, or part of plant, or animal, or animal product, produced by a person (including farmers, ranchers, vineyardists, plant propagators, Christmas tree growers, aquaculturists, floriculturists, orchardists, foresters, or other comparable persons) primarily for sale, consumption, propagation, or other use by humans or animals.

(4) Animal means all vertebrate and invertebrate species, including, but not limited to, humans and other mammals, birds, fish, and shellfish.

(5) Beneficial insects means those insects that, during their life cycle, are effective pollinators of plants, are parasites or predators of pests, or are otherwise beneficial.

(6) Board means the pesticide advisory board as provided for under § 23-25.2-3.

(7) Defoliant means any substance or mixture of substances intended for causing the leaves or foliage to drop from a plant with or without causing abscission.

(8) Desiccant means any substance or mixture of substances intended for artificially accelerating the drying of plant tissue.

(9) Device means any instrument or contrivance (other than a firearm) that is intended for trapping, destroying, repelling, or mitigating any pest or any other form of plant or animal life (other than humans and other than bacteria, virus, or other micro-organism on or in living humans or other living animals) but not including equipment used for the application of pesticides when sold separately from it.

(10) Director means the director of environmental management.

(11) Distribute means to offer for sale, hold for sale, sell, barter, ship, deliver for shipment, or receive and (having so received) deliver or offer to deliver pesticides in this state.

(12) Environment includes water, air, land, and all plants and humans and other living animals in it, and the interrelationships that exist among these.

(13) EPA means the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

(14) FIFRA means the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, 7 U.S.C. § 136 et seq., and other legislation supplementary to it and amendatory of it.

(15) Fungi means all nonchlorophyll-bearing thallophytes (that is, all nonchlorophyll-bearing plants of a lower order than mosses and liverworts) as, for example, rusts, smuts, mildews, molds, yeasts, and bacteria, except those in or on living humans or other living animals, and except those in or on processed food, beverages, or pharmaceuticals.

(16) Highly toxic pesticide means any pesticide determined to be a highly toxic pesticide under the authority of § 25(c)(2) of FIFRA, 7 U.S.C. § 136w(c)(2), or by the director under § 23-25-9(a)(2).

(17) Imminent hazard means a situation that exists when the continued use of a pesticide during the time required for cancellation proceedings pursuant to § 23-25-8 would likely result in unreasonable adverse effects on the environment or will involve unreasonable hazard to the survival of a species declared endangered by the secretary of the interior under 16 U.S.C. § 1531 et seq.

(18) Inert ingredient means an ingredient that is not an active ingredient.

(19) Ingredient statement means:

(i) A statement of the name and percentage of each active ingredient together with the total percentage of the inert ingredients in the pesticide; and

(ii) When the pesticide contains arsenic in any form, the ingredient statement shall also include percentages of total and water soluble arsenic, each calculated as elemental arsenic.

(20) Insect means any of the numerous small invertebrate animals generally having the body more or less obviously segmented, for the most part belonging to the class insecta, comprising six (6) legged, usually winged forms, as for example, moths, beetles, bugs, bees, flies, and their immature stages, and to other allied classes of anthropods whose members are wingless and usually have more than six (6) legs, as for example, spiders, mites, ticks, centipedes, and wood lice.

(21) Integrated Pest Management (IPM) refers to a method of pest control that uses a systems approach to reduce pest damage to tolerable levels through a variety of techniques, including natural predators and parasites, genetically resistant hosts, environmental modifications and, when necessary and appropriate, chemical pesticides. IPM strategies rely upon nonchemical defenses first and chemical pesticides second.

(22) Label means the written, printed, or graphic matter on, or attached to, the pesticide or device or any of its containers or wrappers.

(23) Labeling means the label and all other written, printed, or graphic matter:

(i) Accompanying the pesticide or device at any time; or

(ii) To which reference is made on the label or in literature accompanying the pesticide or device, except to current official publications of EPA, the United States Departments of Agriculture and Interior, and the department of health and human services; state experiment stations; state agricultural colleges; and other federal or state institutions or agencies authorized by law to conduct research in the field of pesticides.

(24) Land means all land and water areas, including airspace, all plants, animals, structures, buildings, contrivances, and machinery appurtenant to it or situated on it, fixed or mobile, including any used for transportation.

(25) Nematode means invertebrate animals of the phylum Nemathelminthes and class Nematoda, that is, unsegmented round worms with elongated, fusiform, or sac-like bodies covered with cuticle, and inhabiting soil, water, plants, or plant parts; may also be called nemas or eelworms.

(26) Neonicotinoids means any of a class of systemic water soluble insecticides related to nicotine that affect the central nervous system of insects by selectively binding to the postsynaptic nicotinic receptors of insects thereby causing paralysis and death. Neonicotinoids include, but are not limited to:

(i) Imidacloprid;

(ii) Acetamiprid;

(iii) Clothianidin;

(iv) Nitenpyram;

(v) Nithiazine;

(vi) Thiacloprid;

(vii) Thiamethoxam; and

(viii) Dinotefuran.

(27) Permit means a written certificate, issued by the director, authorizing the purchase, possession, and/or use of certain pesticides or pesticide uses defined in subsections (36) and (37) of this section.

(28) Person means any individual, partnership, association, fiduciary, corporation, governmental entity, or any organized group of persons whether incorporated or not.

(29) Pest means:

(i) Any insect, rodent, nematode, fungus, or weed; and

(ii) Any other form of terrestrial or aquatic plant or animal life or virus, bacteria, or other micro-organism (except viruses, bacteria, or other micro-organisms on or in living humans or other living animals) which the director declares to be a pest under § 23-25-9(a)(1).

(30) Pesticide means:

(i) Any substance or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling, or mitigating any pest; and

(ii) Any substance or mixture of substances intended for use as a plant regulator, defoliant, or desiccant.

(31) Pesticide dealer means any person who distributes within the state any pesticide product classified for restricted use by EPA or limited use by the director.

(32) Plant regulator means any substance or mixture of substances intended, through physiological action, for accelerating or retarding the rate of growth or rate of maturation, or for altering the behavior of plants or the produce of these but shall not include substances to the extent that they are intended as plant nutrients, trace elements, nutritional chemicals, plant inoculants, and soil amendments. Also, the term plant regulator is not required to include any of those nutrient mixtures or soil amendments as are commonly known as vitamin-hormone horticultural products, intended for improvement, maintenance, survival, health, and propagation of plants, are not for pest destruction and are nontoxic and nonpoisonous in the undiluted packaged concentration.

(33)(i) Private applicator means any person who uses or supervises the use of any pesticide for purposes of producing any agricultural commodity on land owned or rented by him or her or his or her employer or (if applied without compensation other than trading of personal services between producers of agricultural commodities) on land of another person.

(ii) Certified private applicator means any private applicator who is certified under § 23-25-14 as authorized to purchase, acquire, apply, or supervise the application of any pesticide classified for restricted use by EPA or limited use by the director.

(iii) Commercial applicator means any person (whether or not that person is a private applicator with respect to some uses), including employees of any federal, state, county or municipal agency, department, office, division, section, bureau, board, or commission, who applies or supervises the application of any pesticide for any purpose or on any property other than as provided by the definition of private applicator.

(iv) Certified commercial applicator means any commercial applicator who is certified under § 23-25-13 as authorized to purchase, acquire, apply, or supervise the application of a pesticide classified for restricted use by EPA or limited use by the director.

(v) Licensed commercial applicator means any commercial applicator who is licensed under § 23-25-12 as authorized to use or supervise the use of any pesticide not classified for restricted use by EPA or limited use by the director on land not owned or rented by him or her.

(34) Protect health and the environment means protection against any unreasonable adverse effects on the environment.

(35) Registrant means a person who has registered any pesticide pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.

(36) Restricted use pesticide means a pesticide or pesticide use that is classified for restricted use by the administrator of EPA, or under § 23-25-6(h).

(37) State limited use pesticide means any pesticide or pesticide use that, when used as directed or in accordance with a widespread and commonly recognized practice, the director determines, subsequent to a hearing, requires additional restrictions to prevent unreasonable adverse effects on the environment including humans, land, beneficial insects, animals, crops, and wildlife, other than pests.

(38) Under the direct supervision means on-site supervision of any pesticide application by an appropriately certified or licensed applicator who is responsible for the application and is capable of dealing with emergency situations which might occur.

(39) Unreasonable adverse effects on the environment means any unreasonable risk to humans or the environment, taking into account the economic, social, and environmental costs and benefits of the use of any pesticide.

(40) Weed means any plant that grows where not wanted.

(41) Wildlife means all living things that are neither human nor, as defined in this chapter, pests, including but not limited to mammals, birds, and aquatic life.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-17-20 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-17 / Section 23-17-20
§ 23-17-20. Inapplicability.
Status: in_force

The provisions of this chapter shall not be construed to apply to clinical laboratories licensed in accordance with chapter 16.2 of this title, facilities licensed by the department of behavioral healthcare, developmental disabilities and hospitals or by the department of human services or Christian Science institutions operated, or listed and certified by the First Church of Christ, Scientist, Boston, Massachusetts.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-17-44 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-17 / Section 23-17-44
§ 23-17-44. Moratorium on new initial nursing-facility licensed beds and on increases to the licensed capacity of existing nursing-facility licenses.
Status: in_force

(a) The licensing agency shall issue no new initial licenses for nursing facilities prior to July 1, 2022; provided, however, that any person holding a nursing facility license may undertake activities to construct and operate a replacement nursing facility with the same or lower bed capacity as is presently licensed, provided that the replacement facility may only be licensed upon the otherwise unconditional cessation of operation of the previously licensed nursing facility.

(b) Prior to July 1, 2022, and with the exception of the culture initiative pursuant to subsection (d), the licensing agency shall not increase the licensed bed capacity of any existing licensed nursing facility, including any nursing facility approved for change in ownership pursuant to §§ 23-17-14.3 and 23-17-14.4, to greater than the level of the facilitys licensed bed capacity as of August 21, 1996, plus the greater of ten (10) beds or ten percent (10%) of the licensed bed capacity. Any person holding a previously issued and valid certificate of need as of the date of passage of this section, or who shall subsequently be granted a certificate of need pursuant to subsection (a), shall be permitted to effect a prior certificate from the licensing agency consistent with any other statutory and regulatory provisions that may further apply. Notwithstanding any other provision of the law to the contrary, including any moratorium on increasing bed capacity in nursing facilities that may otherwise apply, the licensing agency shall be permitted to increase the licensed bed capacity of an existing nursing facility by no more than the number of beds previously licensed to one or more other licensed nursing facilities provided that:

(1) All nursing facilities involved in any such transaction must be located within the same municipality;

(2) The owner of a licensed nursing care facility seeking to increase its licensed bed capacity must receive approval, following review by the health services council from the licensing agency for change in owner of the nursing facility or facilities;

(3) The nursing facilitys licensed bed capacity may only be increased upon the otherwise unconditional cessation of operation of the previously licensed other nursing facility or facilities and the return of the license of the nursing facility or nursing facilities to the licensing agency; and

(4) The licensed nursing care facility seeking to increase its licensed bed complement must comply with any requirements of the health care certificate of need act, chapter 15 of this title.

(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of the law to the contrary, including any moratorium on increasing bed capacity in nursing facilities that may otherwise apply, a nursing facility may take out of service any or all beds of its licensed capacity without impediment to its right to place back into service those beds at a future date under the same terms and conditions as applied at the time of taking them out of service.

