Title 42, Title 42 Affairs and Government

The sections of this chapter and each provision and part thereof are hereby declared to be severable and independent of each other, and the holding of a section, or part thereof, or the application thereof to any person or circumstance, to be invalid, ineffective, or unconstituti…

The general assembly of the state of Rhode Island hereby declares that the public has an interest in the identification, interpretation, preservation, and protection of the state’s archaeological resources including underwater historic properties situated under the navigable wate…

As used in this chapter: (1) “Field investigations” means the study of the traces of human culture at any land or water site by means of surveying, sampling, excavating, or removing surface or subsurface objects, or going on a site with that intent. (2) “Site” means any man-made …

(a) The state of Rhode Island reserves to itself the exclusive right and privilege of field investigation on sites owned or controlled by the state, its agencies, departments, or institutions, in order to protect and preserve archaeological and scientific information, matter, and…

(a) The state historical preservation commission shall be the agency responsible for administering the archaeology and underwater archaeology programs. The commission is empowered to prescribe such rules and regulations as may be necessary to preserve, protect, recover, and displ…

The state historical preservation commission shall conduct a survey of archaeological and anthropological sites and specimens located within the state. The results of the survey shall be made available to all agencies of the state government and its political subdivisions that, i…

All state agencies, departments, institutions, and commissions, as well as all municipalities, shall cooperate fully with the historical preservation commission in the preservation, protection, excavation, and evaluation of specimens and sites and to that end: (1) When any state …

When transferring real property under its jurisdiction that contains significant archaeologic or other anthropological resources, the state, its agencies, departments, and institutions, may, upon the recommendation of the state historical preservation commission, condition the tr…

Upon written recommendation to the state properties committee by the state historical preservation commission, the state properties committee may reserve from sale any state lands, including lands forfeited to the state for nonpayment of taxes, on which sites or artifacts are loc…