2016 -- H 7686

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LC004304

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2016

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO COURTS AND CIVIL PROCEDURE - SMALL CLAIMS

     Introduced By: Representatives Reilly, Solomon, Newberry, and Keable

     Date Introduced: February 24, 2016

     Referred To: House Judiciary

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Section 9-1.1-3 of the General Laws in Chapter 9-1.1 entitled "The State

False Claim Act" is hereby amended to read as follows:

     9-1.1-3. Liability for certain acts. -- (a) Any person who:

      (1) Knowingly presents, or causes to be presented a false or fraudulent claim for

payment or approval;

      (2) Knowingly makes, uses, or causes to be made or used, a false record or statement

material to a false or fraudulent claim;

      (3) Conspires to commit a violation of subdivisions 9-1.1-3(1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6) or

(7);

      (4) Has possession, custody, or control of property or money used, or to be used, by the

state and knowingly delivers, or causes to be delivered, less property than all of that money or

property;

      (5) Is authorized to make or deliver a document certifying receipt of property used, or to

be used, by the state and, intending to defraud the state, makes or delivers the receipt without

completely knowing that the information on the receipt is true;

      (6) Knowingly buys, or receives as a pledge of an obligation or debt, public property

from an officer or employee of the state, or a member of the guard, who lawfully may not sell or

pledge the property; or

      (7) Knowingly makes, uses, or causes to be made or used, a false record or statement

material to an obligation to pay or transmit money or property to the state, or knowingly conceals

or knowingly and improperly avoids or decreases an obligation to pay or transmit money or

property to the state; is liable to the state for a civil penalty of not less than five thousand five

hundred dollars ($5,500) and not more than eleven thousand dollars ($11,000), plus three (3) five

(5) times the amount of damages which the state sustains because of the act of that person. A

person violating this subsection (a) shall also be liable to the state for the costs of a civil action

brought to recover any such penalty or damages.

      (b) Definitions. - For purposes of this section:

      (1) "Knowing" and "knowingly" means that a person with respect to information:

      (i) Has actual knowledge of the information;

      (ii) Acts in deliberate ignorance of the truth or falsity of the information;

      (iii) Acts in reckless disregard of the truth or falsity of the information; and

      (iv) Requires no proof of specific intent to defraud.

      (2) "Claim" means any request or demand, whether under a contract or otherwise, for

money or property and whether or not the state has title to the money or property, that:

      (i) Is presented to an officer, employee, or agent of the state; or

      (ii) Is made to a contractor, grantee, or other recipient, if the money or property is to be

spent or used on the state's behalf or advance a state program or interest, and if the state:

      (A) Provides or has provided any portion of the money or property requested or

demanded; or

      (B) Will reimburse such contractor, grantee, or other recipient for any portion of the

money or property which is requested or demanded; and

      (iii) Does not include requests or demands for money or property that the state has paid

to an individual as compensation for state employment or as an income subsidy with no

restrictions on that individual's use of the money or property;

      (3) "Obligation" means an established duty, whether or not fixed, arising from an express

or implied contractual, grantor-grantee, or licensor-licensee relationship, from a fee-based or

similar relationship, from statute or regulation, or from the retention of any overpayment; and

      (4) "Material" means having a natural tendency to influence, or be capable of

influencing, the payment or receipt of money or property.

      (c) Exclusion. - This section does not apply to claims, records, or statements made under

the Rhode Island personal income tax law contained in Rhode Island general laws chapter 44-30.

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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 COURTS AND CIVIL PROCEDURE - SMALL CLAIMS

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     This act would raise the total amount of damages the state can recover in a false claim act

action from three times the actual damages to five times.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

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