2014 -- H 7839

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LC004933

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2014

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO FISH AND WILDLIFE - GENERAL PROVISIONS

     Introduced By: Representative Arthur Handy

     Date Introduced: March 04, 2014

     Referred To: House Judiciary

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Section 20-1-8 of the General Laws in Chapter 20-1 entitled "General

Provisions" is hereby amended to read as follows:

     20-1-8. Enforcement powers of director and conservation officers. -- (a) The director,

and each conservation officer, shall have the power:

      (1) To enforce all laws, rules, and regulations of this state pertaining to:

      (i) Fish, wildlife, and all vertebrates, invertebrates, and plants;

      (ii) Fresh water wetlands, dams, and resources;

      (iii) Areas and activities subject to the jurisdiction of the coastal resources management

council;

      (iv) State parks, reservations, management areas, hatcheries, and game preserves, and

any law of the state within state parks, reservations, management areas, and game preserves lands

cooperatively managed, facilities that host official department events, and properties leased by the

department;

      (v) Solid and hazardous waste transportation, storage, and disposal and any other laws of

the state regarding solid and/or hazardous wastes;

      (vi) Boating safety, water safety, and drowning prevention;

      (vii) Water and air pollution and open burning;

      (viii) Firearms;

      (ix) Littering;

      (x) Trees and forests, forestry, and protection of forests from fire hazards and trespass;

and

      (xi) Agriculture, farmland, and pest control;

      (xii) All-terrain vehicles, as defined in subsection §31-3.2-1(8).

      (2) To issue summonses and to execute all warrants and search warrants for the violation

of the laws, rules, and regulations enumerated in subdivision §(a)(1) or (a)(9);

      (3) To serve subpoenas issued for the trial or hearing of all offenses against the law,

rules, and regulations enumerated in subdivision (a)(1) or (a)(9);

      (4) To arrest, without a warrant, any person found violating any law, rule, or regulation

enumerated in subdivision (a)(1), take that person before a court of competent jurisdiction, and

detain that person in custody at the expense of the state until arraignment, except when a

summons can be issued in accordance with section §12-7-11;

      (5) To seize and take possession of all fish, shellfish, crustaceans, marine mammals,

amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals in possession, or under control of, any person or which

that have been shipped, or are about to be shipped, at any time, in any manner, or for any purpose

contrary to the laws of this state, and dispose of them at the discretion of the director;

      (6) To seize all fishing tackle, firearms, shooting and hunting paraphernalia, hunting,

fishing, or trapping licenses, traps, decoys, tongs, bullrakes, dredges, or other implements or

appliances used in violation of any law, rule, or regulation relating to fish, shellfish, crustaceans,

marine mammals, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals; or any equipment, materials, tools,

implements, samples of substances, or any other item used in the violation of any other law, rule,

or regulation enumerated in subdivision (a)(9), when making an arrest as found in the execution

of a search warrant, and hold the seized item or items at the owner's expense until the fine and

costs imposed for the violation have been paid in full;

      (7) (i) To go on board any boat or vessel engaged, or believed to be engaged, in fishing

and examine any fishing, shellfish, scallop, lobster, multipurpose, or other license issued under

this title;

      (ii) To go on board any boat or vessel engaged, or believed to be engaged, in fishing and

to inspect that boat or vessel for compliance with the provisions of this title and any rules relative

to the taking of fish, shellfish, crustaceans, marine mammals, amphibians, and reptiles. In the

absence of probable cause to believe that a crime relative to the taking of these marine species has

been, or is being, committed, any evidence obtained as the result of a boarding (other than for the

purpose of examining a license) or of an inspection may not be used in a criminal prosecution;

      (8) To carry firearms or other weapons, concealed or otherwise, in the course of, and in

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performance of, the duties of office; and

      (9) To arrest without a warrant, to execute all warrants and search warrants, and to make

and execute complaints within any district to the justice or clerk of the district court without

recognizance or surety against any person for the following criminal offenses:

      (i) Assault;

      (ii) Assault with a dangerous weapon;

      (iii) Larceny;

      (iv) Vandalism;

      (v) Obstructing officer in execution of duty.

      (b) Conservation officers shall be deemed "officer" within the meaning of section §11-

32-1.

      (c) It shall be a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars

($500) or imprisonment for not more than thirty (30) days, or both, for any person to refuse to

move or to stop on an oral command or order of a conservation officer, when the officer is acting

in the performance of the officer's duties.

     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 FISH AND WILDLIFE - GENERAL PROVISIONS

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     This act would provide that the director of the department of environmental management

and conservation officers appointed thereby would have certain enforcement powers over lands

cooperatively managed, facilities that host official department events, and properties leased by the

department.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

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