Title 23, Title 23 and Safety

Nothing in § 23-19.8-3 shall be construed to limit or otherwise affect the liability of any person for damages resulting from the person’s gross negligence or from the person’s reckless, wanton, or intentional misconduct.

There is created the Rhode Island-Massachusetts Interstate Low-Level Radioactive Waste Management Compact. The party states recognize that the Congress has declared that each state is responsible for providing for the availability of capacity, either within or outside its borders…

(a) Each party state may establish reasonable fees which shall be imposed upon generators, shippers, or carriers to recover the cost of inspections and other administrative actions taken under this compact. (b) A host state may establish reasonable fees and surcharges which shall…

(a) The provisions of this compact shall be severable and if any phrase, clause, sentence or provision of this compact is declared by a court of competent jurisdiction to be contrary to the Constitution of any party state or of the United States or the applicability thereof to an…

As used in this compact, unless the context clearly requires a different construction: (1) “Adjudicatory proceeding” means the Commission process of formulating an order; (2) “Closure” means the permanent termination of waste acceptance at a facility, including closure prior to i…

(a) Pursuant to the procedure established in § 23-19.9-6, there shall be provided within the region one or more regional facilities which, together with any other facilities that may be made available to the region, will provide sufficient capacity to accept all low-level waste g…

(a) To the extent not prohibited by federal law, a host state is responsible for protecting the health, safety, and welfare of its citizens. (b) To the extent not prohibited by federal law, a host state shall assure: (1) The timely development, reasonable availability and safe op…

(a) There is created the Rhode Island — Massachusetts Interstate Low-Level Radioactive Waste Management Commission. The Commission shall consist of members from each party state to be appointed according to the procedures of each party state, except that a host state shall have m…

(a) The Commission shall, after consultation with host states adopt by rule, maintain, and implement a regional low-level waste management plan to provide for safe and efficient management with the region. The plan shall be annually reviewed and revised by rule, as necessary, eve…

(a) Nothing in this compact shall be construed to abrogate or limit the regulatory responsibility or authority of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the U.S. Department of Transportation, the U.S. Department of Energy, any other federal agency, or any Agreement State under S…

(a) The states initially eligible to become parties to this compact shall include Rhode Island. Initial eligibility shall expire December 31, 1986. (b) Each state eligible to become a party state to this compact shall be a party state upon enactment of this compact into law by th…

Primary responsibility for enforcing the provisions of this compact shall rest with the affected state or states. Each party state, consistent with federal and host state regulations and laws, shall adopt and enforce laws imposing penalties on any person, not acting as an officia…

When used in this chapter, the following words shall have the following meanings: (1) “Director” means the director of health or his or her duly appointed agents. (2) “Food-service establishment” means any fixed or mobile restaurant; coffee shop; cafeteria; short-order cafe; lunc…

(a) The director shall require food-service establishments to post in conspicuous locations diagrams and illustrations that demonstrate non-instrumental choke-saving techniques. (b) Choke-saving and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) masks and gloves to protect rescuers shall be…

Any person violating the provisions of § 23-20.5-2 shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and for each offense shall be fined not more than fifty dollars ($50.00).

This chapter shall be known as the “Smoking Restrictions in Schools Act”.

If any provision of this chapter or its application to any person or circumstances is held invalid in a court test, this invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of the chapter, which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to thi…

Nothing contained in this chapter shall be construed to restrict the power or authority of any Rhode Island city, town or other legal subdivision to adopt and enforce additional local laws, ordinances, or regulations that comply with at least the minimal applicable standards to e…

(a) It has been determined that smoking is the leading cause of preventable death and disease in this country. More people die from cigarette smoking and related illnesses each year than die from alcohol, traffic accidents, cocaine and heroin, AIDS, murder, and suicide combined. …

As tobacco now kills over four hundred and thirty-four thousand (434,000) people in the United States each year, it is the intent of this health legislation to eliminate the exposure of children attending school, and other persons working in schools, to the school-site health haz…

As used in this chapter: (1) “Electronic nicotine-delivery system usage” means any vaping, inhaling, or use of any device defined in § 11-9-13.4. (2) “Governing body” means the body, board, committee or individual, or its designated agent(s) or designee(s), responsible for, or wh…

(a) The governing body of each school in Rhode Island shall be responsible for the development of enforcement procedures to prohibit tobacco product usage and electronic nicotine-delivery system usage by any person utilizing school facilities. All facilities used by a school, whe…

The governing body of each school in Rhode Island shall devise and implement a plan to provide smoking cessation programs for all employees who smoke and work with its jurisdiction. The programs shall be implemented at a central location within the geographic area under the juris…

(a) The Rhode Island department of health, having received a written and signed letter of complaint from a person, whose identity shall remain confidential, citing a school’s violation of this chapter, shall enforce this entire chapter against violations by the following actions:…

The prohibitions of this chapter shall not apply to the use of a tobacco product if used as part of a limited classroom demonstration to show the health hazards of tobacco.

