Title 42, Title 42 Affairs and Government

The term of office of each member shall be three (3) years. On June 1, 1967, the governor shall appoint three (3) members to serve until the first day of March, 1968, three (3) members to serve until the first day of March, 1969, and three (3) members to serve until the first day…

The members of the commission shall meet and annually elect one of their number as chairperson, another as vice-chairperson, and another as secretary. The chairperson shall be the chief executive officer of the commission. Five (5) members shall be necessary for any action taken …

(a) The chairperson may employ and, with the approval of the majority of the council on the arts, remove an executive director who shall employ any staff as required adequately to administer the programs of the council, upon approval of the council and within the limits of funds …

The duties of the commission shall be: (1) To stimulate and encourage throughout Rhode Island the study and presentation of the performing, visual, and environmental arts and public interest and participation therein; (2) To survey and assess the needs of the arts throughout Rhod…

The commission is authorized and empowered to hold public and private hearings, to enter into contracts, within the limit of funds available for these contracts, with individuals, organizations, and institutions for services furthering the objectives of the commission’s programs;…

The commission is the official agency of this state to receive and disburse any funds made available by the National Endowment for the Arts.

The new Rhode Island judicial complex to be located on Dorrance Street in the city of Providence, shall be named the “J. Joseph Garrahy Judicial Complex.”

There shall be a minority groups advisory commission to consist of nine (9) members, all of whom shall be members of minority groups; three (3) of whom shall be appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives; three (3) of whom shall be appointed by the senate president;…

The members shall be appointed for terms of three (3) years except that of the three (3) members originally appointed by each of the appointing authorities: one shall be appointed for a term of one year, one shall be appointed for a term of two (2) years and one for a term of thr…

There is created and established a state council to be known as the “Rhode Island cultural coordinating council,” hereinafter referred to as the “council.”

The council shall consist of the executive directors and chairpersons of the Rhode Island council on the arts, the Rhode Island historical preservation and heritage commission, the Rhode Island Historical Society, the Rhode Island committee for the humanities, the state archivist…

The purpose of the council shall be to provide a coordinating effort of all cultural activities of the various groups whose chairpersons and executive directors shall compose the council.

This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Prejudice and Bias Commission Act.”

(a) There is created the Rhode Island commission on prejudice and bias, hereinafter called the “commission.” (b) The commission shall consist of seventeen (17) members, each of whom shall serve a term of two (2) years, expiring on the first anniversary of each member’s appointmen…

The duties of the commission shall be to study all forms of prejudice, bias, or hatred in this state and to revise and codify, if possible, all laws relating to all forms of prejudice, bias, or hatred.

The commission is authorized and empowered to hold public and private hearings. The commission may request and shall receive from any department, division, board, bureau, commission, or agency of this state any assistance and data that will enable it to properly carry out its pow…

The commission shall prepare and submit a report of its activities to the governor, the speaker of the house of representatives, the president of the senate, and the attorney general on or before January 15 of each calendar year. The commission’s report shall include, but not be …

This chapter shall be known as the “State Archives and Historical Records Act.”

Every public officer who has public records in the public officer’s custody shall consult periodically with the state archivist together with the state auditor, and the attorney general, and those officers shall determine whether the records in question are permanent records. Tho…

(a) Those records deemed by the public officer having custody thereof to be unnecessary for the transaction of the business of the public officer's office and yet deemed by the public records administrator, attorney general, or the auditor general and the state archivist to be pe…

(a) [Deleted by P.L. 2022, ch. 127, § 1 and P.L. 2022, ch. 128, § 1.] (b) The attorney general, on behalf of the state and the division of state archives, may replevin any public records that were formerly part of the state of Rhode Island’s records. (c) The administrator is here…

(a) When any copy or reproduction, furnished under the terms hereof, is authenticated by the official seal and certified by the state archivist, the copy or reproduction shall be admitted in evidence equally with the original from which it was made. (b) The state archivist or any…

With respect to letters and other intellectual productions (exclusive of material copyrighted or patented) after they come into the custody or possession of the state archivist, neither the division, the state, nor its agents shall be liable for any infringement of literary prior…

The state archivist may charge a fee set to recover the costs for making or authenticating copies or reproductions of materials transferred to the state archivist’s custody. This fee shall be fixed by the secretary of state, at a level that will recover, so far as practicable, al…

(a) The secretary of state shall submit to the governor, the general assembly, and the state publications clearinghouse an annual report concerning the administration of functions of the state archivist and the division. The report may include a yearly preservation plan for addre…

It shall be the duty of each agency of the state and political subdivision thereof to: (1) Assist in the creation of record control schedules containing adequate and proper documentation of the organization, functions, policies, decisions, procedures, and essential transactions o…

Any officer or employee who violates the provisions of this chapter is guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000) or by imprisonment for not more than one year.