(d) Culture-change initiative. Notwithstanding any other provision of the law to the contrary, including any moratorium on increasing bed capacity in nursing facilities that may otherwise apply, the licensing agency may increase the licensed bed capacity of any existing licensed nursing facility, including any nursing facility approved for change in ownership pursuant to §§ 23-17-14.3 and 23-17-14.4, for the purposes of nursing facility culture change, in accordance with the following criteria and procedures:

(1) Culture-change definitions and criteria shall be established through regulation to restrict beds added under this initiative only to beds that are designed to provide enhanced quality of life to nursing facility residents through the adoption of principles and building designs established by the Eden Alternative, Green House, or Small House programs or other like means;

(2) Only beds taken out of service due to facility closure after January 1, 2010, shall be available for facility expansion under this culture-change initiative subsection. The total number of beds that may be licensed to increase capacity under this culture-change initiative shall be limited to ninety percent (90%) of the first fifty (50) beds that are taken out of service, to seventy percent (70%) of the next fifty (50) beds that are taken out of service, and to fifty percent (50%) of any additional beds taken out of service;

(3) Only nursing facilities licensed in the state are eligible to expand under the culture-change initiative;

(4) The department shall promulgate regulations to govern an open and competitive process to determine the licensure of expansion beds under this culture-change initiative, and shall consider the impact on the regional distribution of, and access to, nursing facility beds in the state; and

(5) Any facility seeking to expand its licensed bed capacity under this initiative, that will result in an expenditure that meets or exceeds the criteria for determination of need review under chapter 15 of this title, shall be required to receive approval under chapter 15 of this title.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-19-34 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-19 / Section 23-19-34
§ 23-19-34. Central landfill buffer zone.
Status: in_force

(a) The corporation shall be required to establish a buffer zone surrounding the operational portion of the central landfill, as identified per site master plan No. 06538, and the area licensed for landfilling, hereinafter referred to as the entire operational portion of the central landfill. In order to create the buffer zone, the corporation shall acquire all real property zoned residential as of July 31, 1988 and remains zoned residential as of October 1, 1989 within one thousand feet (1000²) of the entire operational portion of the central landfill. In addition, the corporation shall acquire those residential real properties in the town of Johnston located on Simmons Lake Drive and designated on the town assessors map, of December 31, 1988, as Plat 31, Lots 013 through 024 and Plat 31, Lots 026 through 034.

(b) To accomplish acquisition, the corporation shall exercise the power of eminent domain as shall be granted by the general assembly. All properties subject to acquisition under this section shall be acquired at fair market value.

(c) The corporation shall not be authorized to make relocation payments of any form to owners whose property is subject to acquisition under this section.

(d) For the purposes of this section, the corporation shall acquire the total acreage and all buildings (if applicable) of any parcel which is encroached upon to any degree by the one thousand foot (1000²) mark as measured from the perimeter of the entire operational portion of the central landfill.

(e) Notwithstanding the other provisions of this section, those parcels belonging to the town of Johnston identified on the town assessors map, at December 31, 1988, as Plat 43, Lot 012 and Plat 43, Lot 013, shall not be subject to the acquisition described in this section unless authorized by the Johnston town council. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the corporation may utilize any property acquired pursuant to this section or § 23-19-35 for the development of an industrial/business park pursuant to § 23-19-35.1(c) and the development of an industrial/business park is deemed to constitute the establishment of a buffer zone as prescribed in this section.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-95-2 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-95 / Section 23-95-2
§ 23-95-2. Legislative purpose.
Status: in_force

It is the purpose of this chapter to prohibit discrimination against a potential organ transplant recipient based solely on a persons physical or mental disability.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-8-1 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-8 / Section 23-8-1
§ 23-8-1. Reports of communicable diseases.
Status: in_force

In addition to the provisions of chapters 10 and 11 of this title, the director of health may by regulation declare any disease to be a reportable disease. Every physician or other person having knowledge of a case or suspected case of a reportable disease shall give notice to the department of health in a manner prescribed by the director. The director may add or remove, at any time, the name of any disease to or from the list of diseases which he or she shall declare to be reportable and may, at any time, revise the manner of reporting. The regulations in respect to the reportable diseases shall state the time within which the notification to the department of health must be made, the individual by whom it is to be made, the method, whether by writing, telegraph, or telephone, in which it shall be made, and whether the case or suspected case is to be identified by name, address, and date of onset of illness.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-72-1 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-72 / Section 23-72-1
§ 23-72-1. Legislative findings.
Status: in_force

The general assembly finds and declares:

(1) Mercury from trash incinerators, coal fired power plants, municipal solid waste, hazardous waste sites, and other human made sources has been identified in virtually every body of water in New England, as well as the oceans.

(2) Nearly all fish contain at least trace amounts of methyl mercury, which is formed by the action of bacteria on elemental mercury.

(3) Many types of freshwater fish caught in Rhode Island and some saltwater fish sold in Rhode Island may be contaminated with mercury, a toxic element that causes neurological damage.

(4) According to the US Food and Drug Administration, certain species of tuna, shark and swordfish can have mercury levels over 1.0 parts per million, the FDA limit for human consumption.

(5) The FDA advises pregnant women of childbearing age to limit their consumption of shark and swordfish to no more than once a month. Other persons are advised to limit their consumption of shark and swordfish to no more than seven (7) ounces per week.

(6) However, this health advisory information, which is necessary to protect public health, is not widely known nor widely disseminated by the state or federal government, potentially threatening many Rhode Island residents who may unknowingly ingest harmful amounts of mercury from fish.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-13-25 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-13 / Section 23-13-25
§ 23-13-25. Powers of council cumulative.
Status: in_force

The powers and authority of the interagency coordinating council, as stated in this chapter, are in addition to and not in lieu of the powers and authority of any other state agency, department, or division.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-68-1 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-68 / Section 23-68-1
§ 23-68-1. Short title.
Status: in_force

This chapter may be cited as the Tanning Facility Safety Standards Act.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-1-34 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-1 / Section 23-1-34
§ 23-1-34. Health promotion income.
Status: in_force

The director shall maintain an accurate and timely accounting of money received from the sale of health promotional products, services, or data created by the department of health. This money shall be deposited as general revenue.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-17-27 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-17 / Section 23-17-27
§ 23-17-27. Disclosure of nonparticipation in hospital service plan.
Status: in_force

(a) Any health care facility licensed under this chapter which is not a participant in a hospital service plan shall post a notice, in a conspicuous place where it can be read by its patients which shall read, in substance, as follows:

To our patients:

This facility does not participate in a hospital service plan. You should know that you will be responsible for the payment of the hospital fees which you incur here.

(b) Any licensed health care facility which fails to post a disclosure notice shall not be entitled to charge any of its patients any amount, for hospital fees, in excess of that allowed had the facility participated in a hospital service plan.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-21-1 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-21 / Section 23-21-1
§ 23-21-1. Definitions.
Status: in_force

As used in this chapter, the following terms shall, where the context permits, be construed as follows:

(1) Department means the department of health.

(2) Director means the director of health or his or her duly appointed agents.

(3) Person means any individual, firm, copartnership, association, or private or municipal corporation.

(4) Recreation facility or use includes, but is not limited to, hotels, motels, motor courts or inns, tourist cabin establishments, camping areas, amusement places, bathing beaches, mobile recreational vehicle facilities, and parks.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-23-6 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-23 / Section 23-23-6
§ 23-23-6. Investigation and hearing of complaint of pollution  Public disclosure.
Status: in_force

(a) If the director shall have cause to believe that any person is violating any provision of this chapter or rule or regulation or any order made under this chapter, it shall be the duty of the director to cause the matter to be investigated. Except as provided in § 23-23-16, the director shall follow the procedures provided in § 42-17.1-2(21) in issuing any notice of violation or compliance order authorized pursuant to this chapter or any rules, regulations, or permits promulgated thereunder.

(b) The director shall maintain records concerning all investigations undertaken and findings made pursuant to this section. Those records shall be made available for public inspection and shall include the following information:

(1) The names and addresses of persons investigated;

(2) The date or dates of any hearing or hearings conducted with respect to those persons and the time and place of the hearings;

(3) Any findings made by the director after the conclusion of the hearings.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-1-33 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-1 / Section 23-1-33
§ 23-1-33. Dr. Charles V. Chapin Health Laboratory.
Status: in_force

The state health laboratory facility located at 50 Orms Street in Providence, Rhode Island, shall be known as the Dr. Charles V. Chapin Health Laboratory.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-99-10 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-99 / Section 23-99-10
§ 23-99-10. Exemption from taxation.
Status: in_force

(a) The exercise of the powers granted by this chapter shall be, in all respects, for the benefit of the people of this state, the increase of their commerce, welfare, and prosperity and for the improvement of their health and living conditions and will constitute the performance of an essential governmental function and the hub shall not be required to pay any taxes or assessments upon or in respect of any property or monies of the hub, levied by any municipality or political subdivision of the state.

(b) The hub shall not be required to pay state taxes of any kind, and the hub, its property and monies and, except for estate, inheritance, and gift taxes, any bonds or notes issued under the provisions of this chapter and the income (including gain from sale or exchange) from these shall at all times be free from taxation of every kind by the state and by the municipalities and all political subdivisions of the state. The hub shall not be required to pay any transfer tax of any kind on account of instruments recorded by it or on its behalf.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-103-1 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-103 / Section 23-103-1
§ 23-103-1. Definitions.
Status: in_force

As used in this chapter:

(1) Ancillary service means a facility item or service that a facility customarily provides as part of a shoppable service.

(2) Chargemaster means the list of all facility items or services maintained by a facility for which the facility has established a charge.

(3) Commission means the health and human services commission.

(4) De-identified maximum negotiated charge means the highest charge that a facility has negotiated with all third-party payors for a facility item or service.

(5) De-identified minimum negotiated charge means the lowest charge that a facility has negotiated with all third-party payors for a facility item or service.

(6) Discounted cash price means the charge that applies to an individual who pays cash, or a cash equivalent, for a facility item or service.

(7) Facility means a hospital licensed under chapter 17 of this title.

(8) Facility items or services means all items and services, including individual items and services and service packages, that may be provided by a facility to a patient in connection with an inpatient admission or an outpatient department visit, as applicable, for which the facility has established a standard charge, including:

(i) Supplies and procedures;

(ii) Room and board;

(iii) Use of the facility and other areas, the charges for which are generally referred to as facility fees;

(iv) Services of physicians and non-physician practitioners, employed by the facility, the charges for which are generally referred to as professional charges; and

(v) Any other item or service for which a facility has established a standard charge.

(9) Gross charge means the charge for a facility item or service that is reflected on a facilitys chargemaster, absent any discounts.

(10) Machine-readable format means a digital representation of information in a file that can be imported or read into a computer system for further processing. The term includes .XML, .JSON, and .CSV formats.

(11) Payor-specific negotiated charge means the charge that a facility has negotiated with a third-party payor for a facility item or service.

(12) Service package means an aggregation of individual facility items or services into a single service with a single charge.

(13) Shoppable service means a service that may be scheduled by a healthcare consumer in advance.

(14) Standard charge means the regular rate established by the facility for a facility item or service provided to a specific group of paying patients. The term includes all of the following, as defined under this section:

(i) The gross charge;

(ii) The payor-specific negotiated charge;

(iii) The de-identified minimum negotiated charge;

(iv) The de-identified maximum negotiated charge; and

(v) The discounted cash price.

(15) Third-party payor means an entity that is, by statute, contract, or agreement, legally responsible for payment of a claim for a facility item or service.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-7-7 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-7 / Section 23-7-7
§ 23-7-7. Establishment of mosquito abatement districts and local councils.
Status: in_force

Any city or town or subdivision of a city or town or any two (2) or more cities and towns in Rhode Island and bordering communities may become a mosquito abatement district in accordance with chapter 43 of title 45. That district must be titled The mosquito abatement district. Notice of the formation of a mosquito abatement district must be filed with the secretary of state with a description of the proposed boundaries of the district. Any mosquito abatement district formed must also notify the state mosquito abatement board through the agricultural division of the department of environmental management. Under normal conditions, no city or town or subdivision of a city or town, or number of cities and towns, shall undertake any mosquito control program without first being established as a mosquito abatement district and without approval of its mosquito control program by the board. The board shall be allowed ninety (90) days to act upon the proposed mosquito control program. A district council shall be established in accordance with § 45-24-36 and shall be called The mosquito abatement council. That council is declared to be the corporate authority of that district and shall exercise all of the powers and control all of the affairs and property of that district. The council shall keep regular records of all proceedings and financial affairs that shall be open to the inspection of the public at reasonable hours.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-7-6.1 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-7 / Section 23-7-6.1
§ 23-7-6.1. Officers of the board.
Status: in_force

Upon the appointment of the two (2) new members prescribed in subsection 23-7-5(b), the board shall elect from among its members a chair. Thereafter, the board shall annually elect in October a chair from among the members. The board may elect from among its members such other officers as it deems necessary.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-25-6 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-25 / Section 23-25-6
§ 23-25-6. Registration.
Status: in_force

(a) Every pesticide that is distributed in the state shall be registered with the director subject to the provisions of this chapter and shall be categorized for registration purposes. These categories shall be: consumer protection and health benefits products, which means all disinfectants, sanitizers, germicides, biocides, and other pesticides labeled for use directly on humans or pets or in or around household premises, and agricultural and other pesticides, which means restricted-use pesticides and other pesticides that are not consumer protection and health benefits products. That registration shall be renewed annually prior to January 31; provided, that registration is not required if a pesticide is shipped from one plant or warehouse to another plant or warehouse operated by the same person and used solely at the plant or warehouse as a constituent part to make a pesticide that is registered under the provisions of this chapter or if the pesticide is distributed under the provisions of an experimental use permit issued under § 23-25-7 or an experimental use permit issued by the EPA.