For the purposes of this chapter, the following definitions apply: (1) “Bathing beach” shall mean any area or tract of land, which is used in connection with swimming and/or bathing in any waters of the state except that land contiguous to the Atlantic Ocean provided: (i) It is o…

No person shall maintain within this state any bathing beach until that person shall have obtained a license therefore from the department to operate a recreational facility consistent with chapter 21 of this title.

The department shall enforce the provisions of this chapter and the regulations adopted in accordance with this chapter and prosecute all persons guilty of violation of this chapter or regulations adopted in accordance with it and/or suspend and/or revoke their licenses. In all t…

No person shall interfere with or obstruct the entrance of the director to any structure, vessel, vehicle, or other premises or use in the discharge of the director’s official duties in connection with the enforcement of this chapter or the regulations adopted in accordance there…

The department is hereby authorized and empowered to adopt and prescribe rules and regulations and from time to time amend, change, and/or repeal such rules and regulations and make such orders and perform such actions as are necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter.

(a) The department shall adopt minimum sanitation standards for pathogens and/or pathogen indicators present in the bathing water, consistent with §§ 23-1-17 and 23-1-18, in order to protect the public from illnesses associated with swimming in contaminated bathing waters. This m…

To minimize the human health risk associated with swimming in contaminated bathing waters; the department shall require all bathing beach operators to test bathing waters adjacent to their bathing beach for pathogens and/or pathogen indicators established under this chapter and a…

The department shall order closed, any bathing beach where it is established that the following or other conditions pose an imminent threat to public health. The bathing beach shall remain closed until the department determines the bathing water no longer poses an unacceptable ri…

Beaches that do not meet standards for licensure are exempt from the requirements of this chapter. Exempt beaches include rights of way, public access points, and beaches for which there is no charge for use with a daily user population of fewer than fifty (50) bathers. Beaches c…

When used in this chapter: (1) “Adequate” means that which is needed to accomplish the intended purpose in keeping with good public health practice. (2) “CCAP” means the child care assistance program administered by the Rhode Island department of human services. (3) “Day camp” me…

To be eligible for the issuance or renewal of a youth camp license, the camp shall satisfy the following requirements: (1) The location of the camp shall be such as to provide adequate potable water and afford facilities for obtaining readily available potable water; (2) Each dwe…

The department shall inspect or cause to be inspected the facilities to be operated by an applicant for an original license before the license shall be granted and shall annually thereafter inspect or cause to be inspected the facilities of all licensees.

The department shall promulgate rules and regulations deemed necessary to implement the purposes of this chapter.

(a) The department of environmental management is authorized and empowered to adopt and prescribe rules of procedure and regulations and to amend, change, and/or repeal these rules and regulations and make any orders and perform any actions that it may deem necessary to the prope…

The director of the department of environmental management or a person designated by him or her and acting in his or her behalf is authorized to designate certain water areas within the state where surfboarding shall be prohibited and to make any rules and regulations that shall …

All cities and towns that own or maintain public beaches and swimming areas shall be fully responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of that beach or swimming area, and for the upkeep and maintenance of all toilet facilities at these areas, and are required to furnish qualified …

All state and local police vehicles at all times shall maintain in the trunk area of those vehicles a lifesaving buoy and a minimum of one hundred fifty feet (150′) of rope.

Any facility subject to the provisions of this chapter which employs a lifeguard shall maintain and provide an area which is not exposed to sunlight and shall provide sunscreen or other physical protection to insure against overexposure to the sun.

(1) All cities and towns shall supply and maintain one hundred and fifty feet (150′) of rope and a lifesaving buoy at ponds and lakes located within their respective boundaries during the designated periods of time which swimming, boating or other recreational activities are auth…

It shall be the duty of the director of environmental management to enforce the provisions of this chapter and the regulations and orders adopted in accordance with this chapter to prosecute all persons guilty of any violation of this chapter.

No person shall interfere with or obstruct the entrance of the director of environmental management or his or her designated representative to any structure or any premise in the discharge of his or her official duties in connection with the enforcement of this chapter or the reg…