AN ACT RELATING TO MOTOR AND OTHER VEHICLES -- COMPREHENSIVE COMMUNITY-- POLICE RELATIONSHIP ACT OF 2015 (Amends the comprehensive community-police relationship act of 2015 to require an annual study by an outside agency chosen by the department.)

H7353

2026 -- H 7353
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STATE OF RHODE ISLAND
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2026
____________
A N A C T
RELATING TO MOTOR AND OTHER VEHICLES -- COMPREHENSIVE COMMUNITY--
POLICE RELATIONSHIP ACT OF 2015

Introduced By:
Representatives Ajello, Morales, Cruz, Stewart, Felix, Batista, Biah,
Knight, Alzate, and Diaz

Date Introduced:
January 28, 2026

Referred To:
House Judiciary
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
1
SECTION 1. Sections 31-21.2-6 and 31-21.2-7 of the General Laws in Chapter 31-21.2
2
entitled "Comprehensive Community-Police Relationship Act of 2015" are hereby amended to read
3
as follows:
4

31-21.2-6.
Continued data collection
Data collection.
5

(a) The office of highway safety of the Rhode Island department of transportation or a
6
designee to be chosen by the department of transportation by January 1, 2017, is authorized to and
7
shall conduct a study of routine traffic stops by the Rhode Island state police and each municipal
8
police department in order to determine whether racial disparities in traffic stops exist, and to
9
examine whether searches of vehicles and motorists are being conducted in a disparate manner.
10

(b)
(a)
The office of highway safety of the Rhode Island department of transportation or its
11
designee shall, no later than January 1,
2016

2027
, develop a form or electronic equivalent to be
12
used by each police officer when making a traffic stop
and/or search
to record the data required
13
under this chapter, which form shall include for each motor vehicle stop
and/or search
,
the race and
14
ethnicity of the driver based on the officer’s perception, and the information listed in § 31-21.1-4.

15
the following data:
16

(1) The date, time and general location of the traffic stop;
17

(2) The race and ethnicity, gender, and approximate age of the driver stopped; provided
18
that, the identification of these characteristics shall be based on the observation and perception of

1
the police officer making the stop and the information shall not be requested of the person stopped;
2

(3) The reason for the stop;
3

(4) Whether a search was instituted as a result of the stop;
4

(5) The scope of any search conducted;
5

(6) Whether the search was conducted pursuant to consent, probable cause, or reasonable
6
suspicion to suspect a crime;
7

(7) Whether any contraband, including money, was seized in the course of the search, and
8
if so, the nature of the contraband;
9

(8) Whether any warning or citation was issued as a result of the stop;
10

(9) Whether an arrest was made as a result of either the stop or the search;
11

(10) The approximate duration of the stop; and
12

(11) Whether the vehicle is registered in Rhode Island or out of the state.
13

(b) For those motor vehicle stops or searches where a citation was issued or an arrest was
14
made, the data collection form shall include a citation or arrest number. It shall also include the
15
name or badge number of the officer completing the form; provided, however, that the name and
16
the badge number of the officer shall not be public.
17
(c) The office of highway safety of the Rhode Island department of transportation or its
18
designee shall advise the Rhode Island state police and each municipal police department of the
19
date that data collection shall commence. Data collection shall begin not later than January 1,
2016

20
2027
, but may begin prior to that time upon notification to police departments from the office of
21
highway safety of the Rhode Island department of transportation or its designee.
22
(d) A traffic stop
and search
data collection card or electronic equivalent shall be completed
23
for each routine traffic stop
and/or searched
by the Rhode Island state police and
each
municipal
24
police department during the term of this study.
25
(e) Upon commencement of data collection, and monthly thereafter, each municipal police
26
department and the Rhode Island state police shall transmit to the office of highway safety of the
27
Rhode Island department of transportation or its designee all forms or electronic data collected to
28
date of motorists who were stopped
and/or searched
, and any other information the police
29
department or the Rhode Island state police deem appropriate.
Data collection shall continue for
30
forty-eight (48) months following commencement of data collection.
31

