AN ACT RELATING TO PROPERTY -- RHODE ISLAND COORDINATE SYSTEM (Updates the RI coordinate system to adopt the most recent system of plane coordinates established by the NGS, a federal agency which is part of NOAA and the USDC. Modifies the meter to foot conversion to adopt the international foot to provide uniformity.)

S2798

2026 -- S 2798
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LC005443
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STATE OF RHODE ISLAND
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2026
____________
A N A C T
RELATING TO PROPERTY -- RHODE ISLAND COORDINATE SYSTEM

Introduced By:
Senators Famiglietti, Thompson, Appollonio, and Dimitri

Date Introduced:
March 04, 2026

Referred To:
Senate Environment & Agriculture
(Dept, of Business Regulation)
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
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SECTION 1. The title of Chapter 34-8 of the General Laws entitled "Rhode Island
2
Coordinate System" is hereby amended to read as follows:
3
CHAPTER 34-8
4
Rhode Island Coordinate System
5
CHAPTER 34-8
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RHODE ISLAND STATE PLANE COORDINATE SYSTEM
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SECTION 2. Sections 34-8-1, 34-8-2, 34-8-3, 34-8-7, 34-8-9 and 34-8-10 of the General
8
Laws in Chapter 34-8 entitled "Rhode Island Coordinate System" are hereby amended to read as
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follows:
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34-8-1.
Adoption of ocean and geodetic survey systems.
Adoption of the national
11
geodetic survey’s state plane coordinate systems.
12

The two (2) systems

Rhode Island shall adopt the most recent system
of plane coordinates
13
which have
, known as the State Plane Coordinate System, that has
been established by the
national
14
ocean/
national geodetic survey, or its successors, for defining and stating the geographic positions
15
or locations of points on the surface of the earth within the state
are hereafter to be known and
16
designated

State of Rhode Island
as the
“Rhode Island State Plane Coordinate System.”
17

Previous versions of these systems include the
“Rhode Island coordinate system of 1927”
18
and the “Rhode Island coordinate system of 1983”.
19

34-8-2.
Use of term in documents.
Definitions.

1

As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
2

(1) “Board” means the board of registration for professional land surveyors as established
3
by chapter 8.1 of title 5.
4

(2) “National Geodetic Survey” or “NGS” means the subdivision of NOAA’s National
5
Ocean Service, or its successors, which provides the framework for all positioning activities in the
6
US.
7

(3) “NOAA” means the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, of the US
8
Department of Commerce.
9

(4) “National Spatial Reference System” or “NSRS” means a consistent coordinate system
10
maintained by the NGS to determine latitude, longitude, height, scale, gravity, and orientation
11
through the U.S.
12

(5) “Rhode Island state plane coordinate system” or “RISPCS” means the most recent
13
system of plane coordinates known as the “State Plane Coordinate System” established by the
14
National Geodetic Survey, based on the National Spatial Reference System, for defining and stating
15
the geographic positions or locations of points within the State of Rhode Island. The terms “Rhode
16
Island coordinate system” and “Rhode Island plane coordinate system” are synonymous with the
17
term “Rhode Island state plane coordinate system.”
18

(6) Prior versions of the “Rhode Island coordinate systems,” collectively referred to as
19
“legacy systems” are defined as:
20

(i) “The Rhode Island coordinate system of 1927” means a transverse Mercator projection
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of the Clarke spheroid of 1866, having a central meridian 71° 30′ west of Greenwich, on which
22
meridian the scale is set at one part in one hundred sixty thousand (160,000) too small. The origin
23
of coordinates is at the intersection of the meridian 71° 30′ west of Greenwich and the parallel 41°
24
05′ north latitude. This origin is given the coordinates: x = 500,000 feet and y = 0 feet.
25