(b) The applicant for registration shall file a statement with the director that shall include:

(1) The name and address of the applicant and the name and address of the person whose name will appear on the label, other than the applicants;

(2) The name of the pesticide;

(3) Other necessary information required for completion of the department of environmental managements application for registration form. The director may, upon receipt of an application, designate a pesticide product as a statewide minor use product. Such products will be those that, due to limited distribution within the state, do not, in the opinion of the director, warrant payment of the registration fee and surcharge required to register a product within Rhode Island. Upon designating a product as a statewide minor use the director shall register the product for sale or distribution while waiving both the registration fee and surcharge. The applicant wishing to have a product so designated shall submit a completed application containing the following information:

(i) The product name;

(ii) EPA registration number, if applicable;

(iii) Description of pest to be controlled, and applicable sites;

(iv) Documentation that the product is not registered due to limited market; and

(v) Explanation as to why there are not effective, reasonable alternative products currently registered;

(4) A complete copy of the labeling accompanying the pesticide and a statement of all claims to be made for it, including the directions for use and the use classification as provided for in the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), 7 U.S.C. § 136a et seq.

(c) The director, when he or she deems it necessary in the administration of this chapter, may require the submission of the complete formula of any pesticide, including the active and inert ingredients.

(d) The director may require a full description of the tests made and the results of the tests upon which the claims are based on any pesticide not registered pursuant to section 3 of FIFRA, 7 U.S.C. § 136a, or on any pesticide on which restrictions are being considered. In the case of renewal of registration, a statement shall be required only with respect to information that is different from that furnished when the pesticide was registered or last reregistered.

(e) The director may prescribe other necessary information by regulation.

(f) The applicant desiring to register a pesticide shall, unless the director has determined the subject product is a statewide minor use product pursuant to subsection (b)(3), pay an annual registration fee of fifty dollars ($50.00) to the general treasurer for each pesticide registered for the applicant which shall be credited by the general treasurer to the pesticide relief fund. Annually, on November 1, the general treasurer shall notify the director of the amount of funds contained in the pesticide relief fund. If the pesticide relief fund shall exceed one million dollars ($1,000,000) on that date, the annual registration fee for the next following year commencing December 1 shall be twenty-five dollars ($25.00), which shall become part of the general fund. All registrations shall expire on November 30, of any one year, unless sooner cancelled; provided, that a registration for a special local need pursuant to this section that is disapproved by the administrator, EPA, shall expire on the effective date of the administrators disapproval.

(g) Any registration approved by the director and in effect on January 31, for which a renewal application has been made and the proper fee paid, shall continue in full force and effect until any time that the director notifies the applicant that the registration has been renewed, or denied, in accord with the provisions of § 23-25-8. Forms for re-registration shall be mailed to registrants at least thirty (30) days prior to the due date.

(h)(1) Provided the state of Rhode Island is certified by the administrator of EPA to register pesticides pursuant to section 24(c) of FIFRA, 7 U.S.C. § 136v(c), the director shall require the information set forth under subsections (b), (c), (d), and (e) and shall, subject to the terms and conditions of the EPA certification, register the pesticide if he or she determines that:

(i) Its composition is such as to warrant the proposed claims for it;

(ii) Its labeling and other material required to be submitted comply with the requirements of this chapter;

(iii) It will perform its intended function without unreasonable adverse effects on the environment;

(iv) When used in accordance with widespread and commonly recognized practice, it will not generally cause unreasonable adverse effects on the environment; and

(v) A special local need for the pesticide exists.

(2) Prior to registering a pesticide for a special local need, the director shall classify the use of the pesticide for general or restricted use in conformity with section 3(d), 7 U.S.C. § 136a(d), of FIFRA; provided, that the director shall not make any lack of essentiality a criterion for denying registration of any pesticide. Where two (2) pesticides meet the requirements of this subdivision, one should not be registered in preference to the other.

(3) The director may develop and promulgate any other requirements by regulation that are necessary for the state plan to receive certification from EPA.

(i) The director may require that all registrations and fees required by this section be submitted electronically.

(j) In addition to the registration fees, the director may charge a processing fee. The department shall set the amount of such fees through rules and regulations, with processing fees not to exceed five percent (5%) of the registration surcharge per application.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-6-1 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-6 / Section 23-6-1
§ 23-6-1. Common drinking cups and towels.
Status: in_force

(a) In order to prevent the spread of communicable diseases, the state department of health is authorized to prohibit, in any public places, vehicles, or buildings that it may designate, the use of a common drinking cup and a common towel, and the director may establish rules and regulations for this purpose.

(b) Whoever violates the provisions of this section, or any rule or regulation of the state department of health made under authority of the provisions of this section, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and may be fined not more than twenty-five dollars ($25.00) for each offense.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-99-11 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-99 / Section 23-99-11
§ 23-99-11. Agreement of the state.
Status: in_force

The state does pledge to and agree with the holders of any bonds or notes issued under this chapter that the state will not limit or alter the rights vested in the Rhode Island life science hub to fulfill the terms of any agreements made with the holders until the bonds or notes, together with the interest on these bonds and notes, with interest on any unpaid installments of interest, and all costs and expenses in connection with any action or proceeding by or on behalf of the holders, are fully met and discharged. The hub is authorized to include this pledge and agreement of the state in any agreement with the holders of the bonds or notes.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-26-15 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-26 / Section 23-26-15
§ 23-26-15. Contents of tag on shipments of filling material.
Status: in_force

Any shipment or delivery, however contained, of material used for filling articles of bedding shall have firmly and conspicuously attached thereto a tag that shall state the name of the maker, preparer, or vendor, and the address of the maker, preparer, or vendor; the name of the contents and whether the contents are new or second-hand; and, if sterilized, the number of the sterilizing registration.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-14-4 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-14 / Section 23-14-4
§ 23-14-4. Severability.
Status: in_force

If the provisions of this chapter or the application of the provisions of this chapter to any person or circumstances is held invalid, that invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of the chapter which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of the chapter are declared to be severable.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-17-32 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-17 / Section 23-17-32
§ 23-17-32. Mammograms  Quality assurance standards.
Status: in_force

Any licensed health care facility performing a mammogram shall meet state-approved quality assurance standards for taking and processing mammograms. The director of health shall have the authority to promulgate rules and regulations necessary to carry out the provisions of this section.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-3-25 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-3 / Section 23-3-25
§ 23-3-25. Fees for copies and searches
Status: in_force

(a) The state registrar shall charge fees for searches and copies as follows:

(1) For a search of two (2) consecutive calendar years under one name and for issuance of a certified copy of a certificate of birth, fetal death, death, or marriage, or a certification of birth, or a certification that the record cannot be found, and each duplicate copy of a certificate or certification issued at the same time, the fee is as set forth in § 23-1-54.

(2) For each additional calendar year search, if applied for at the same time or within three (3) months of the original request and if proof of payment for the basic search is submitted, the fee is as set forth in § 23-1-54.

(3) For providing expedited service, the additional handling fee is as set forth in § 23-1-54.

(4) For processing of adoptions, legitimations, or paternity determinations as specified in §§ 23-3-14 and 23-3-15, there shall be a fee as set forth in § 23-1-54.

(5) For making authorized corrections, alterations, and additions, the fee is as set forth in § 23-1-54; provided, no fee shall be collected for making authorized corrections or alterations and additions on records filed before one year of the date on which the event recorded has occurred.

(6) For examination of documentary proof and the filing of a delayed record, there is a fee as set forth in § 23-1-54; and there is an additional fee as set forth in § 23-1-54 for the issuance of a certified copy of a delayed record.

(b) Fees collected under this section by the state registrar shall be deposited in the general fund of this state, according to the procedures established by the state treasurer.

(c) The local registrar shall charge fees for searches and copies of records as follows:

(1) For a search of two (2) consecutive calendar years under one name and for issuance of a certified copy of a certificate of birth, fetal death, death, delayed birth, or marriage, or a certification of birth or a certification that the record cannot be found, the fee is twenty dollars ($20.00). For each duplicate copy of a certificate or certification issued at the same time, the fee is fifteen dollars ($15.00).

(2) For each additional calendar year search, if applied for at the same time or within three (3) months of the original request and if proof of payment for the basic search is submitted, the fee is two dollars ($2.00).

(d) Fees collected under this section by the local registrar shall be deposited in the city or town treasury according to the procedures established by the city or town treasurer except that six dollars ($6.00) of the certified copy fees shall be submitted to the state registrar for deposit in the general fund of this state.

(e) To acquire, maintain, and operate an electronic statewide registration system (ESRS), the state registrar shall assess a surcharge of no more than five dollars ($5.00) for a mail-in certified records request, no more than three dollars ($3.00) for each duplicate certified record, and no more than two dollars ($2.00) for a walk-in certified records request or a certified copy of a vital record requested for a local registrar. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (d), any such surcharges collected by the local registrar shall be submitted to the state registrar. Any funds collected from the surcharges listed above shall be deposited as general revenues.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-101-4 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-101 / Section 23-101-4
§ 23-101-4. Foreign judgments issued in connection with hostile litigation.
Status: in_force

(a) Jurisdiction and due process required. A court of this state may not give any force or effect to any foreign judgment in connection with hostile litigation if the court that issued the foreign judgment did not:

(1) Have personal jurisdiction over the defendant;

(2) Have jurisdiction over the subject matter; or

(3) Provide due process of law.

(b) Limitations period. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, an action on a foreign judgment in connection with hostile litigation must be commenced by filing a new and independent action on the judgment within five (5) years of the foreign judgment.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-1-42.2 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-1 / Section 23-1-42.2
§ 23-1-42.2. Professions and occupations licenses, certifications, and registration  Confidentiality of personal information.
Status: in_force

Notwithstanding the licensure, certification, or registration requirements specified in statutes governing professions and occupations administered by the department of health, the director of health shall not include the personal residence address, personal telephone number, personal email address, or other personal contact information of licensed professionals on any and all public provider profiles, registries, and any other lists of professionals and occupations developed and maintained by the department.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-63-4.1 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-63 / Section 23-63-4.1
§ 23-63-4.1. Tire site remediation account.
Status: in_force

There is hereby created a separate account to be held by the corporation to be known as the tire site remediation account. All fees, revenues, assessments, fines, forfeitures, and other funds collected or received pursuant to this chapter shall be deposited into the tire site remediation account and used for the purposes specified in § 23-63-4.2. The department of environmental management shall be authorized to spend the funds specified in this section pursuant to § 23-63-4.2.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-4-4.1 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-4 / Section 23-4-4.1
§ 23-4-4.1. Procedure for performance of autopsies against a familys religious beliefs.
Status: in_force

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in the absence of a compelling public necessity, no dissection or autopsy shall be performed over the objection of a surviving relative or friend of the deceased that the procedure is contrary to the religious belief of the decedent.

(b) For the purposes of this section:

(1) Compelling public necessity means:

(i) That the dissection or autopsy is essential to the conduct of a criminal investigation of a suspected homicide, of which the decedent is the victim,

(ii) That discovery of the cause of death is necessary to meet an immediate and substantial threat to the public health and that a dissection or autopsy is essential to ascertain the cause and/or manner of death, or

(iii) That the dissection or autopsy is necessary to obtain proper toxicologic or other specimens which may represent evidence of a crime and will deteriorate over time, or the need for a dissection or autopsy is otherwise established in accordance with subsection (e) of this section.

(2) Relative means the person most closely related to the decedent by consanguinity or affinity. In the event that person is unavailable, the objection may be raised on his or her behalf by the next most closely related person. The official who has authority to order a dissection or autopsy of the decedents body may require a relative to present an affidavit stating his or her relationship to the decedent, the religious affiliation of the decedent, if any, that the decedent had religious objection to an autopsy, the basis for that belief, and that he or she will assume responsibility for the lawful disposition of the body of the deceased.

(3) Friend means any person who, prior to the decedents death, maintained such regular contact with the decedent as to be familiar with his or her activities, health, and religious beliefs and who presents an affidavit stating the facts and circumstances upon which the claim that he or she is a friend is based, the religious affiliation of the decedent, if any, that the decedent had religious objections to an autopsy, the basis for that belief, and that he or she will assume responsibility for the lawful disposition of the body of the deceased.