(f) Within ninety (90) days of the effective date of this section, each municipal department
32
and the Rhode Island state police shall transmit all traffic stop and search data collected between
33
July 1, 2024 and June 30, 2027, for analysis in the annual study required by § 31-21.2-10.
34

(f)
(g)
Appropriate funding
may

shall
be made available to implement the
provision

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1
provisions
of this chapter and completion of
this

the annual
study shall be contingent upon such
2
funding.
Additional funding may be made available to the advisory committee established by § 31-
3
21.2-13 to assist police departments, community groups and others in training, research, and
4
community outreach to further the goals of this chapter.
5

(g) The study shall include a multivariate analysis of the collected data in accordance with
6
general statistical standards and shall be substantially similar to the study prepared pursuant to
7
chapter 21.1 of this title. The study shall be prepared by an organization, company, person, or other
8
entity with sufficient expertise in the field of statistics and the study of traffic stop data collection
9
to assist with the implementation of this chapter, and chosen by the office of highway safety of the
10
Rhode Island department of transportation or its designee. The study shall be released on an annual
11
basis, with the first release not later than eighteen (18) months after commencement of data
12
collection under this chapter. The report, findings, and conclusions submitted pursuant to this
13
subsection shall be a public record.
14

(h) The office of highway safety of the Rhode Island department of transportation, or its
15
designee, shall be exempt from the provisions of chapter 2 of title 37 in connection with its
16
procurement of equipment and services necessary to the implementation of this chapter.
17

(i) On a quarterly basis, a summary report of the monthly data provided by each police
18
department and the state police for that quarterly period shall be issued. The report shall be a public
19
record. The summary report shall include, at a minimum, a monthly breakdown by race, age,
20
gender, and outcome for operators for each police department of the number of traffic stops made
21
and of searches conducted. For those police departments collecting data through the use of mobile
22
display terminals in police vehicles, the report shall also include a breakdown by race and outcome
23
for operators. The report shall be released not more than ninety (90) days after the end of each
24
quarterly period. No information revealing the identity of any individual shall be contained in the
25
report.
26

(j) Every law enforcement agency collecting data pursuant to this chapter shall ensure that
27
supervisory personnel review each officer’s stop and search documentation and data results on a
28
monthly basis to ensure compliance with all policies, prohibitions, and documentation
29
requirements.
30

(k) The head of every law enforcement agency subject to this chapter, or his or her
31
designee, shall review the data on a regular basis in an effort to determine whether any racial
32
disparities in the agency’s traffic stops enforcement exists, and to appropriately respond to any such
33
disparities. It is understood that disparities may or may not equate to racial profiling.
34

(l) An organization chartered for the purpose of combating discrimination, racism, or of

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1
safeguarding civil liberties, or of promoting full, free, or equal employment opportunities, and/or a
2
governmental or quasi-governmental entity may seek appropriate relief in a civil action against any
3
police department for failing to collect or transmit the data required in this chapter, and may be
4
awarded its costs, including attorney’s fees, for bringing such an action. As a condition precedent
5
to the filing of a civil action by an organization under this section, the organization shall send a
6
notice to the office of highway safety of the Rhode Island department of transportation or its
7
designee identifying the police department which is failing to collect or transmit the data and the
8
organization shall then allow fifteen (15) days to elapse.
9

(m)
(i)
The office of highway safety of the Rhode Island department of transportation or its
10
designee shall consult with
community, police and civil rights representatives

the comprehensive
11
community police relationship act (CCPRA) advisory committee established pursuant to § 31-21.2-
12
13

in the development of the form required by subsection (b) and
on at least a quarterly basis shall
13
consult on other issues that arise relating to the implementation and enforcement of this chapter
14
including the information generated by the issuance of the reports required by
subsection (i)

this
15
chapter
.
16

31-21.2-7.
Data collection and use
Data use and enforcement.
17
(a) Data acquired under this chapter shall not be used in any civil proceeding to establish
18
or rebut an inference of discrimination except by court order or when otherwise admissible in
19
accordance with rules of civil procedure. It is understood that disparities may or may not equate to
20
racial profiling.
21

