2017 -- H 5508

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LC001257

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2017

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT - STATE DEPARTMENTS'

COOPERATION

     

     Introduced By: Representatives Casimiro, Regunberg, Craven, Donovan, and
Marszalkowski

     Date Introduced: February 15, 2017

     Referred To: House Finance

     (General Treasurer)

It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

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     SECTION 1. Section 28-42-38 of the General Laws in Chapter 28-42 entitled

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"Employment Security - General Provisions" is hereby amended to read as follows:

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     28-42-38. Records and reports -- Confidentiality of information.

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     (a) Every employer and every employing unit employing any person in employment in

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this state shall keep true and accurate employment records of all persons employed by him or her,

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and of the weekly hours worked for him or her by each, and of the weekly wages paid by him or

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her to each person; and every employer and employing unit shall keep records containing any

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other information that the director may prescribe. Those records shall at all times be available

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within this state and shall be open to inspection by the director, or his or her authorized

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representatives, at any reasonable time and as often as the director shall deem necessary.

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     (b) The director may require from any employer, or employing unit, employing any

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person in this state, any reports covering persons employed by him or her, on employment,

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wages, hours, unemployment, and related matters which the director deems necessary to the

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effective administration of chapters 42 -- 44 of this title.

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     (c) (1) Information obtained, or information contained in other records of the department

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obtained from any individual pursuant to the administration of those chapters, shall be held

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confidential by the director and shall not be published or be open to public inspection in any

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manner revealing the individual's or employing unit's identity, but any claimant at a hearing

 

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provided for in those chapters shall be supplied with information from those records of the extent

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necessary for the proper presentation of his or her claim. Any department employee guilty of

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violating this provision shall be subject to the penalties provided in chapters 42 -- 44 of this title;

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provided, that nothing contained in this subsection shall be construed to prevent:

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     (i) The director, or any qualified attorney whom the director has designated to represent

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him or her in any court of this state, or the attorney general from making any record, report, or

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other information referred to in this section, available in any proceeding before any court of this

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state in any action to which the director is a party;

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     (ii) The director from making any record, report, or other information referred to in this

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section, available to any agency of this state or any agency of a political subdivision of this state

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charged with the administration of public assistance within this state, or any of its political

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subdivisions;

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     (iii) The director from making any record, report, or other information referred to in this

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section, available to the railroad retirement board or to employees of the Internal Revenue Service

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in the performance of their public duties, and the director shall furnish, at the expense of the

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railroad retirement board or the Internal Revenue Service, copies of those records, reports, or

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other information referred to in this section;

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     (iv) The director from making available, upon request and on a reimbursable basis, any

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record, report, or other information referred to in this section to the federal Department of Health

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and Human Services in accordance with the provisions of United States P.L. 100-485, Family

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Support Act of 1988, or to the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development and to

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authorized representatives of public housing agencies in accordance with the Stewart B.

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McKinney Homeless Assistance Act, 42 U.S.C. § 11301 et seq.;

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     (v) The director from making available to the division of taxation, upon request of the tax

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administrator, any record, report, or other information referred to in Title 28, Chapter 42 for the

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purposes of compiling the annual unified economic development budget report and performing

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the requirements under subsection 42-142-3(e); enforcing the provisions of Title 28, Chapter 42;

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and/or performing any of its obligations under Title 44. The information received by the division

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of taxation from the department of labor and training pursuant hereto pertaining to an individual

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employer shall be held confidential and shall not be open to public inspection. Nothing herein

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shall prohibit the disclosure of statistics and/or statistical data that do not disclose the identity of

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individual employers and/or the contents of specific returns;

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     (vi) The director from making, and the director shall make, reports in the form and

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containing any information that the federal Social Security Administration may, from time to

 

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time, require, and complying with any provisions that the federal Social Security Administration

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may, from time to time, find necessary to assure the correctness and verification of those reports.