(c) All dissections or autopsies performed pursuant to this section shall be the least intrusive procedure consistent with the compelling state interest as defined in this section.

(d) Whenever, in the opinion of a medical examiner, there is a compelling public necessity under subsection (b)(1)(i) or (b)(1)(ii) to perform an autopsy or dissection, and a member of the deceaseds immediate family or, in the absence of a member of the deceaseds immediate family, a friend objects that the autopsy or dissection is contrary to the religious beliefs of the deceased or there is an obvious reason to believe, based on written information or records provided the medical examiner, that the autopsy or dissection is contrary to the religious beliefs of the deceased, then no dissection or autopsy shall be performed until forty-eight (48) hours after notice of the dissection or autopsy is given by the medical examiner to the objecting party, or, if there is no objecting party, to any party that the court may name. During that forty-eight (48) hour period, the objecting party or the party named by the court may institute action in the superior court to determine the propriety of the dissection or autopsy, but the court may dispense with the waiting period upon ex parte motion if it determines that the delay may prejudice the accuracy of the autopsy or dissection.

(e) Whenever, in the opinion of a medical examiner, there is a compelling public necessity in circumstances not provided for in subsection (b)(1)(i) or (b)(1)(ii), but authorized by § 23-4-4, to perform an autopsy or dissection, and a member of the deceaseds immediate family or, in the absence of a member of the deceaseds immediate family, a friend objects that the autopsy or dissection is contrary to religious beliefs of the deceased or there is an obvious reason to believe, based on written information or records provided the medical examiner, that the autopsy or dissection is contrary to the religious beliefs of the deceased, then the medical examiner may institute an action in the superior court for an order authorizing the autopsy or dissection. The action shall be instituted by an order to show cause on notice to the next of kin or friend, or if none is known to the petitioner, then to any party that the court may direct, returnable at the earliest possible time. The proceeding shall have preference over all other cases in the court and shall be determined summarily upon the petition and the oral or written proof that may be offered by the parties. The court shall grant the relief sought in the petition if it finds that the petitioner has established a demonstrable need for the autopsy or dissection that, under all circumstances of the case, outweighs the states interest in observing the decedents religious beliefs. If the petition is denied, and no stay is granted by the court, the body shall immediately be released for burial to the surviving relative or friend.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-6-8 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-6 / Section 23-6-8
§ 23-6-8. Local authorization of hospital or camp for communicable disease.
Status: in_force

No person, association, corporation, city, or town shall establish any hospital, camp, or other establishment for the treatment of patients suffering from contagious diseases or from the disease known as pulmonary tuberculosis, unless the department of health shall by resolution authorize its establishment in that city or town within definite limits to be specified in the resolution. Before authorizing the establishment of the hospital, camp, or other establishment, the department shall give public notice of the proposed site and give all persons concerned an opportunity to be heard by the department with reference to the establishment and location of the hospital, camp, or other establishment.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-4-9 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-4 / Section 23-4-9
§ 23-4-9. Deaths in public places.
Status: in_force

In the event that a person dies suddenly on a public highway or elsewhere in the public view and the death appears to be from natural causes or the result of injuries received from a highway accident, the state police or any superior officer of the local police or an agent of the office of state medical examiners may order the removal of the body from the place of death, upon completion of their investigation as to the cause and manner of death, to the funeral home designated by a family representative of the deceased or to the state morgue or any hospital.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-26-16 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-26 / Section 23-26-16
§ 23-26-16. Misleading tags  Variances allowed  Ordering articles off sale.
Status: in_force

In the description of material used on any tag attached to an article of bedding, no term or designation intended or likely to mislead shall be used; provided, however, that where the article contains more than one material, and rules adopted pursuant to this chapter require the amount of the materials to be stated on the tag, a variance not in excess of ten percent (10%) from the amount stated on the tag shall not be deemed misleading. No variance shall be allowed for material which is described as all pure one hundred percent (100%) or terms of similar import. The director may order off sale, and may so tag, any article of bedding or material therefor, which is tagged with a tag bearing a misleading term, description, designation, or statement. Articles or materials placed off sale by the director shall not be sold until the articles or materials are lawfully tagged and the director has removed the off sale tag.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-65-6 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-65 / Section 23-65-6
§ 23-65-6. Certification of public water supply transmission and distribution system operators.
Status: in_force

It is unlawful for any community or non-community non-transient public water supply transmission and distribution system to distribute water for human consumption unless the operation of the system is under the supervision of a superintendent or assistant superintendent who is assigned direct responsibility for the management, operation, and maintenance of the transmission and distribution system during all working shifts of the system and who shall hold a certificate, equal to the grade or classification of the transmission and distribution system, as established by the rules and regulations of the board. In addition, each person in responsible charge of any field operations of a public community or non-community non-transient water supply transmission and distribution system must hold a certificate one grade lower than the grade of the transmission and distribution system, as established by this chapter. All persons employed to work as an operator at a transmission and distribution system must be certified to at least the lowest grade of transmission and distribution certification granted by the board within a year of hire. Violation of this section shall be considered a violation of the public drinking water supply under chapter 13 of title 46 and water systems shall be subject to the enforcement and penalty provisions of § 46-13-16.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-23-29.4 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-23 / Section 23-23-29.4
§ 23-23-29.4. Sources of diesel pollution.
Status: in_force

On or before January 1, 2007, the department shall identify sources of diesel pollution in Rhode Island and strategies for reducing pollution from identified sources and report the findings to the governor and general assembly.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-9-3 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-9 / Section 23-9-3
§ 23-9-3. Places from which vessels arriving are subject to quarantine.
Status: in_force

The city or town council shall prescribe from time to time the several ports, places, or countries from which vessels arriving shall be subject to examination or quarantine.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-10-3 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-10 / Section 23-10-3
§ 23-10-3. Prosecution of violations.
Status: in_force

It shall be the duty of the director of health to report to the prosecuting officers of the different cities and towns in this state any violation of the requirements of §§ 23-10-1 and 23-10-2, and it shall be the duty of the prosecuting officers of the several cities and towns to immediately obtain warrants for the apprehension of persons violating the requirements of §§ 23-10-1 and 23-10-2.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-26-19 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-26 / Section 23-26-19
§ 23-26-19. Manner of attaching tags.
Status: in_force

Tags shall be prominently and securely attached to articles of bedding in such manner as the director may require.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-23-15 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-23 / Section 23-23-15
§ 23-23-15. Variances.
Status: in_force

(a) Upon application and after a hearing, the director may suspend the enforcement of the whole or any part of this chapter or of any rule or regulation promulgated under this chapter in the case of any person who shall show that the enforcement of this chapter would constitute undue hardship on that person without a corresponding benefit or advantage obtained by it; provided, that no suspension shall be entered deferring compliance with a requirement of this chapter or the rules and regulations promulgated under this chapter, unless that deferral is consistent with the provisions and procedures of the federal Clean Air Act, 42 U.S.C. § 7401 et seq.

(b) In determining under what conditions and to what extent the variance may be granted, the director shall give due recognition to the progress which the person requesting the variance shall have made in eliminating or preventing air pollution. In this case, the director shall consider the reasonableness of granting a variance conditioned on the persons effecting a partial abatement of the pollution or a progressive abatement of the pollution or any other circumstances that the director may deem reasonable. No variance shall be granted to any person applying for it who is causing air pollution which creates a danger to public health or safety.

(c) Any variance granted under this chapter shall be granted for any period of time, not exceeding one year, as the director shall specify, but any variance may be continued from year to year. No variance shall be construed as to relieve the person receiving it from any liability imposed by law for the commission or maintenance of a nuisance nor shall there be any appeal from a denial of a variance.

(d) Notwithstanding the limitations of this section, the director may, upon application, defer compliance with the whole or any part of this chapter or of any rule or regulation promulgated under this chapter where compliance is not possible because of breakdowns or malfunctions of equipment, acts of God, or other unavoidable casualties; provided, that this order shall not defer compliance for more than three (3) months.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-17-30 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-17 / Section 23-17-30
§ 23-17-30. Blood or tissue transfer services.
Status: in_force

(a) The procurement, processing, distribution, or use of whole blood, plasma, blood products, blood derivatives, and other human tissues such as corneas, bones, or organs for the purpose of injecting, transfusing, or transplanting any of them into the human body is declared to be, for all purposes, the rendition of a service by every person participating in the rendition of that service and, whether or not any remuneration is paid for the service, is declared not to be a sale of whole blood, plasma, blood products, blood derivatives, or other tissues, for any purpose. No health care facility, professional, or other person or organization involved in the procurement, processing, distribution, or use of whole blood, plasma, blood products, or blood derivatives for the purpose of injecting or transfusing any of them into the human body shall be liable for damages resulting from these activities except for his or her own negligence or willful misconduct.

(b) No hospital, nonprofit tissue bank, physician, nurse, or other medical personnel acting under the supervision and direction of a physician involved in the procurement, processing, distribution, or use of human tissues such as corneas, bones, or organs for the purpose of transplanting any of them into the human body shall be liable for damages resulting from those activities except for negligence or willful misconduct by that hospital, nonprofit tissue bank, physician, nurse, or other medical personnel.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-16-7 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-16 / Section 23-16-7
§ 23-16-7. Separation of funds.
Status: in_force

There is authorized to be established, separate and apart from all public money and funds of this state, the fund or funds that may be needed to comply with the regulations or requirements of the federal act or acts and to be used solely for the purposes that are established under the federal act or acts.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-8-4.1 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-8 / Section 23-8-4.1
§ 23-8-4.1. Power to examine suspected cases  Right of individual to own physician.
Status: in_force

For the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this chapter, the state department of health is empowered to make examinations of persons reasonably suspected of having a communicable disease; provided, however, that any person so examined shall have the right to have present at that examination, a physician of his or her own choice, at his or her own expense. The state department of health shall inform him or her of this right and afford him or her a reasonable opportunity to exercise that right; and at the trial of any person being prosecuted under the provisions of § 23-1-25, the prosecution must demonstrate that he or she was so informed and was afforded that opportunity.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-17-10.1 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-17 / Section 23-17-10.1
§ 23-17-10.1. Financial regulation of health maintenance organizations.
Status: in_force

Any health maintenance organization licensed under this chapter whose rates are approved by and whose financial condition and methods of doing business are periodically examined by the director of business regulation, and which was actively engaged in the provision of or making available to enrolled participants health care services prior to January 1, 1982, shall be exempt from financial regulation imposed by the licensing agency pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-65-9 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-65 / Section 23-65-9
§ 23-65-9. Fees.
Status: in_force

A fee will be charged to each applicant submitting an application to the board, and shall be of an amount determined by the board to cover the cost of the examination, but not more than fifty dollars ($50.00), and shall be submitted with the application form. This fee shall be refundable if the applicant is deemed by the board not qualified to take the examination but shall otherwise be nonrefundable. A renewal fee shall be charged to each certificate holder at the time of renewal. The board shall be responsible for setting this fee which will cover only the direct cost of renewal certificate issuance.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-81-2 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-81 / Section 23-81-2
§ 23-81-2. Legislative findings.
Status: in_force

It is hereby found and declared:

(a) The vast majority of Rhode Islanders believe that quality, affordable health care should be available to all in our state;

(b) Our current health care crisis affects all facets of Rhode Islands economy, with a particular burden on small business owners, young people, and those approaching retirement;

(c) A majority of Rhode Islanders believe that the state government has a significant role to play in solving this health care crisis;

(d) The current state health care infrastructure is fragmented with an array of state departments and offices carrying out health care planning, along with a myriad of private efforts, all with a lack of coordination;

(e) Because an essential component of health planning is resource allocation, there is a need to professionalize the health services council and revitalize the certificate of need process;

(f) Recognizing that many departments of state government are involved in the collection of data and information related to health care, health care outcomes, health care insurance, consumer behavior and trends, and that accurate and accessible, collection and housing of this information is necessary for the general assembly to enact useful health care policy;

(g) Rhode Islands small size makes us the perfect laboratory to create a unified health care system, planned and coordinated with a functioning public/private partnership, with broad representation of all of the health care stakeholders;

