Title 22, Title 22 Assembly

The clerk of the judiciary committee, the clerk of the finance committee, the clerk of the corporations committee, the clerk of the special legislative committee, the clerk of the labor committee and the clerk of the health, education, and welfare committee of each house of the g…

The additional clerks of committees to serve the other committees of the senate under the direction of the clerk of the senate and the clerks of the committees of the house under the direction of the reading clerk of the house, the “roving clerks,” so-called, shall each receive a…

The head doorkeepers of the senate and the house of representatives shall each receive a sum in full payment for all services rendered at any regular session of the general assembly as determined and set by the joint committee on legislative services. The assistant doorkeepers of…

The pages of the senate and the house of representatives, with the exception of the head pages of the senate and the house of representatives, and the assistant head page of the house of representatives, shall each receive a sum in full payment for all services rendered at any re…

The joint committee on accounts and claims, previously created under joint rules of the senate and the house of representatives, shall consist of four (4) members of the senate to be appointed by the president of the senate and five (5) members of the house of representatives to …

Upon organization of the joint committee, by majority vote, one of their number shall be chosen as chairperson and another of their number shall be chosen vice-chairperson, and, by like vote, they shall choose a clerk, who shall not be one of their own number.

Vacancies in the membership of the joint committee shall be filled in a like manner as the original appointment.

It shall be the first duty of the joint committee to investigate all claims against the state coming before it for determination.

It shall be the further duty of the joint committee to exhaust all possibility of adjustment and compromise of valid claims before hearing on them. To this end, the claimant on the one hand and the state, acting through the department, division, bureau, or other state agency havi…

Each branch of the legislature shall refer to the joint committee created in this chapter all resolutions for the payment of sundry accounts presented to it while in session, and the joint committee shall immediately report its findings when in favor of the claimant to the branch…

The clerk of the joint committee shall receive a sum per annum as determined and set by the joint committee on legislative services.

Adequate space shall be provided in the state house for the use of the joint committee in the performance of its duties, but the joint committee may hold its meetings and conduct its hearings elsewhere when doing so will better serve the convenience of claimants or the committee.…

There is created a legislative council of seven (7) members for the purpose of obtaining information on the operation of the state government and of making a study of legislative problems. It shall be the function of the legislative council: (1) To collect factual information and…

The legislative council shall consist of three (3) senators and four (4) representatives. At the January session of the general assembly in each odd-numbered year the president of the senate shall designate three (3) senators, not more than two (2) of whom shall be members of the…

Within two (2) weeks after their designation and appointment, the legislative council shall meet and at this first meeting shall choose a chairperson and a vice-chairperson and may appoint a director of research to perform any duties that the legislative council may designate. Th…

Every person who, not authorized to do so, shall use or misuse the legislative council stamp which is affixed to the explanation portion of legislation or the bill itself or shall cause to make any notation in any manner whatsoever on the explanation portion of legislation or the…

Whenever any petition presented to either house of the general assembly shall affect the right or interest of any person other than the petitioner, the petition shall be continued to the time as may be ordered by the house in which it is presented, and notice of the pendency of t…

Whenever any bill shall be presented to either house of the general assembly to create a corporation which shall be authorized to exercise the right to eminent domain, or which shall have the right to acquire franchises in the streets and highways of any city or town, notice of t…

There is created a permanent joint committee on legislative services consisting of the president and the minority leader of the senate, the majority and minority leaders from the house of representatives, and the speaker of the house of representatives. The members of the committ…

The speaker of the house of representatives shall serve as chairperson of the joint committee and the president of the senate shall serve as vice-chairperson.

(a) It shall be exclusively the responsibility of the joint committee to act upon all administrative matters affecting the operation of the general assembly, including, but not limited to: (1) The preparation of the legislative payrolls; (2) The preparation of requests for the an…

(a) The joint committee on legislative services is authorized and empowered to adopt any rules and regulations that are deemed necessary to accomplish the purposes of this chapter, a copy of which rules and regulations shall be filed with the secretary of state and available for …

The joint committee on legislative services is authorized and empowered to appoint a law revision director in charge of law revision, who shall perform the duties as the joint committee on legislative services may prescribe in relation to law revision.