(b)
All data collected
and the reports and studies compiled
pursuant to this chapter shall be
22
public
, except information identifying any specific law enforcement officer
.
For those motor
23
vehicle stops where a citation was issued or an arrest was made, the forms prepared pursuant to §
24
31-21.2-6(b) of this chapter shall include a citation or arrest number for reference. The data
25
collection form shall not include the name or badge number of the officer completing the form. The
26
report from the department of transportation or its designee shall not be officer specific.
27

(b)
(c)
Any police officer who in good faith records traffic stop
or search
information
28
pursuant to the requirements of this chapter shall not be held civilly liable for the act of recording
29
the information unless the officer’s conduct was reckless.
30

(c)
(d)

All police departments shall submit to the office of highway safety of the department
31
of transportation, or its designee, on an annual basis beginning on July 15, 2016, and for four (4)
32
years following the conclusion of data collection, a report indicating what action, if any, has been
33
taken, to address any racial disparities in traffic stops and/or searches documented in the studies
34
authorized by §§ 31-21.1-4 and 31-21.2-6, and to otherwise implement any recommendations of

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those studies, including, but not limited to, any changes to agency policies; revisions to traffic
2
enforcement practices; detailed analysis and review of traffic stop data and the results of such
3
review; or the initiation of any disciplinary action. Any reference to disciplinary action shall not
4
identify the officer.
The office of highway safety of the department of transportation or its designee
,
5
in consultation with the CCPRA advisory committee,
shall issue guidelines for police departments
6
to follow in preparing
these reports

the annual reports required by § 31-21.2-12, including
7
establishing a form for the certification of compliance to be verified under oath
.
The reports shall
8
be public records and shall contain a certification that the department has complied with § 31-21.2-
9
6(j) and (k).
10

(d) Every twelve (12) months, each state and municipal law enforcement agency shall
11
submit to the office of highway safety of the Rhode Island department of transportation, or its
12
designee, on a brief form prepared by that office, or its designee, information summarizing what,
13
if any, actions were taken by the agency in response to any racial disparities documented in the
14
previous reports issued pursuant to § 31-21.2-6(i). The summary shall include, but not be limited
15
to: any changes to agency policies; revisions to traffic enforcement practices; detailed analysis and
16
review of traffic stop data and the results of such review; or the initiation of any disciplinary action.
17
Any references to disciplinary action shall not identify the officer. The forms shall be public
18
records, and shall contain a certification that the department has complied with § 31-21.2-6(j) and
19
(k).
20

(e) An organization chartered for the purpose of combating discrimination, racism, or of
21
safeguarding civil liberties, or of promoting full, free, or equal employment opportunities, and/or a
22
governmental or quasi-governmental entity may seek appropriate relief in a civil action against any
23
police department for failing to collect or transmit the data required in this chapter, or for failing to
24
comply with the other requirements of this chapter, and may be awarded its costs, including
25
attorney's fees, for bringing such an action. As a condition precedent to the filing of a civil action
26
by an organization under this section, the organization shall send a notice to the office of highway
27
safety of the Rhode Island department of transportation or its designee identifying the police
28
department which is failing to collect or transmit the data and the organization shall then allow
29
fifteen (15) days to elapse before filing a civil action.
30
SECTION 2. Chapter 31-21.2 of the General Laws entitled "Comprehensive Community-
31
Police Relationship Act of 2015" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following sections:
32

31-21.2-9. Quarterly data reports by office of highway safety.

33

(a) On a quarterly basis, a summary report of the monthly data provided by each police
34
department and the state police for that quarterly period shall be issued by the office of highway

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1
safety of the Rhode Island department of transportation or its designee. The summary report shall
2
include, at a minimum, a monthly breakdown by race, age, gender, and outcome for operators for
3
each police department of the number of traffic stops made and of searches conducted. For those
4
police departments collecting data through the use of mobile display terminals in police vehicles,
5
the report shall also include a breakdown by race and outcome for operators.
6

(b) The report shall be released not more than ninety (90) days after the end of each
7
quarterly period. No information revealing the identity of any individual shall be contained in the
8
report.
9

31-21.2-10. Annual study and data interface by office of highway safety.