(h) The general assembly finds that the people of this state have a fundamental interest in the establishment of a comprehensive strategic health care planning process and the preparation, maintenance, and implementation of plans to improve the quality, accessibility, portability, and affordability of health care in Rhode Island; that the continued growth, viability and development of the health care infrastructure by the private and public sectors requires effective planning by the state; and that state and local plans and programs must be properly coordinated with the planning requirements and programs of the federal government; and

(i) The coordinated health planning process should create usable and dynamic guidance that helps design a health care system and improves the health of Rhode Islanders.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-97-7 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-97 / Section 23-97-7
§ 23-97-7. Severability.
Status: in_force

If any provision of this chapter, or of any rule or regulation promulgated under this chapter, or the application of this chapter to any person or circumstances is held invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, the remainder of the chapter, rule, or regulation, and the application of this provision to other persons or circumstances, shall not be affected.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-19-29 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-19 / Section 23-19-29
§ 23-19-29. Liberal construction.
Status: in_force

This chapter, being necessary for the welfare of the state and its inhabitants, shall be liberally construed to effectuate its purposes. Neither this chapter nor anything in this chapter is or shall be construed as a restriction or limitation upon any powers that the corporation might otherwise have under any laws of this state, and this chapter is cumulative to any powers conferred by other laws. This chapter does and shall be construed to provide a complete, additional, and alternative method for the doing of the things authorized thereby and shall be regarded as supplemental and additional to powers conferred by other laws. However, the issuance of bonds, notes, and other obligations of the corporation under the provisions of this chapter need not comply with the requirements of any other state law applicable to the issuance of bonds, and other obligations. Contracts for the construction and acquisition of any project undertaken pursuant to this chapter shall comply with the provisions of any other state law applicable to contracts for the construction and acquisition of state owned property. No proceedings, notice, or approval shall be required for the issuance of any bonds, notes and other obligations or any instrument as security for them, except as is provided in this chapter.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-3-3 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-3 / Section 23-3-3
§ 23-3-3. Rules and regulations.
Status: in_force

The state director of health is authorized after notice and public hearing to adopt, amend, and repeal rules and regulations for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this chapter. Those rules and regulations shall take effect thirty (30) days after publication.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-73-5 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-73 / Section 23-73-5
§ 23-73-5. Penalty.
Status: in_force

Any person, firm, or corporation, which is regulated by Rhode Island general laws, which violates any of the provisions of this chapter shall be subject to a fine of five hundred dollars ($500), and may be subject to any and all penalties provided for in Rhode Island general laws which regulate the violators industry, including revocation of licenses.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-17-29 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-17 / Section 23-17-29
§ 23-17-29. Applicability.
Status: in_force

Notwithstanding any of the provisions of this chapter, nothing contained in this chapter shall apply to any health maintenance organization licensed under the requirements and provisions of chapter 41 of title 27.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-1-18 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-1 / Section 23-1-18
§ 23-1-18. Power to provide rules and regulations in specific areas.
Status: in_force

Without limiting the generality of § 23-1-17, the rules and regulations relating to sanitation and health provided for by § 23-1-17 may include:

(1) Provisions fixing responsibilities of owners, operators, and occupants of land or buildings for the sanitary condition, maintenance, use, and occupancy of the land and buildings.

(2) Minimum standards with respect to the reporting of any disease and the quarantine of persons affected by that disease.

(3) Minimum standards and conditions for the location, construction, and sanitary quality of all drinking water supplies.

(4) Minimum standards for facilities and sanitary conditions for schools and the health care for school children.

(5) Minimum standards with respect to the maintenance and operation of food businesses.

(6) Minimum standards of air quality consistent with human health.

(7) Minimum standards consistent with human health for the quality of the waters of the state.

(8) Minimum standards consistent with human health for the quality of public drinking water.

(9) Minimum standards for immunization and testing for communicable diseases, including, but not limited to, tuberculosis, of employees, children, and students at any child daycare center, family daycare home, private nursery school, any other regular program providing educational services to preschool-aged children, public or private school, college, or university.

(10) Provisions requiring the reporting of immunization status and any other relevant information that the director determines appropriate for all persons for the purpose of establishing and maintaining an immunization registry; provided, however, that the information collected by the department for the immunization registry will only include data elements nationally endorsed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to meet standards for immunization information systems, and that all personally identifiable information obtained pursuant to this section shall be subject to the provisions of chapter 37.3 of title 5 and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, Pub. L. No. 104-191 (HIPAA), as amended. Any person may opt out of and choose to remove his or her information from the immunization registry by contacting the department directly by phone or by submitting a form online that shall be made available on the departments website.

(11) Provisions requiring the reporting of inventories and sales of drugs, devices, and other products potentially related to the outbreak of disease. All information acquired under this subsection by the department of health is confidential and not subject to public access pursuant to chapter 2 of title 38.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-17-62 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-17 / Section 23-17-62
§ 23-17-62. Criminal records review  Long-term care hospital.
Status: in_force

(a) For the purposes of this section, a long-term-care hospital shall mean a facility as described in 42 U.S.C. § 1395ww(d)(1)(iv), that receives payment for inpatient services it provides to Medicare beneficiaries pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1395ww(m).

(b) Any person seeking employment in any long-term-care hospital, having routine contact with a long-term-care hospital patient or having access to such a patients belongings or funds, shall undergo a national criminal records check that shall include fingerprints submitted to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) by the bureau of criminal identification of the department of attorney general. The national criminal records check shall be processed prior to, or within one week of, employment. All persons who, as of September 30, 2014, are already employed by a long-term-care hospital and all persons who, as of such date, already provide services under this section, shall be exempted from the requirements of this section for purposes of their current employment only.

(1) The director may, by rule, identify those positions requiring national criminal records checks. The employee, through the employer, shall apply to the bureau of criminal identification of the department of attorney general for a national criminal records check. Upon the discovery of any disqualifying information, as defined in § 23-17-62(c), and in accordance with the rule promulgated by the director, the bureau of criminal identification of the department of attorney general shall inform the applicant, in writing, of the nature of the disqualifying information; and, without disclosing the nature of the disqualifying information, shall notify the employer, in writing, that disqualifying information has been discovered.

(2) An employee against whom disqualifying information has been found may provide a copy of the national criminal records report to the employer. The employer shall make a judgment regarding the continued employment of the employee.

(3) In those situations in which no disqualifying information has been found, the bureau of criminal identification of the department of attorney general shall inform the applicant and the employer, in writing, of this fact.

(4) The employer shall maintain on file, subject to inspection by the department, evidence that statewide criminal records checks have been initiated on all employees seeking employment between October 1, 1991, and September 30, 2014, and the results of the checks. The employer shall maintain on file, subject to inspection by the department, evidence that national criminal records checks have been initiated on all employees seeking employment on or after October 1, 2014, and the results of those checks. Failure to maintain that evidence would be grounds to revoke the license or registration of the employer.

(5) The employee shall be responsible for the cost of conducting the national criminal records check through the bureau of criminal identification of the department of attorney general.

(c) Information produced by a national criminal records check pertaining to conviction for the following crimes will result in a letter to the employee and employer disqualifying the applicant from employment: murder, voluntary manslaughter, involuntary manslaughter, first-degree sexual assault, second-degree sexual assault, third-degree sexual assault, assault on persons sixty (60) years of age or older, assault with intent to commit specified felonies (murder, robbery, rape, burglary, or the abominable and detestable crimes against nature), felony assault, patient abuse, neglect or mistreatment of patients, burglary, first-degree arson, robbery, felony drug offenses, felony obtaining money under false pretenses, felony embezzlement, abuse, neglect and/or exploitation of adults with severe impairments, exploitation of elders, felony larceny, or felony banking law violations, or a crime under section 1128(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7(a)). An employee against whom disqualifying information has been found may provide a copy of the national criminal records check to the employer who shall make a judgment regarding the continued employment of the employee. For purposes of this subsection, conviction means, in addition to judgments of conviction entered by a court subsequent to a finding of guilty or a plea of guilty, those instances where the defendant has entered a plea of nolo contendere and has received a sentence of probation and those instances where a defendant has entered into a deferred sentence agreement with the attorney general.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-37-2 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-37 / Section 23-37-2
§ 23-37-2. Penalty for disobedience of or interference with firefighters.
Status: in_force

Any person who shall neglect or refuse to render assistance when lawfully called upon to do so by any of the officers listed in § 23-37-1 at a fire, or who shall refuse to obey any lawful order of those officers, or interfere with any officer or person connected with any fire fighting organization enumerated in § 23-37-1, while on duty at a fire, shall pay for each offense a fine not exceeding twenty dollars ($20.00), or shall be imprisoned for a term of not more than thirty (30) days, either or both, at the discretion of the court.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-17-66 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-17 / Section 23-17-66
§ 23-17-66. Protocols for the early recognition and treatment of patients with sepsis/severe sepsis/septic shock.
Status: in_force

(a) For purposes of this section, the following words and terms shall have the following meanings:

(1) Sepsis means a known or suspected infection with at least two (2) or more system inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) criteria as developed by American College of Chest Physicians/Society of Critical Care Medicine (1991).

(2) Severe sepsis means a known or suspected infection with at least two (2) or more SIRS criteria and sepsis-related tissue hypoperfusion or organ dysfunction.

(3) Septic shock means sepsis-induced hypotension persisting despite adequate intravenous (IV) fluid resuscitation and/or evidence of tissue hypoperfusion.

(b) On or before February 1, 2024, to the extent allowable by available state and federal funding, the director of the department of health shall in coordination with the department of healths Antimicrobial Stewardship and Environmental Cleaning task force, make available to hospitals, urgent care facilities, freestanding emergency rooms, pediatric practices, and EMS agencies, information on best practices for the treatment of patients with sepsis and septic shock. The best practices shall be based on generally accepted standards of care, including, but not limited to:

(1) An evidence-based screening tool that can be used at initial evaluation of adult and pediatric patients in these settings;

(2) An evidence-based treatment protocol for adult and pediatric patients that includes time-specific treatment goals;

(3) Nurse-driven testing protocols to enable nurses to initiate care for patients with suspected sepsis;

(4) Incorporation of sepsis screening and treatment tools into the electronic health record where possible;

(5) Mechanisms to prompt escalation of care within these settings, and, when appropriate, to stabilize and transfer to a facility able to provide a higher level of care;

(6) Strategies for appropriate hand-offs and communication regarding the care of patients with sepsis and for the reassessments of patients at regular intervals;

(7) Hospital-specific antibiotic guidelines for use in treating patients with sepsis and a mechanism for reevaluating a patients antibiotic treatment based on culture results that provides reassessment and de-escalation of antibiotic treatment when appropriate; and

(8) Staff education on sepsis policies and procedures during the onboarding process and at least annually and when new practice guidelines are published or existing standards are updated to ensure that care reflects current standards of practice.

(c) In order to enhance patient safety and protection, each hospital licensed in the state shall establish a multi-disciplinary committee to implement policies, procedures, and staff education in accordance with the best practices issued by the department of health.

(1) The multi-disciplinary committee at each hospital shall be responsible for the collection, use, and reporting of quality measures related to the recognition and treatment of severe sepsis for purposes of internal quality improvement and hospital reporting. Such measures shall include, but not be limited to, data sufficient to evaluate each hospitals adherence rate to its own sepsis protocols, including adherence to timeframes and implementation of all protocol components for adults and children.

(d) Contingent upon the availability of funding, the department of health shall offer continuing education credits and other educational opportunities such as provider briefings for pediatricians and EMS agencies on the early recognition and treatment of patients with sepsis.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-33-26 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-33 / Section 23-33-26
§ 23-33-26. Civil liability for injuries resulting from noncompliance.
Status: in_force

In all cases in which any person shall suffer injury or in which the death of any person shall ensue in consequence of the failure of the lessee or owner or owners of any building to comply with the provisions of this chapter, or in consequence of the failure of the lessee or owner or owners to comply with the written notice and requirement of any compliance inspector, when made in conformity to the provisions of this chapter the lessee and owner or owners shall be jointly and severally liable to any person so injured in an action for damages for the injury; and in case of death the lessee and owner or owners shall be jointly and severally liable in damages for the injury caused by the death of the person, to be recovered by action in the same manner and for the benefit of the same persons as is provided in § 10-7-2; which action, when the lessee and the owner are nonresidents, may be commenced by attachment. It shall be no defense to the action that the person injured, or whose death ensues, had knowledge that any elevator or other device subject to the provisions of this chapter was being operated in the building contrary to the provisions of this chapter, or that the person continued to ride in or on the elevator or device with that knowledge.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-18-10.1 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-18 / Section 23-18-10.1
§ 23-18-10.1. Registering historical cemeteries.
Status: in_force

In addition to the records and indexes now required to be maintained by every recorder of deeds in all cities and towns, the recorder of deeds in every city and town shall maintain a register of all historical cemeteries located within the city or town. The tax assessor of each city or town shall note the location of each historical cemetery so registered on the appropriate tax assessors map with a symbol consisting of the letters CEM inside a rectangle.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-19-24.1 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-19 / Section 23-19-24.1
§ 23-19-24.1. Solid waste diversion  Economic impact and strategies reporting.
Status: in_force

(a) On or before January 1, 2018, the corporation shall submit to the governor, the senate president, and the speaker of the house, a study of the economic impact of Rhode Island recycling-related industries. The study shall include, but not be limited to, direct and indirect jobs created, direct and indirect economic impacts, and the potential economic benefits of achieving the states fifty percent (50%) diversion goal.