The joint committee on legislative services shall, at the end of each session of the general assembly, cause to be published, with a proper index, a number of copies of the public laws not exceeding three thousand (3,000) that shall have been passed during the session, as compile…

(a) In addition to other duties assigned to the law revision director, he or she shall rearrange, rephrase, and consolidate the public laws and acts and resolves of the general assembly so that redundancies may be avoided, obsolete enactments eliminated, contradictions reconciled…

The law revision director is authorized and empowered to amend statutes for the purpose of making statutory language gender neutral.

To accomplish the purposes of this chapter, the joint committee is authorized to employ a chief legislative clerk and any other legislative assistants, including clerical assistants, that it deems necessary, and to fix the rates of compensation of these employees.

The permanent joint committee on legislative services shall be provided with suitable offices in the state house for its staff.

The general assembly shall annually appropriate the sum as shall be necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter.

All bills and resolutions having an effect on the revenues, expenditures, or fiscal liability of the state, which can be calculated with reasonable accuracy, excepting appropriation measures carrying specific dollar amounts, shall be accompanied by a brief explanatory statement o…

Whenever a state department or agency proposes to adopt administrative rules in accordance with the provisions of chapter 35 of title 42, which rules affect the state or any city or town financially, the proposed rules shall be accompanied by a fiscal note. The budget officer sha…

Fiscal notes shall, wherever possible, cite effect in dollar amounts for the current fiscal year and estimates for the next two (2) succeeding fiscal years. No comment or opinion relative to the merits of the bill shall be included, excepting however that technical or mechanical …

(a) Fiscal notes shall only be requested by the chairperson of the house or senate finance committee upon being notified by another committee chairperson, the sponsor of the bill or resolution, or in the case of bills or resolutions affecting cities or towns, by the Rhode Island …

(a) Fiscal notes shall be returned to the chairperson of the committee having the bill or resolution under consideration and to the person making the request within ten (10) calendar days of when the request was made. All completed fiscal notes received by committee in compliance…

Whenever a bill or resolution, requiring a fiscal note as set forth in § 22-12-2, affects a city or town financially and the affected city or town fails to supply the necessary financial information or fails to cooperate with the agency or entity, as set forth in § 22-12-3, compi…

(a) The auditor general shall be appointed by the joint committee on legislative services, referred to in this chapter as “the committee.” At the time of appointment, the auditor general shall have had active experience in general accounting principles and practices in this state…

(a) The general assembly recognizes that the security of government computer systems is essential to ensuring the stability and integrity of vital information gathered and stored by government for the benefit of the citizenry and the breach of security over computer systems prese…

Failure on the part of the auditor general to perform the mandatory duties under the direction of the committee shall constitute cause for termination of appointment. The appointment of the auditor general may be terminated at any time by a majority vote of the joint committee on…

(a) The expenses of the members of the committee shall be approved by the chairperson of the committee and paid from the appropriation for legislative expense. (b) The auditor general shall prepare and annually submit to the committee a proposed budget for the ensuing fiscal year…

(a) The following words and phrases have the following meanings unless a different meaning is required by the context: (1) “Performance audit” means an examination of the effectiveness of administration and its efficiency and adequacy in terms of the program of the state agency a…

Every state agency is directed to forward a copy of any audits and consultant reports to the auditor general within fifteen (15) days after the receipt of those documents.

(a) Every state department and agency which contemplates securing the services of an independent accounting firm to perform an audit of a federal assistance grant program shall first request the written approval of the auditor general. (b) The request to the auditor general shall…

A patient’s confidential health care information shall be released or transferred without the written consent of the patient or the patient’s authorized representative to the auditor general or his or her designated representative for the purpose of conducting financial audits, m…

Departments and agencies as defined in P.L. 1983, ch. 2, art. 1, § 1, shall meet at least monthly and shall submit a report on a monthly basis to the auditor general, which report shall contain any information that the auditor general shall deem necessary to determine the actual …

(a) Whenever a public agency goes into executive session, the auditor general or his or her designated representative shall be permitted to attend the executive session or if the auditor general or his or her designee is not in attendance at the executive session, the auditor gen…

(a) There is established an oversight commission empowered to conduct evaluations and reviews of statutes, statutory entities, and associated rules and regulations. The review or evaluation shall include, but not be limited to, the following as its objectives: (1) The elimination…