10

(a) The office of highway safety of the Rhode Island department of transportation or a
11
designee to be chosen by the department of transportation shall, with input from the CCPRA
12
advisory committee, select an organization, company, person, or other entity with sufficient
13
expertise in the field of statistics, and expertise in the study of traffic stop and search data collection
14
and/or the study of data related to racial disparities to conduct an annual study.
15

(b) The study shall compile and examine data of routine traffic stops made and searches
16
conducted by the Rhode Island state police and each municipal police department in order to
17
determine whether racial disparities in traffic stops and searches exist, and to further examine
18
whether searches of vehicles and motorists are being conducted in a racially disparate manner. The
19
study shall include a multivariate analysis of the collected data in accordance with general statistical
20
standards, and may include an analysis of data at and above the eighty-five percent (85%)
21
confidence level. The study shall be substantially similar to the study prepared pursuant to chapter
22
21.1 of title 31, and may include a multi-year data analysis. The annual study shall not identify
23
specific officers.
24

(c) Appropriate funding shall be made available to implement the provisions of this chapter
25
and completion of the annual study shall be contingent upon such funding.
26

(d) On an annual basis, the office of highway safety of the Rhode Island department of
27
transportation or its designee shall present all data submitted in accordance with § 31-21.2-6 in an
28
online interface designed to enhance public interaction with the data. In providing a visual
29
presentation of the data, the interface shall allow for user-generated analysis of the stop and search
30
data points required to be collected pursuant to this chapter. The interface shall generate analyses
31
of the data such that the public may view the data by race or ethnicity in conjunction with any of
32
the data points collected, and shall allow users to view the data statewide and for individual
33
municipal law enforcement agencies both cumulatively and by year. Within one year of the
34
effective date of this section, the interface shall include all the annual data collected since the

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1
effective date of this chapter.
2

31-21.2-11. Monthly review.

3

(a) The head of every law enforcement agency collecting data pursuant to this chapter shall
4
regularly review the agency-wide data in an effort to determine whether any racial disparities in
5
the agency's traffic stops or searches exist, and to appropriately respond to any such disparities.
6

(b) The head of every law enforcement agency shall ensure that supervisory personnel have
7
conducted monthly verifications of each officer's stop and search documentation and officer
8
specific data results to verify compliance, or document any noncompliance, with all policies,
9
prohibitions, and documentation requirements. Such monthly verifications shall include whether a
10
review of an officer’s stop and search documentation and data results indicate the presence of racial
11
disparities.
12

31-21.2-12. Annual report by law enforcement agency heads.

13

(a) The head of every law enforcement agency shall submit a traffic stop and search report
14
which includes the information in § 31-21.2-11 to the office of highway safety of the department
15
of transportation, or its designee, and to the CCPRA advisory committee on an annual basis
16
beginning on July 1, 2027.
17

(b) The head of the agency shall submit as part of each annual report, a certification of
18
compliance with this section, documentation of monthly verifications, and a summary of any racial
19
disparities found through the review.
20

(c) Additionally, the annual report shall indicate what action, if any, has been taken, to
21
address any racial disparities in traffic stops and/or searches documented in each department’s
22
ongoing data collection and, in the study authorized by § 31-21.2-10, and to otherwise implement
23
any recommendations of the data collection and/or traffic studies, including, but not limited to:
24

(1) Any changes to agency policies;
25

(2) Revisions to traffic enforcement practices;
26

(3) Detailed analysis and review of traffic stop data and the results of such review;
27

(4) Steps taken to present the data and recommendations to the community;
28

(5) The initiation of any disciplinary action; and
29

(6) Where no remedial action has been taken in response to documented racial disparities,
30
an explanation for the department’s inaction.
31

(d) The annual report, including any reference to disciplinary action, shall not identify
32
specific officers.
33

31-21.2-13. Advisory committee -- Establishment -- Duties.