(b) On or before January 1, 2018, the corporation shall submit to the governor, the senate president, and the speaker of the house, a report that provides strategies to achieve the states fifty percent (50%) diversion goal, including the following:

(1) A review and update of the states current diversion rate;

(2) Identification of problematic waste streams and sources and recommendations on handling those waste streams and sources;

(3) Evaluation of current programs and their effectiveness and recommendations for changes to those programs.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-22-8 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-22 / Section 23-22-8
§ 23-22-8. Suspension and revocation of license.
Status: in_force

Whenever the department of health shall have reason to believe that any swimming pool, licensed as provided in § 23-22-7, is being maintained in violation of the rules and regulations of the department, or whenever the department has reason to believe that the condition and method of maintenance of any such swimming pool will be detrimental to the health and safety of its users, the department may, pending an investigation and hearing, suspend for a period not exceeding thirty (30) days any license issued under authority of this chapter and the department may, after due notice and hearing, revoke any license if it finds that the swimming pool is being maintained in violation of the rules and regulations of the department, or if the department shall be satisfied that the condition and method of maintenance of the pool will be detrimental to the health and safety of its users. The holder of a license shall upon its revocation promptly surrender it to the department.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-83-1 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-83 / Section 23-83-1
§ 23-83-1. Short title.
Status: in_force

This chapter shall be known and may be cited as The Umbilical Cord Blood Donation Notification Act.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-14-1 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-14 / Section 23-14-1
§ 23-14-1. Declaration of intent.
Status: in_force

(a) Whereas, the state recognizes that many of the children with special health care needs, as well as their families, are forced to bear substantial physical, emotional, social, and financial hardships associated with the childs illness;

(b) Whereas, the financial costs for treatment and continued health care for children with special health care needs are often prohibitive, while many families may be without health care coverage, or be ineligible for publicly funded assistance, or coverage may be inadequate to cover many of the costs related to treatment or continued medical care;

(c) Whereas, many families of children with special health care needs cannot be with their children during vital pre-and post operative periods or for periods of post operative treatment due to their inability to meet travel expenses;

(d) Whereas, many nonprofit organizations in Rhode Island attempt to ameliorate this distressing situation for the children with special health care needs and their families by providing medicines, medical equipment, and funding to help to defray the costs associated with the care and treatment of these youngsters not otherwise provided for; and

(e) Whereas, as admirable as the efforts of these nonprofit organizations are, it is widely acknowledged that they lack the funding to meet all of the remaining needs of children with special health care needs;

(f) It is declared to be the intent of the state to provide a means by which children with special health care needs, whose needs for medical treatment, care, and equipment are not otherwise provided for, may be financed through a voluntary check-off of a portion of an income tax refund owed to a taxpayer by the state. It is also intended that funds generated by the check-off be supplemental to any funds which would otherwise be available for the purposes mentioned in this section, and that the funds be used only for direct provision of medicines, medical equipment, medical treatment, or care to children with special health care needs and travel expenses for child disease victims and their families when it is necessary for the child to receive treatment at an out-of-state medical treatment facility.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-1-47 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-1 / Section 23-1-47
§ 23-1-47. Health care providers  Immunities.
Status: in_force

No health care provider, as defined in § 5-37.3-3(4), acting in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, including, without limitation, any health care provider who administers any immunization vaccine pursuant to this chapter, shall be liable to any person who experiences or purports to experience adverse effects arising from the immunization or attendant procedures; provided, however, that informed consent is obtained. Nothing in this chapter shall exempt from liability for gross negligence any individual or public or private agency participating in an authorized mass immunization project, nor shall the provisions of this chapter exempt any drug manufacturer from any liability, regardless of the degree of negligence for any drug or vaccine used in the projects.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-59-10 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-59 / Section 23-59-10
§ 23-59-10. Untrue, deceptive, or misleading advertising.
Status: in_force

The provisions of chapter 13.1 of title 6 shall apply to all providers.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-95-5 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-95 / Section 23-95-5
§ 23-95-5. Enforcement.
Status: in_force

(a) Whenever it appears that a covered entity has violated or is violating any of the provisions of this chapter, the affected individual may commence a civil action for injunctive and other equitable relief against the covered entity for purposes of enforcing compliance with this chapter. The action may be brought in the district court for the county where the affected individual resides or resided or was denied the organ transplant or referral.

(b) In an action brought under this chapter, the court must give priority on its docket and expedited review, and may grant injunctive or other equitable relief, including:

(1) Requiring auxiliary aids or services to be made available for a qualified recipient;

(2) Requiring the modification of a policy, practice or procedure of a covered entity; or

(3) Requiring facilities be made readily accessible to and usable by a qualified recipient.

(c) Nothing in this chapter is intended to limit or replace available remedies under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended by the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 or any other applicable law.

(d) This chapter does not create a right to compensatory or punitive damages against a covered entity.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-9-19 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-9 / Section 23-9-19
§ 23-9-19. Certification and delivery of disinfected goods  Expense of disinfection.
Status: in_force

Whenever infected or contagious goods are sufficiently aired and cleansed, those persons described in § 23-9-18 shall give the owners or persons entitled to possession of those goods a certificate to that effect; and the city or town council shall allow and order those goods, wares, and merchandise to be delivered to their owners; and the charge and expense of airing, landing, and cleansing those goods, wares, and merchandise shall be borne by the respective owners; and that charge shall be a lien on those goods, wares, and merchandise.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-11-10 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-11 / Section 23-11-10
§ 23-11-10. Investigation of suspected cases and sources.
Status: in_force

In all suspected cases of sexually transmitted disease, the state department of health is empowered to take appropriate measures to determine whether the person or persons suspected of being infected are suffering from any sexually transmitted disease; and whenever any sexually transmitted disease is found to exist, the state department of health shall, whenever possible, ascertain the sources of the infections. In these investigations, the state department of health is vested with full powers of inspection and examination and treatment as determined by the director of health.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-1-28 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-1 / Section 23-1-28
§ 23-1-28. Definitions.
Status: in_force

The following definitions apply in the interpretation of the provisions of this chapter:

(1) Director means the director of health of the state or his or her duly authorized agent.

(2) Food means:

(i) Articles used for food or drink for people or other animals;

(ii) Chewing gum; and

(iii) Articles used for components of any such article.

(3) Food business includes any establishment or place, whether fixed or mobile, where food or ice is held, processed, manufactured, packaged, prepared, displayed, served, transported, or sold.

(4) Person includes any individual, group of individuals, firm, corporation, association, partnership or private or public entity, including a district, county, city, town, or other governmental unit or its agent, and in the case of a corporation, any individual having active and general supervision of the properties of that corporation.

(5) Service upon a corporation under §§ 23-1-20 and 23-1-21 is deemed to include service upon both the corporation and upon the person having active and general supervision of the properties of the corporation.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-25-18 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-25 / Section 23-25-18
§ 23-25-18. Unlawful acts and/or grounds for denial, suspension, or revocation of a license, permit, or certification.
Status: in_force

(a) The director may suspend pending inquiry for not longer than ten (10) days, and after opportunity for a hearing, deny, further suspend, revoke, or modify any provision on any license, permit, or certificate issued under this chapter if he or she finds that the applicant or holder of a license, permit, or certificate has committed any of the following acts, each of which except subdivision (15) of this subsection, is declared to be a violation of this chapter; provided, that this person shall also be subject to the penalties provided by § 23-25-28:

(1) Made false or fraudulent claims through any medium misrepresenting the effect of pesticides or methods to be utilized;

(2) Made a pesticide recommendation or use inconsistent with the labeling (except as allowed by rulings, interpretations, regulations, or guidelines published by EPA or, in the case of a pesticide registered under § 23-25-6(h) by the director), with the EPA or state registration for that pesticide, or in violation of the EPA or state restrictions on the use of that pesticide;

(3) Applied known ineffective or improper pesticides;

(4) Operated faulty or unsafe equipment;

(5) Operated in a faulty, careless, or negligent manner;

(6) Neglected or, after notice, refused to comply with the provisions of this chapter, the rules and regulations adopted under this chapter, or of any lawful order of the director;

(7) Refused or neglected to keep and maintain the records required by this chapter or to make reports when and as required;

(8) Made false or fraudulent records, invoices, or reports;

(9) Used or supervised the use of a pesticide which is restricted to use by certified applicators without having qualified as a certified applicator or without having been under the direct supervision of a certified applicator;

(10) Used fraud or misrepresentation in making an application for or renewal of, a license, permit, or certification;

(11) Refused or neglected to comply with any limitations or restrictions on or in a duly issued license, permit, or certification;

(12) Aided or abetted a licensed or certified or an unlicensed or non-certified, person to evade the provisions of this chapter, conspired with that person to evade the provisions of this chapter, or allowed ones license, permit, or certification to be used by another person;

(13) Made false or misleading statements during or after an inspection concerning any infestation or infection of pests found on land;

(14) Impersonated any federal, state, county, or city inspector or official; or

(15) Has been subject to the final imposition of civil or criminal penalties under § 14(a) or (b) of FIFRA, 7 U.S.C. § 136l(a) or (b).

(b) It is unlawful for any person to distribute in the state any of the following:

(1) Any pesticide which is not registered pursuant to the provisions of this chapter;

(2) Any pesticide if any of the claims made for it or any of the directions for its use or other labeling differs from the representations made in connection with its registration, or if the composition of a pesticide differs from its composition as represented in connection with its registration; provided, that a change in the labeling or formulation of a pesticide may be made within a registration period without requiring reregistration of the product if the registration is amended to reflect the change and if that change will not violate any provision of FIFRA or this chapter;

(3) Any pesticide unless it is in the registrants or the manufacturers unbroken immediate container and there is affixed to that container and to the outside container or wrapper of the retail package if there is one through which the required information on the immediate container cannot be clearly read a label bearing the information required in this chapter and the regulations adopted under this chapter;

(4) Any pesticide which has not been colored or discolored pursuant to the provisions of § 23-25-9(b)(7) or of § 25(c)(5) of FIFRA, 7 U.S.C. § 136w(c)(5);

(5) Any pesticide which is adulterated or misbranded or any device which is misbranded;

(6) Any pesticide in containers which are unsafe due to damage.

(c) It shall be unlawful:

(1) To distribute any pesticide labeled for restricted use by EPA or for state limited use by the director to any person who is required by this chapter or regulations promulgated under this chapter to be certified to acquire, purchase, possess, or use this pesticide unless the person has a valid permit or is certified to acquire, purchase, possess, or use the kind and quantity of this pesticide or unless distribution is made to his or her agent; provided, that subject to conditions established by the director, the permit may be obtained immediately prior to distribution from any agent designated by the director;

(2) For any person to detach, alter, deface, or destroy, wholly or in part, any label or labeling provided for in this chapter or regulations adopted under this chapter, or to add any substance to, or take any substance from, a pesticide in a manner that may defeat the purpose of this chapter or the regulations adopted under this chapter;

(3) For any person to use for his or her own advantage or to reveal, other than to the director or properly designated state or federal officials, or employees of the state or federal executive agencies, or to the courts of the state or of the United States in response to a subpoena, or to physicians, or in emergencies to pharmacists and other qualified persons for use in the preparation of antidotes, any information relative to formulas of products acquired by authority of § 23-25-6 or any information judged by the director as containing or relating to trade secrets or commercial or financial information obtained by authority of this chapter and marked as privileged or confidential by the registrant;

(4) For any person to handle, transport, store, display, or distribute pesticides in such a manner as to endanger humans and the environment or to endanger food, feed, or any other products that may be transported, stored, displayed, or distributed with those pesticides;

(5) For any person to dispose of, discard, or store any pesticide or pesticide containers in such manner as to cause injury to humans, vegetation, crops, livestock, wildlife, beneficial insects or to pollute any water supply, waterway, or water body;

(6) For any person to refuse or otherwise fail to comply with the provisions of this chapter, the regulations adopted under this chapter, or of any lawful order of the director.