The invalidity of any section or part or portion of this chapter shall not affect the validity of the remaining sections or parts thereof.

For the purpose of this chapter: (1) “Agency” or “public body” means any executive, legislative, judicial, regulatory, administrative body of the state or any political subdivision thereof; including, but not limited to the leadership of the general assembly, chairperson in the h…

(a) There is hereby established a special fund to be known as the Rhode Island Historical Records Trust (hereinafter called Trust). (b) There is hereby imposed an additional assessment of four dollars ($4.00) for every instrument filed for recording pursuant to §§ 33-22-21 and 34…

(a) There shall be an establishment known as “the archives of the state of Rhode Island”, also referred to in this chapter as “the state archives” or “the division”. (b) The state archives shall be a division of the department of state, as mandated by § 42-8-19. (c) Except as pro…

(a) The chief administrative officer of the division shall be the state archivist. (b) The state archivist shall be appointed by the secretary of state: The state archivist shall be appointed based upon the professional qualifications required to perform the duties and responsibi…

(a) The state archivist under the direction of the secretary of state shall be responsible for the proper administration of permanent records, including public records with a minimum retention of twenty (20) years, possessing enduring value pursuant to § 38-3-6. It shall be the s…

(a) The secretary of state is authorized to select, appoint, and employ unclassified officers and employees, as are necessary to perform the functions of the state archivist and the division. (b) The secretary of state is authorized to obtain the services of experts and consultan…

(a) The state archivist, whenever it appears to the state archivist to be in the public interest, is hereby authorized: (1) To accept for deposit with the state archives the permanent records of any state or local agency, general officer, or of the general assembly; (2) To provid…

The division of state archives and every other custodian of public records shall carefully protect and preserve them from deterioration, mutilation, loss, or destruction and, whenever advisable, shall cause them to be properly repaired and restored.

The state archivist, in person or through a deputy, shall have the right of reasonable access to all public records in the state, or any public offices or general officers of the state or any city, municipality, district, or political subdivision thereof, and research, with a vie…

This chapter may be known and cited as the “Petroleum Allocation Act.”

(a) The general assembly finds that: (1) in the absence of mandatory allocation and price controls, and as a result of the unavailability of imports sufficient to satisfy Rhode Island’s energy needs, the state may unnecessarily experience shortages of residual fuel oil and refine…

For the purpose of this chapter: (1) “Liquid fossil fuel” means heating oils, light and heavy diesel oil, motor gasoline, propane, butane, residual fuel oils, kerosene, and aviation fuels. (2) “Prime supplier” means any individual, trustee, agency, partnership, association, corpo…

The governor, or the governor’s designee, shall promulgate any rules and regulations he or she deems essential to the development, implementation, and administration of a petroleum set-aside system and shall have the authority to establish that system. The petroleum set-aside sys…

Rules and regulations as promulgated under provisions of this chapter shall provide that: (1) A prime supplier inform the governor, or the governor’s designee, each month of the monthly volume of each product subject to fuel set-aside that is intended to be sold into the state di…

Any person who violates any provision of this chapter, or any rule or regulation issued pursuant thereto, shall be liable to the people of the state for a civil penalty in the amount of five hundred dollars ($500) for every violation.

Enforcement of the provisions of this chapter shall rest with the department of the attorney general which department shall bring action in any court of competent jurisdiction.

For the purpose of this chapter, the following words shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section: (1) “Document” means a gubernatorial proclamation or executive order and an order, regulation, rule, certificate, license, or similar instrument, issued, prescribed, or …

The secretary of state is charged with the custody and with the prompt and uniform printing and distribution of the documents required or authorized to be published by this chapter.