34

(a) The comprehensive community police relationship act (CCPRA) advisory committee

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1
is hereby established. The advisory committee shall consist of twelve (12) members:
2

(1) One of whom shall be appointed by the governor;
3

(2) One of whom shall be appointed by the senate president;
4

(3) One of whom shall be appointed by the speaker of the house;
5

(4) One of whom shall be the attorney general, or designee;
6

(5) One of whom shall be the public defender, or designee;
7

(6) One of whom shall be the director of the department of public safety, or designee;
8

(7) One of whom shall be the executive director of the Rhode Island Police Chiefs
9
Association, or designee;
10

(8) One of whom shall be the executive director of the Rhode Island commission for human
11
rights, or designee;
12

(9) One of whom shall be the executive director of Rhode Island for Community & Justice,
13
or designee or other organization chartered for the purpose of combating discrimination, racism or
14
of safeguarding civil liberties;
15

(10) One of whom shall be the president of the NAACP Providence branch, or designee;
16
and
17

(11) Two (2) of whom shall be community members appointed by the governor.
18

(b) The members of the advisory committee shall be appointed for terms of three (3) years;
19
provided, however, that with regard to the initial appointments, four (4) members shall be appointed
20
for terms of one year; four (4) members shall be appointed for a term of two (2) years; and four (4)
21
members shall be appointed for a term of three (3) years. Members may be reappointed, and their
22
appointments shall continue until their successors are appointed. A vacancy other than by
23
expiration shall be filled in the manner of the original appointment, but only for the unexpired
24
portion of the term.
25

(c) The members of the advisory committee shall receive no compensation.
26

(d) The governor’s appointee, in accordance with subsection(a)(1) of this section, shall be
27
the chairperson and a vice-chairperson and secretary shall be elected by the advisory committee
28
members annually. All officers of the advisory committee shall serve until their successors have
29
been duly appointed or elected.
30

(e) The advisory committee shall meet at least quarterly and at the call of the chairperson
31
of the committee.
32

(f) The advisory committee shall have the following purposes and duties:
33

(1) Advise the office of highway safety of the department of transportation or designee on
34
all matters pertaining to the duties and powers of the committee, including evaluating and making

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recommendations regarding plans, programs, and strategies relating to the CCPRA;
2

(2) Provide input to the office of highway safety of the department of transportation or
3
designee to choose an organization, company, person or entity to conduct an annual traffic stop and
4
search study;
5

(3) Advise the study consultant on the recommended design of each study;
6

(4) Consult with the office of highway safety of the department of transportation or
7
designee on guidelines for police departments to follow in preparing the reports required pursuant
8
to § 31-21.2-7(d);
9

(5) Receive, review and discuss each CCPRA study;
10

(6) Receive, review and discuss each law enforcement agency’s annual report required
11
pursuant to § 31-21.2-12(a);
12

(7) Consult with the CAD/RMS board of advisors, as established in § 42-28.10-2;
13

(8) Recommend appropriate assessments for the studies;
14

(9) Recommend policies for stops, searches and seizures;
15

(10) Recommend appropriate enforcement mechanisms to address any study results; and
16

(11) Promote the involvement and investment of the public in CCPRA research, the annual
17
studies, and the work of the CCPRA advisory committee.
18

(g) The office of highway safety of the department of transportation, or designee, in
19
conjunction with the department of administration, shall provide space and secretarial services to
20
the advisory committee without charge to the committee.
21
SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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EXPLANATION
BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
OF
A N A C T
RELATING TO MOTOR AND OTHER VEHICLES -- COMPREHENSIVE COMMUNITY--
POLICE RELATIONSHIP ACT OF 2015
***
1
This act would amend the comprehensive community-police relationship act of 2015 to
2
require an annual study by an outside agency chosen by the department with input from the CCPRA
3
advisory committee on traffic stop and search data related to racial disparities and would require a
4
monthly review and annual reporting by law enforcement agencies statewide on the traffic stop and
5
search data. The act would also create a twelve (12) member CCPRA advisory committee to advise
6
the office of highway safety on all matters pertaining to the committee's duties relating to stop and
7
search data.
8
This act would take effect upon passage.
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