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The director shall make available, upon request, to any agency of the United States charged with

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the administration of public works or assistance through public employment, the name, address,

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ordinary occupation, and employment status of each recipient of unemployment compensation

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and a statement of that recipient's rights to further compensation under that law;

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     (vii) The director from conducting any investigations he or she deems relevant in

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connection with these provisions;

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     (viii) The director from conducting any investigations he or she deems relevant in

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connection with the performance of his or her duties pursuant to the administration of the

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chapters 29, 32, 33, 34, 36, 37 and 41 of this title, or from making any record, report, or other

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information referred to in this section available to the workers' compensation fraud prevention

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unit for use in the performance of its duties under § 42-16.1-12;

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     (ix) The director from forwarding, and the director shall forward, to the jury

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commissioner, the names and addresses of all individuals who are receiving unemployment

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compensation on a yearly basis in accordance with § 9-9-1(e);

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     (x) The director from providing data on unemployment insurance recipients or any other

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data contained in departmental records that is obtained from an individual, pursuant to the

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administration of chapters 42 -- 44 of this title, to the department's designated research partners

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for the purpose of its workforce data quality and workforce innovation fund initiatives. The

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provision of these records will be done in accordance with an approved data-sharing agreement

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between the department and its designated research partners that protects the security and

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confidentiality of these records and, through procedures, established by protocols, rules, and/or

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regulations as determined necessary by the director and appropriately established or promulgated;

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     (xi) The director from making available upon request and on a reimbursable basis to the

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department of corrections, and solely for the purpose of case management and post-release

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supervision, any record, report, or other information referred to in chapter 42 of title 28 relating to

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wages, earnings, professional licenses, work or vocational skills or training, and work history of

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offenders under the department of corrections' supervision for the purpose of case management

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and post-release supervision. The information received by the department of corrections from the

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department of labor and training pursuant to this subsection shall be held confidential and shall

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not be open to public inspection. Nothing in this subsection shall prohibit the disclosure of

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statistics and/or statistical data that does not disclose the identity of individuals, nor shall it

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prevent information referred to in this subsection from being available in any proceeding before

 

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any court of this state in an action in which an offender's conditions of probation or obligation to

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pay restitution and/or costs and fines are the subject of the court proceedings.; or

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     (xii) The director from making any record, report, or other information referred to in this

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section available to the employees' retirement system of Rhode Island and the office of the

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general treasurer in the performance of their public duties.

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     (2) The director may publish in statistical form the results of any investigations without

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disclosing the identity of the individuals involved.

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     SECTION 2. Section 33-21.1-17 of the General Laws in Chapter 33-21.1 entitled

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"Unclaimed Intangible and Tangible Property" is hereby amended to read as follows:

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     33-21.1-17. Report of abandoned property.

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     (a) A person holding property tangible or intangible, presumed abandoned and subject to

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custody as unclaimed property under this chapter, shall report to the administrator concerning the

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property as provided in this section.

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     (b) The report must be verified and must include:

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     (1) Except with respect to travelers checks and money orders, the name, if known, and

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last known address, if any, of each person appearing from the records of the holder to be the

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owner of property of the value of fifty ($50.00) dollars or more presumed abandoned under this

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chapter;

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     (2) In the case of unclaimed funds of fifty dollars ($50.00) or more held or owing under

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any life or endowment insurance policy or annuity contract, the full name and last known address

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of the insured or annuitant and of the beneficiary according to the records of the insurance

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company holding or owing the funds;

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     (3) In the case of the contents of a safe deposit box or other safekeeping repository or of

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other tangible property, a description of the property and the place where it is held and may be

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inspected by the administrator and any amounts owing to the holder;

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     (4) The nature and identifying number, if any, or description of the property and the

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amount appearing from the records to be due, but items of value under fifty dollars ($50.00) each

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shall be reported in the aggregate;

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     (5) The date the property became payable, demandable, or returnable, and the date of the

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last transaction with the apparent owner with respect to the property; and

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     (6) Other information the administrator prescribes by rule as necessary for the

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administration of this chapter.

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     (c) If the person holding property presumed abandoned and subject to custody as

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unclaimed property is a successor to other persons who previously held the property for the

 

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apparent owner or the holder has changed his or her name while holding the property, he or she

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shall file with his or her report all known names and addresses of each previous holder of the

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property.