(ii) “The Rhode Island coordinate system of 1983” means a transverse Mercator projection
26
of the North American datum of 1983 having a central meridian 71° 30′ west of Greenwich, on
27
which meridian the scale is set at one part in one hundred sixty thousand (160,000) too small. The
28
origin of coordinates is at the intersection of the meridian 71° 30′ west of Greenwich and the parallel
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41° 05′ north latitude. This origin is given the coordinates: x = 100,000 meters, and y = 0 meters.
30

(iii)
The use of the term “Rhode Island coordinate system of 1927” or “Rhode Island
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coordinate system of 1983” on any map, report of survey, or other document, shall be limited to
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coordinates based on the Rhode Island coordinate system as defined in this chapter.
33

(7) “State plane coordinate system” means the most recent system of plane coordinates
34
established by the National Geodetic Survey, based on the National Spatial Reference System, for

LC005443 - Page 2 of 6
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defining and stating the geographic positions or locations of points within the United States.
2

34-8-3. Location of point by coordinates.
3

(a)
The plane
coordinate values for

coordinates of
a point on the earth’s surface, to be used
4
to express

in expressing
the geographic position or location of
such

the
point on the Rhode Island
5
state plane
coordinate system, shall consist of two (2) distances, expressed in
:

6

(1) Meters and decimals of a meter, or international feet and decimals of an international
7
foot when using the Rhode Island state plane coordinate system;
8

(2) Meters and decimals of a meter when using the Rhode Island coordinate system of
9
1983; or
10

(3)
U. S. survey feet and decimals of a survey foot when using the Rhode Island coordinate
11
system of 1927
, and expressed in meters and decimals of a meter when using the Rhode Island
12
coordinate system of 1983
.
13

(b)
One of
these

the
distances
described in subsection (a) of this section
, to be known as
14
the “
east or
x-coordinate”, shall give the
position in an east and west direction

distance east of the
15
y-axis
; the other
distance
, to be known as the “
north or
y-coordinate”, shall give the
position in a
16
north and south direction

distance north of the x-axis
. These coordinates shall be made to depend
17
upon and conform to plane rectangular coordinate values for
the monumented
points
of the North
18
American horizontal geodetic control network

tied to the NSRS
as published by the
national ocean
19
survey/
national geodetic survey or its successors, and whose plane coordinates have been computed
20
on the systems defined in this chapter.
Any such station may be used for establishing a survey
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connection to either Rhode Island coordinate system set forth in § 34-8-1 of this chapter.
22

34-8-7. Reliance on system not required — Describing location of survey system or
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land boundary corner.
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(a) Nothing contained in this chapter shall require any purchaser or mortgagee of real
25
property to rely wholly on a land description, any part of which depends exclusively upon either
26
Rhode Island coordinate system.
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(b)
For purposes of describing the location of any survey station or land boundary corner
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in the state it shall be considered a complete, legal, and satisfactory description of such location to
29
give the position of the survey station or land boundary corner on the system of plane coordinates
30
defined in this chapter.

Coordinates based on any Rhode Island coordinate system defined in § 34-
31
8-2, purporting to define the position of a point on a land boundary, presented to be recorded in any
32
public land records or deed records shall conform with current standards and guidelines published
33
by NGS and shall be accompanied by a specific statement as to their basis and a description of the
34
survey method used to determine them on the record plat or description of the survey. Such

LC005443 - Page 3 of 6
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coordinate values shall not supersede the board of registration for professional land surveyors’ rules
2
for procedural and technical standards, as promulgated by the board through regulation, for the
3
actual establishment and location of the purported boundary.
4

34-8-9. Use of coordinate systems.
5

(a)
The Rhode Island coordinate system of 1927
may be

was
used up to and including
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December 31, 1989, but
shall
not
be used
thereafter.
7

(b)
The Rhode Island coordinate system of 1983 may be used up to
and including
8
December 31, 1989, and shall be the exclusive Rhode Island coordinate system thereafter.

the
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official release of the State Plane Coordinate System 2022 by the National Geodetic Survey.
10