(d) The penalties provided for violations of subdivisions (1) to (5) of subsection (b) of this section shall not apply to:

(1) Any carrier while lawfully engaged in transporting a pesticide within the state if the carrier shall, upon request, permit the director to copy all records showing the transactions in and movement of the pesticides or devices;

(2) Employees of the state or the federal government while engaged in the performance of their official duties in administering Rhode Island or federal pesticide laws or regulations;

(3) The manufacturer, shipper, or other distributor of a pesticide for experimental use only; provided, that the person holds or is covered by a valid experimental use permit as provided for by § 23-25-7 or issued by EPA; provided further, that the permit covers the conduct in question.

(4) Any person who ships a substance or mixture of substances being put through tests in which the purpose is only to determine its value for pesticide purposes or to determine its toxicity or other properties and from which the user does not expect to receive any benefit in pest control from its use.

(e) No pesticide or device shall be deemed in violation of this chapter when intended solely for export to a foreign country and when prepared or packed according to the specifications or directions of the purchaser. If not exported, all provisions of this chapter shall apply.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-3-15 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-3 / Section 23-3-15
§ 23-3-15. New certificates of birth following adoption  Legitimation and genetic parent determination.
Status: in_force

(a) The state registrar of vital records shall establish a new certificate of birth for a person born in this state when he or she receives the following:

(1) An adoption report as provided in § 23-3-14 or a certified copy of the decree of adoption together with the information necessary to identify the original certificate of birth and to establish a new certificate of birth; except that a new certificate of birth shall not be established if the court decreeing the adoption, the adoptive parents, or the adopted person requests that a new certificate shall not be established.

(2) A request that a new certificate be established and evidence required by regulation proving that the person has been legitimated, or that a court of competent jurisdiction has determined the genetic parent of the person; provided, however, that where a court of competent jurisdiction has determined the genetic parent of the person, the name of the person who has been adjudicated as being the father shall be inserted on the birth certificate.

(b) When a new certificate of birth is established, the actual place and date of birth shall be shown. It shall be substituted for the original certificate of birth.

(1) Thereafter, the original certificate and the evidence of adoption, parentage, or legitimation shall not be subject to inspection except as allowed by this chapter in the case of adoption by the adult adoptee, or upon order of a court of competent jurisdiction, or as provided by regulation.

(2) Upon receipt of a notice of annulment of adoption, the original certificate of birth shall be restored to its place in the files and the new certificate and evidence shall not be subject to inspection except upon order of a court of competent jurisdiction.

(3) Upon receipt from a passive voluntary adoption mutual consent registry of a certificate provided for in § 15-7.2-12(b), the adult adoptee named in the certificate shall be entitled to receive non-certified copies of his or her original birth certificate.

(c) If no certificate of birth is on file for the person for whom a new certificate is to be established under this section, a delayed certificate of birth shall be filed with the state registrar of vital records as provided in § 23-3-12 or § 23-3-13, before a new certificate of birth is established, except that when the date and place of birth and parentage have been established in accordance with this chapter in the adoption proceedings, a delayed certificate shall not be required.

(d) When a new certificate of birth is established by the state registrar of vital records, all copies of the original certificate of birth in the custody of any custodian of permanent local records in this state shall be sealed from inspection or forwarded to the state registrar of vital records, as he or she shall direct.

(e)(1) The state registrar shall, upon request, prepare and register a certificate in this state for a person born in a foreign country who is not a citizen of the United States and who was adopted through a court of competent jurisdiction in this state. The certificate shall be established upon receipt of a report of adoption from the court decreeing the adoption, proof of the date and place of the childs birth, and a request from the court, the adopting parents, or the adopted person if eighteen (18) years of age or over that a certificate be prepared. The certificate shall be labeled certificate of foreign birth and shall show the actual country of birth. After registration of the birth certificate in the new name of the adopted person, the state registrar shall seal and file the report of adoption which shall not be subject to inspection except upon order of a court of competent jurisdiction or as provided by regulation.

(2) If the child was born in a foreign country but was a citizen of the United States at the time of birth, the state registrar shall not prepare a certificate of foreign birth and shall notify the adoptive parents of the procedures for obtaining a revised birth certificate for their child through the U.S. Department of State.

(f) When a new certificate of birth is established following an adoption or legitimation in this state, and when no record of the original birth is on file at the city or town of occurrence, the state registrar of vital records shall cause a copy to be filed with the registrar of births in the city or town where the child was born and the city or town of residence of the parents indicated on the new certificate, if that residence is within the state.

(g)(1) The division shall establish, maintain, and operate the adoptee vital records file. Beginning July 1, 2012, upon written application by an adult adoptee who was born in the State of Rhode Island the division shall issue to the applicant a non-certified copy of the unaltered, original certificate of birth of the adoptee, or if the adopted person is deceased, the adopted persons direct line descendants, or the legal representative of such adopted person, in accordance with the provisions of § 23-3-23, with procedures, filing fees, and waiting periods identical to those imposed upon non-adopted citizens of the state.

(2) The division shall prescribe and, upon request, shall make available to each birth parent of an adoptee named on the original birth certificate, a contact preference form on which the birth parent may state a preference regarding contact by an adoptee who is the birth child of the birth parent. The contact preference form shall be returned to the division. Upon such a request, the division shall also provide the birth parent with an updated medical history form, which may be completed and returned to the Passive Voluntary Adoption Mutual Consent Registry. The contact preference form shall provide the birth parent with the following options from which the birth parent shall select one:

(a) I would like to be contacted.

(b) I would prefer to be contacted only through an intermediary.

(c) I would prefer not to be contacted at this time.

(3) When the division receives a completed contact preference form from a birth parent, the division shall place the form on file and create an index of all contact preference forms filed. When the vital records office receives a request for an original birth certificate they will then open the adoptees sealed file and check the file for the names of the birth parent(s). These names will then be cross referenced with the birth parent(s) names listed on the contact preference form index. If there is a match, the vital records office will provide the adoptee a copy of the contact preference form. The division shall inform the adoptee of his or her right to contact the Passive Voluntary Adoption Mutual Consent Registry to see if an updated medical history form has been filed by his or her birth parent.

(4) Beginning September 1, 2011, the division shall make reasonable efforts to inform the public of the existence of the adoptee vital records file; the ability of adult adoptees born in the State of Rhode Island to access non-certified copies of their birth certificates subject to the provisions of this chapter; and the ability of the birth parent(s) of adoptees to file a contact preference form with the division of vital records.

(h) The division shall maintain the following statistics that shall be made available to the general public on a quarterly basis or more frequently if possible:

(1) Number of original birth certificates released since the effective date of this bill;

(2) Number of contact preference forms filed; and

(3) Number of birth parent(s) who indicated on the contact preference form that they would like to be contacted, would like to be contacted but only through an intermediary, or do not want to be contacted.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-18-8 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-18 / Section 23-18-8
§ 23-18-8. Speculative sales prohibited.
Status: in_force

The sale of cemetery lots or plots, or the sale of crypts or niches in a community mausoleum, or niches in a columbarium, crematory, or any other similar structure, for speculative purposes, or upon the promise, representation, or inducement to the purchaser that the structure may be resold at a financial profit, is prohibited. Any person or individual who shall make, or attempt to make, either on his or her own behalf or on behalf of another, a sale or conveyance contrary to the provisions of this chapter, shall be punished as provided in § 23-18-9.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-19-41 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-19 / Section 23-19-41
§ 23-19-41. Construction of references.
Status: in_force

Whenever in any general or public law the words Rhode Island solid waste management corporation shall appear, particularly §§ 35-3-3.1, 23-18.8-2, 23-18.8-2.1, 23-18.8-4, 23-18.11-4, 12-12-17, 23-18.9-1 and 37-2-7, they shall be deemed to refer to and to mean the Rhode Island resource recovery corporation.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-61-8 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-61 / Section 23-61-8
§ 23-61-8. Establishment of fees.
Status: in_force

A one-time surcharge shall be assessed on new residential construction, excluding renovations, at the rate of two cents ($0.02) per square foot under roof floor space. This surcharge shall be collected by the local building official at the time an application for a building permit is submitted. The local building official shall collect the surcharge and remit the funds collected to the department on a quarterly calendar basis beginning no later than October 31, 2007 for the preceding quarter, and continuing each third month thereafter. The local building official shall also submit, on the same calendar basis, documentation of all building permits for new residential construction issued during the previous calendar quarter. The unit of municipal government issuing the new residential construction building permits may retain five percent (5%) of the surcharge collected to cover costs associated with the collection and remittance of the surcharge. All funds remitted to the department pursuant to this section shall be deposited in the general fund as general revenues.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-16-5 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-16 / Section 23-16-5
§ 23-16-5. Compensation and meeting of council members.
Status: in_force

Members of the state advisory council or councils that may be established under § 23-16-3, while serving on business of the council or councils, shall receive compensation at the rate of twenty-five dollars ($25.00) per day. The council or councils shall meet as frequently as the director deems necessary, but not less than once each year.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-61-12 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-61 / Section 23-61-12
§ 23-61-12. Funding and implementation.
Status: in_force

Implementation and enforcement of this chapter is contingent upon the availability of resources to fund necessary administrative, personnel, and other related costs.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-1-52 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-1 / Section 23-1-52
§ 23-1-52. Adult daycare program licensure.
Status: in_force

(a) The director is authorized and directed to establish a program for the licensure of adult daycare programs. Adult daycare program shall mean a comprehensive, nonresidential program designed to address the biological, psychological, and social needs of adults through individual plans of care that incorporate, as needed, a variety of health, social, and related support services in a protective setting. The director is further authorized to promulgate regulations as he or she deems necessary to implement these provisions.

(b) Any person seeking employment in any adult daycare facility licensed herein and having routine contact with an adult daycare client, or having access to such a clients belongings or funds, shall undergo a national criminal records check that shall include fingerprints submitted to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) by the bureau of criminal identification of the department of attorney general. The national criminal records check shall be processed prior to, or within one week of, employment. All persons who, as of September 30, 2014, are already employed by an adult daycare facility and all persons who, as of such date, already provide services under this section shall be exempted from the requirements of this section for purposes of their current employment only.

(1) The director may, by rule, identify those positions requiring national criminal records checks. The employee, through the employer, shall apply to the bureau of criminal identification of the department of attorney general for a national criminal records check. Upon the discovery of any disqualifying information as defined in § 23-1-52(c), and in accordance with rules promulgated by the director, the bureau of criminal identification of the department of attorney general shall inform the applicant, in writing, of the nature of the disqualifying information; and, without disclosing the nature of the disqualifying information, shall notify the employer, in writing, that disqualifying information has been discovered.

(2) An employee against whom disqualifying information has been found may provide a copy of the national criminal records check to the employer. The employer shall make a judgment regarding the continued employment of the employee.

(3) In those situations in which no disqualifying information has been found, the bureau of criminal identification of the department of attorney general shall inform the applicant and the employer, in writing, of this fact.

(4) The employer shall maintain on file, subject to inspection by the department of health, evidence that statewide criminal records checks have been initiated on all employees seeking employment between January 1, 2008, and September 30, 2014, and the results of the checks. The employer shall maintain on file, subject to inspection by the department, evidence that national criminal records checks have been initiated on all employees seeking employment on or after October 1, 2014, and the results of those checks. Failure to maintain that evidence may be grounds to revoke the license or registration of the employer.

(5) The employee shall be responsible for the cost of conducting the national criminal records check through the bureau of criminal identification of the department of attorney general.

