AN ACT RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES -- TRESPASS AND VANDALISM (Changes the community service requirements of a sentence related to the violation of § 11-44-21.1 relating to defacing private residences, offices, businesses or commercial property.)

S2058

2026 -- S 2058
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LC003462
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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 CRIMINAL OFFENSES -- TRESPASS AND VANDALISM

Introduced By:
Senators Tikoian, Raptakis, Ciccone, Appollonio, Paolino, Thompson,
Burke, McKenney, Famiglietti, and LaMountain

Date Introduced:
January 09, 2026

Referred To:
Senate Judiciary
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
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SECTION 1. Section 11-44-21.1 of the General Laws in Chapter 11-44 entitled "Trespass
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and Vandalism" is hereby amended to read as follows:
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11-44-21.1. Graffiti — Defacing private residences, offices, businesses or commercial
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property.
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(a)(1) Every person who shall willfully, maliciously or mischievously write upon, paint, or
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otherwise deface the private property or residence of another, any office building, business or
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commercial property or public building or public property, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, for
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the first and second offense, said penalty shall not exceed a one thousand dollars ($1,000) fine and
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community service not
less than forty (40) hours and not
exceeding
two

one
hundred
(200)

(100)

10
hours
cleaning and remediating graffiti vandalism on state or local properties
. Every person
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convicted of a third or subsequent offense under this section shall be guilty of a felony, subject to
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imprisonment not exceeding two (2) years, a fine of up to two thousand dollars ($2,000), and shall
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be required to perform
not less than forty (40) hours and not exceeding

up to
three hundred (300)
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hours of community service
cleaning and remediating graffiti vandalism on state or local properties
.
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The court, upon conviction or adjudication, shall order restitution to the victim in the amount of
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removal, repair, or replacement costs.
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(2) If the graffiti is positioned on an overpass or an underpass and requires that traffic be
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interfered with in order to remove it, or the entity responsible for the area in which the clean-up is
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to take place must provide assistance in order for the removal to take place safely, the court shall

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order an additional assessment of one thousand dollars ($1,000).
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(b) If the person is a minor, upon adjudication, in addition to the penalties in subsection
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(a):
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(1) The family court may, in addition to any other order or decree the court makes under
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this chapter, order the division of motor vehicles to:
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(i) Suspend the minor’s operator’s license; or
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(ii) Invalidate the minor’s learner’s permit; for one year beginning the date of the order.
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(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the family court may order the
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parent or legal guardian of any minor found to have committed the crime of graffiti, to submit
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restitution to the victim or victims of such graffiti by payment in money if the minor is in the
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custody of and residing with such parent or guardian, and if the family court finds, after hearing,
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that the graffiti was a direct result of the parent or legal guardian having neglected to exercise
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reasonable supervision and control of the minor’s conduct. For the purposes of this section, liability
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for compensation shall be limited to ten thousand dollars ($10,000).
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(3) If the person violates the family court’s order to submit restitution under this section,
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such person shall be guilty of contempt. The court may permit payments under this section to be
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made in installments, for a period of up to seven (7) years, to be administered by the court.
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SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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EXPLANATION
BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
OF
A N A C T
RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES -- TRESPASS AND VANDALISM
***
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This act would change the community service requirements of a sentence related to the
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violation of § 11-44-21.1 relating to defacing private residences, offices, businesses or commercial
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property.
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Every person convicted of a first and second offense under this section would be required
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to perform not less than forty (40) hours and not more than one hundred (100) hours cleaning and
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remediating graffiti vandalism on state or local properties.
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Every person convicted of a third or subsequent offense under this section would be
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required to perform not less than forty (40) hours and not more than three hundred (300) hours of
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community service cleaning and remediating graffiti vandalism on state or local properties.
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This act would take effect upon passage.
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