(c) The Rhode Island state plane coordinate system shall be used for projects commenced
11
after the official release of the State Plane Coordinate System 2022 by the National Geodetic
12
Survey.
13

34-8-10. Meter-to-foot conversion.
14

(a) The international foot shall be used for all foot distances and coordinates unless the
15
distances or coordinates are tied to one of the legacy systems defined in § 34-8-2.
16

(1) One international foot equals .3048 meter exactly.
17

(b)
For purposes of this chapter
,
and for
purposes of
conversion between the
two (2)
18
systems set forth in § 34-8-1 of this chapter

legacy systems defined in § 34-8-2
, one meter equals
19
3.2808-⅓ survey feet.
20
SECTION 3. Sections 34-8-4 and 34-8-6 of the General Laws in Chapter 34-8 entitled
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"Rhode Island Coordinate System" are hereby repealed.
22

34-8-4. Technical definition of systems — Origin of coordinates.
23

(a) For purposes of more precisely defining the Rhode Island coordinate system of 1927,
24
the following definition by the national ocean survey/national geodetic survey is adopted:
25

The Rhode Island coordinate system of 1927 is a transverse Mercator projection of the
26
Clarke spheroid of 1866, having a central meridian 71° 30′ west of Greenwich, on which meridian
27
the scale is set at one part in one hundred sixty thousand (160,000) too small. The origin of
28
coordinates is at the intersection of the meridian 71° 30′ west of Greenwich and the parallel 41° 05′
29
north latitude. This origin is given the coordinates: x = 500,000 feet and y = 0 feet.
30

(b) For the purposes of more precisely defining the Rhode Island coordinate system of
31
1983, the following definition by the national ocean survey/national geodetic survey is adopted:
32

The Rhode Island coordinate system of 1983 is a transverse Mercator projection of the
33
North American datum of 1983 having a central meridian 71° 30′ west of Greenwich, on which
34
meridian the scale is set at one part in one hundred sixty thousand (160,000) too small. The origin

LC005443 - Page 4 of 6
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of coordinates is at the intersection of the meridian 71° 30′ west of Greenwich and the parallel 41°
2
05′ north latitude. This origin is given the coordinates: x = 100,000 meters, and y = 100,000 meters,
3
and y = 0 meters.
4

34-8-6. Proximity to established station required for use of coordinates in public
5
records.
6

No coordinates based on either Rhode Island coordinate system, purporting to define the
7
position of a point on land boundary, shall be presented to be recorded in any public land records
8
or deed records unless such point is within one kilometer of a monumented horizontal control
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station and unless minimum THIRD ORDER — class II procedures are used in conformity with
10
the standards of accuracy and specifications prepared and published by the federal geodetic control
11
committee established in conformity with the standards of accuracy and specifications for first —
12
or second-order geodetic surveying as prepared and published by the federal geodetic control
13
committee (FGCC) of the United States department of commerce. Standards and specifications of
14
the FGCC or its successor in force on date of the survey shall apply. The publishing of the existing
15
control stations, or the acceptance with intent to publish the newly established control stations, by
16
the national ocean survey/national geodetic survey will constitute evidence of adherence to the
17
FGCC specifications. Above limitations may be modified by the Rhode Island department of
18
transportation land surveying section to meet local conditions.
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SECTION 4. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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LC005443
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LC005443 - Page 5 of 6
EXPLANATION
BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
OF
A N A C T
RELATING TO PROPERTY -- RHODE ISLAND COORDINATE SYSTEM
***
1
This act would update the Rhode Island coordinate system to adopt the most recent system
2
of plane coordinates established by the National Geodetic Survey, a federal agency which is part
3
of NOAA and the US Department of Commerce, and would modify the meter to foot conversion
4
to adopt the international foot to provide national uniformity.
5
This act would take effect upon passage.
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LC005443
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LC005443 - Page 6 of 6