(c) Information produced by a national criminal records check pertaining to conviction for the following crimes will result in a letter to the employee and employer disqualifying the applicant from employment: murder, voluntary manslaughter, involuntary manslaughter, first-degree sexual assault, second-degree sexual assault, third-degree sexual assault, assault on persons sixty (60) years of age or older, assault with intent to commit specified felonies (murder, robbery, rape, burglary, or the abominable and detestable crimes against nature), felony assault, patient abuse, neglect or mistreatment of patients, burglary, first-degree arson, robbery, felony drug offenses, felony obtaining money under false pretenses, felony embezzlement, abuse, neglect and/or exploitation of adults with severe impairments, exploitation of elders, felony larceny, or felony banking law violations, or a crime under section 1128(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7(a)). An employee against whom disqualifying information has been found may provide a copy of the national criminal records check to the employer who shall make a judgment regarding the continued employment of the employee. For purposes of this subsection, conviction means, in addition to judgments of conviction entered by a court subsequent to a finding of guilty or a plea of guilty, those instances where the defendant has entered a plea of nolo contendere and has received a sentence of probation and those instances where a defendant has entered into a deferred sentence agreement with the attorney general.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-19-10.2 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-19 / Section 23-19-10.2
§ 23-19-10.2. Solid waste disposal facilities  Sites  Eminent domain.
Status: in_force

(a) The Rhode Island resource recovery corporation shall operate only those public solid waste disposal facilities that shall comply with § 23-18.9-9.1. Sites shall be selected after demonstration of maximizing the use of source reduction, reuse, recycling, flow control techniques, evaluation of alternative sites, and assessment of comparative environmental impact at the proposed sites in accordance with law and state planning council regulations and in their absence, the state planning council shall promulgate regulations for the evaluation and/or assessment, and distribution of location of sites for waste facilities among the regions of the state. All proposed sites shall be submitted to the state planning council which shall certify that each proposed site conforms with the state guide plan; provided, however, that certification shall not be granted prior to the publication of public notice and expiration of the public comment period regarding the proposed site, and, provided, further, that no municipality shall cause any act to be done after December 31, 1988 which shall prohibit a solid waste disposal facility site within the municipality.

(b)(1) There shall be established a solid waste facilities siting board which shall be part of the department of administration whose members shall be designated by the governor as follows: the governors legal counsel; the director of the department of administration; a business or industry representative; a member of the league of cities and towns; and environmental advocate.

(2) The corporation shall submit to the board a written report that shall detail the need to acquire the land or an interest in the land by purchase or by the exercise of the power of eminent domain. The board shall convene in a public forum following public notice and shall accept public comment. No later than thirty (30) days thereafter, the board shall submit to the governor a transcript of the public comment and an advisory opinion on the need to acquire the land or the interest in the land and, as applicable, on the need to acquire the land or interest in the land by the exercise of the power of eminent domain. The governor, in his or her discretion, may authorize the corporation to acquire the land or the interest in the land by purchase or, as applicable, by the exercise of the power of eminent domain; provided, however, that the corporation is prohibited from acquiring land or an interest in land by purchase or by condemnation for the operation of a solid waste disposal facility without the prior written authorization of the governor.

(3) The director of the department of administration shall provide suitable staff, clerical assistance, and office space to the board.

(c)(1) Subject to the provisions in subsections (a) and (b), the Rhode Island resource recovery corporation shall have the right to acquire any land, or any interest therein, by the exercise of the power of eminent domain, whenever it shall be determined by the corporation that the acquisition of the land, or interest, is necessary for the construction or the operation of any solid waste management facility. No municipal ordinance shall be enacted or applied so as to prohibit the siting or the operation of a public solid waste disposal facility within the municipality. Provided, however, the corporation shall not be entitled to acquire by eminent domain any existing sanitary landfill regardless of whether it is owned by a municipality or privately owned. Notwithstanding the provisions of title 23, the corporation shall not be empowered to order a municipality which owns a sanitary landfill to accept solid waste from any other person or municipality nor shall the corporation be empowered to order a municipality which owns and operates an existing sanitary landfill to dispose of its solid waste at any other solid waste disposal facility.

(2) The necessity for the acquisition shall be conclusively presumed upon the adoption by the corporation of a resolution declaring that the acquisition of the land, or interest in the land, described in the resolution is necessary for construction or operation. Within six (6) months thereafter the corporation shall cause to be filed in the land evidence records of the city or town in which the land is located a copy of the resolution of the corporation, together with a description of the plat of the land or interest in the land, and a statement, signed by the chairperson of the corporation, that the land, or interest in the land, is taken pursuant to the provisions of this chapter. Thereupon the corporation may file its application for licensure with the director.

(3) The corporation shall file in the superior court in and for the county in which the land or interest in the land lies, a statement of the sum of money estimated by the corporation to be just compensation for the land taken. Upon the filing of the copy of the resolution, plat, and statement in the land evidence records of the city or town, the filing in the superior court of the statement, and the depositing in the superior court to the use of the persons entitled to it of the sum that the court shall determine to be amply sufficient to satisfy the claims of all persons interested in the land (and the court may, in its discretion, take evidence on the question to determine the sum to be deposited), title to the land, or interest in the land, shall vest in the corporation in fee simple absolute and the corporation thereupon may take possession of the land or interest in the land.

(4) No sum so paid into the court shall be charged with clerks fees of any nature. After the filing of the copy, plat, and statement, notice of the taking of the land, or interest therein, shall be served upon the owners of and persons having an estate in and interested in the land by the sheriff or his or her deputies of the county in which the land, or interest therein, lies leaving a true and attested copy of the description and statement with each of those persons personally, or at their last and usual place of abode in this state with some person living there, and in case any of those persons are absent from this state and have no last and usual place of abode therein occupied by any person, the copy shall be left with the persons, if any, in charge of or having possession of the land, or interest in the land, taken of the absent persons if they are known to the officer; and after the filing of the resolution, plat, and statement, the chairperson of the corporation shall cause a copy of the resolution and statement to be published in some newspaper published or having general circulation in the county where the land, or interest in the land, may be located, at least once a week for three (3) successive weeks. If any person shall agree with the corporation for the price of the land, or interest in the land, so taken, the court upon the application of the parties in interest, may order that the sum agreed upon be paid immediately from the money deposited, as the just compensation to be awarded in the proceeding.

(5) Any owner of or persons entitled to any estate in or interested in any part of the land, or interest in the land, so taken, who cannot agree with the corporation for the price of the land, or interest in the land, so taken in which he or she is interested, may within three (3) months after personal notice of the taking, or, if he or she have no personal notice, may within one year from the first publication of the copy of the resolution and statement, apply by petition to the superior court in and for the county in which the land, or interest in the land, lies, setting forth the taking of his or her land or interest in the land, and praying for an assessment of damages by a jury. Upon filing of the petition the court shall cause twenty (20) days notice of the pendency of the petition to be given to the corporation by serving the chairperson of the corporation with a certified copy, and may proceed after the notice to the trial of the petition; and the trial shall determine all questions of fact relating to the value of the land, or interest in the land, and the amount, and judgment shall be entered upon the verdict of the jury and execution of judgment shall be issued against the money so deposited in court and in default against any other property of the corporation. In case two (2) or more conflicting petitioners make claim to the same land, or to any interests in the land, or to different interest in the same parcel of land, the court upon motion shall consolidate their several petitions for trial at the same time by the same jury, and may frame all necessary issues for the trial; and all proceedings taken pursuant to the provisions of this chapter shall take precedence over all other civil matters then pending before the court, or if the superior court in and for the county in which the land, or interest in the land, lies, is not in session in the county, then the petitions may be heard in the superior court for the counties of Providence and Bristol.

(6) If any land, or interest in the land, in which any minor or other person not capable in law to act in his or her own behalf is interested, are taken by the corporation, the superior court, upon the filing of a petition by or in behalf of the minor or other person, may appoint a guardian ad litem for the minor or other person, and the guardian may appear and be heard in behalf of the minor or other person; and the guardian may also with the advice and consent of the superior court and upon terms that the superior court may prescribe release to the corporation all claims for damages for the lands of the minor or other person or for any interests in the lands. Any lawfully appointed, qualified, and acting guardian or other fiduciary of the estate of the minor or other person, with the approval of the court of probate within this state having jurisdiction to authorize the sale of lands and properties within this state of the minor or other person, may, before the filing of the petition, agree with the corporation upon the amount of damages suffered by the minor or other person by any taking of his or her lands or of his or her interests in any lands, and may, upon receiving that amount, release to the corporation all claims of damages of the minor or other person for the taking.

(7) Whenever, from time to time the corporation has satisfied the court that the amount deposited with the court is greater than is amply sufficient to satisfy the claims of all persons interested in the land, the court may order that the amount of the excess including any interest or increment on any sums so deposited shall be repaid to the corporation. Whenever the corporation has satisfied the court that the claims of all persons interested in the land taken have been satisfied, the unexpended balance including any interest of increment on any sums so deposited shall be paid immediately to the corporation.

(8) In any proceedings for the assessment of compensation and damages for land or interest in the land taken or to be taken by eminent domain by the corporation the following provisions shall be applicable:

(i) At any time during the pendency of the action or proceeding, the corporation or an owner may apply to the court for an order directing an owner or the corporation, as the case may be, to show cause why further proceedings should not be expedited, and the court may upon the application make an order requiring that the hearings proceed and that any other steps be taken with all possible expedition.

(ii) If any of the land, or interest in the land, is devoted to a public use, except as provided in subsection (c)(1) it may nevertheless be acquired, and the taking shall be effective provided that no land, or interest in the land, belonging to a public utility corporation may be acquired without the approval of the public utilities administrator or other officer or tribunal having regulatory power over the corporation. Any land or interest in the land already acquired by the corporation may nevertheless be included within the taking for the purpose of acquiring any outstanding interests in the land.

(9) In addition to all of the proceedings and requirements provided by this section, the corporation shall further be required to follow the same statutory proceedings for the taking of land as required of state agencies when those agencies take land under the authority granted by chapter 6 of this title.

(10) The corporation is expressly prohibited from exercising its powers of eminent domain as provided in this section for the purpose of acquiring land to site additional landfills:

(i) In an attempt to circumvent the intent of any court orders or consent agreements to which it is a party; and

(ii) Until such times as it develops a comprehensive plan for and enters into a binding agreement to establish a waste processing facility(ies), as defined in § 23-19-5(22).
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-17-58 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-17 / Section 23-17-58
§ 23-17-58. Documentation of pre-hospital and pre-freestanding emergency-care facility exposure of emergency medical services workers.
Status: in_force

Hospitals and freestanding emergency-care facilities shall be required to complete the hospital-related information requirements of the pre-hospital exposure form for emergency service workers as required by § 23-4.1-19. Further, the hospitals and freestanding emergency-care facilities shall report to the director of the department of health the information and data as may be required by regulation.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-39-13 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-39 / Section 23-39-13
§ 23-39-13. Receipts.
Status: in_force

The proceeds of any fees collected pursuant to the provisions of this chapter shall be deposited as general revenues.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-23-29.2 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-23 / Section 23-23-29.2
§ 23-23-29.2. Diesel motor vehicle engine idling.
Status: in_force

On or before July 1, 2007, the department shall adopt rules governing diesel engine idling to restrict the unnecessary operation of diesel motor vehicle engines. The rules shall be generally consistent with similar restrictions established by law or regulation in Massachusetts and Connecticut and shall provide that no person shall cause, allow or permit the unnecessary operation of the engine of a diesel motor vehicle while said vehicle is stopped for a period of time in excess of five (5) consecutive minutes in any sixty (60) minute period. Unnecessary operation of a diesel motor vehicle shall not include such periods and circumstances as the department, may determine as reasonably requiring that the engine remain idling, which periods may include, but not be limited to, periods when it is necessary for a vehicle to remain motionless due to traffic conditions or at the direction of a law enforcement official; when it is necessary to operate defrosting, heating, or cooling equipment to ensure the health or safety of the driver or passengers or to operate auxiliary equipment; when it is necessary to bring the engine to the manufacturers recommended operating temperature or when the engine is undergoing maintenance or inspection. The requirements of this section shall not apply to police, fire, rescue, ambulance and other public safety vehicles, military vehicles, armored vehicles that are being loaded or unloaded or are waiting to be loaded or unloaded, non-road vehicles, including farm vehicles, locomotives, aircraft, marine vessels, stationary diesel engines or auxiliary power units, or vehicles making deliveries of fuel or energy products.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-19-42 — RI Code / Title 23 / Chapter 23-19 / Section 23-19-42
§ 23-19-42. Tipping fees  Municipal rate for city or town collected regional school district solid waste.
Status: in_force

(a) Solid waste collected and disposed of by, or on behalf of, a regional school district shall be charged the same tipping fee per ton as the municipal rate.

(b) Any waste hauler collecting and disposing of solid waste for, or on behalf of, any regional school district shall, at the time of disposal, certify on a form approved by the Rhode Island resource recovery corporation the tonnage of the solid waste collected from the regional school district.