AN ACT RELATING TO STATUTES AND STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION -- EFFECT OF GENERAL LAWS (Directs the office of law revision to identify, on a yearly basis, any decisions or holding of the United States Supreme Court that would require amendments to any state statutes.)

H7288

2026 -- H 7288
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LC004314
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STATE OF RHODE ISLAND
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2026
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A N A C T
RELATING TO STATUTES AND STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION -- EFFECT OF
GENERAL LAWS

Introduced By:
Representatives Place, Cruz, J. Lombardi, Paplauskas, Quattrocchi,
Santucci, Newberry, Fascia, Felix, and J. Brien

Date Introduced:
January 23, 2026

Referred To:
House Judiciary
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
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SECTION 1. Section 43-4-18 of the General Laws in Chapter 43-4 entitled "Effect of
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General Laws" is hereby amended to read as follows:
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43-4-18. Enactment of supplemental reenactments by the law revision director.
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(a) The office of law revision of the joint committee on legislative services is authorized to
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annually reenact specific titles of the general laws which shall be amendatory to the general laws
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of Rhode Island, 1956, as amended, for the purposes specified in § 22-11-3.4. Substantive changes
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contained in the reenactment of these titles shall be annually brought to the attention of the general
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assembly in a “Statutes and Statutory Construction” bill, prepared by the law revision office, for
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general assembly approval or disapproval.
The office of law revision shall also identify, on a yearly
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basis, any United States Supreme Court decisions or rulings that would require amendments to any
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state statutes or general laws, and shall so inform each chamber of those decisions or rulings.
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(b) The reenacted sections of the general laws shall be construed as continuations of
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previously enacted public laws and all rights and remedies remain in effect as defined in this
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chapter.
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(c) In case of any conflict between an act passed at an annual or special session of the
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general assembly and an amendment adopted as a part of a reenactment or the “Statutes and
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Statutory Construction” bill referred to in subsection (a) of this section, the former shall be
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controlling regardless of respective dates of passage or approval.

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(d) The provisions in titles that have been amended and corrected as “reenactments” shall
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take effect and go into operation on and after December 31 of the calendar year of their reenactment.
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(e) The enactment of this section and the repeal of sections in chapter 4 of title 43 adopted
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prior to the date of enactment of this chapter of the public laws shall not act as a repeal of those
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chapters of the public laws which have been adopted to reenact the general laws.
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(f) Any subsequent reenactments shall be recorded in the history of this section.
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(g) In any reenactment, the word “text” as used in the general laws does not include: (1)
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printer’s reference lines appearing at the top or bottom of any galley proof; (2) title or chapter
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heading (except the numbers of said titles and chapters); (3) tables of contents appearing at the
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beginning of the titles and chapters; or (4) boldface captions appearing at the beginning of sections
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(except the numbers of said sections), except insofar as the title or chapter headings or boldface
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captions are necessary for clarification of any statutory text.
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SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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LC004314
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EXPLANATION
BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
OF
A N A C T
RELATING TO STATUTES AND STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION -- EFFECT OF
GENERAL LAWS
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This act would direct the office of law revision to identify, on a yearly basis, any decisions
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or holding of the United States Supreme Court that would require amendments to any state statutes.
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This act would take effect upon passage.
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LC004314
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