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     (d) The report must be filed before November 1 of each year as of June 30, next

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preceding, and the report of any life insurance company, including the report of unclaimed

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insurance company demutualization proceeds made pursuant to § 33-21.1-16.1, must be filed

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before November 1 of each year as of June 30 next preceding. On written request by any person

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required to file a report, the administrator may postpone the reporting date.

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     (e) Not more than one hundred and twenty (120) days before filing the report required by

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this section, the holder in possession of property presumed abandoned and subject to custody as

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unclaimed property under this chapter shall send written notice to the apparent owner at his or her

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last known address informing him or her that the holder is in possession of property subject to

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this chapter if:

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     (1) The holder has in its records an address for the apparent owner which the holder's

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records do not disclose to be inaccurate,

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     (2) The claim of the apparent owner is not barred by the statute of limitations, and

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     (3) The property has a value of fifty dollars ($50.00) or more.

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     (f) In order to reunite residents with their unclaimed property, the administrator is

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authorized to share data with other state departments regarding unclaimed property.

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Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, the administrator is authorized to receive data

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from and provide data to state departments that identifies unclaimed property and its rightful

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owners.

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     SECTION 3. Section 44-30-95 of the General Laws in Chapter 44-30 entitled "Personal

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Income Tax" is hereby amended to read as follows:

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     44-30-95. General powers of tax administrator.

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     (a) General. The tax administrator shall administer and enforce the Rhode Island personal

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income tax and is authorized to make any rules and regulations, and to require any facts and

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information to be reported, that he or she may deem necessary to enforce the tax. The provisions

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of chapter 1 of this title relating to the tax administrator shall be applicable to the Rhode Island

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personal income tax.

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     (b) Examination of books and witnesses. The tax administrator, for the purpose of

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ascertaining the correctness of any return, or for the purpose of making an estimate of Rhode

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Island income of any person where information has been obtained, shall have the power to

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examine or to cause to have examined, by any agent or representative designated by the tax

 

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administrator for that purpose, any books, papers, records, or memoranda bearing upon the

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matters required to be included in the return, and may require the attendance of the person

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rendering the return or any officer or employee of the person, or the attendance of any other

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person having knowledge in the premises, and may take testimony and require proof material for

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its information, with power to administer oaths to the person or persons.

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     (c) Secrecy requirement. It shall be unlawful for any state official or employee to divulge

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or to make known to any person in any manner whatever not provided by law the amount or

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source of income, profits, losses, expenditures, or any particular of them set forth or disclosed in

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any return, or to permit any return or copy of the return or any book containing any abstract or

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particulars thereof to be seen or examined by any person except as provided by law. It shall be

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unlawful for any person to print or publish in any manner whatever not provided by law any

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return or any part thereof or source of income, profits, losses, or expenditures appearing in any

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return. Any offense against the foregoing provision shall be punished by a fine not exceeding one

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thousand dollars ($1,000), or by imprisonment not exceeding one year, or both, at the discretion

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of the court. If the offender is an officer or employee of the state of Rhode Island, the offender

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may be dismissed from office or discharged from employment.

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     (d) Interstate and federal agreements. The governor or the tax administrator may enter

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into agreements with tax officials of other states and the federal government to provide for the

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exchange of information and to apportion or otherwise equitably determine taxes for the purposes

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of carrying out the provisions of § 44-30-18 and otherwise avoiding multiple taxation.

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     (e) Income tax claims of other states. The courts of this state shall recognize and enforce

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liabilities for personal income taxes lawfully imposed by any other state which extends a like

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comity to this state, and the duly authorized officer of any other state may sue for the collection

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of a tax in the courts of this state. A certificate by the secretary of state of the other state that an

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officer suing for the collection of a tax is duly authorized to collect the tax shall be conclusive

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proof of that authority. For the purposes of this section, the word "taxes" shall include additions

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to tax, interest, and penalties, and liability for taxes, additions to tax, interest and penalties shall

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be recognized and enforced by the courts of this state to the same extent that the laws of the other

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state permit the enforcement in its courts of liability for taxes, additions to tax, interest, and

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penalties due this state under this part.

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     (f) Small tax balances. The tax administrator is authorized to abate the unpaid portion of

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the assessment of any tax, or any liability in respect thereof, if the administrator determines under

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uniform rules prescribed by him or her that the administration and collection costs involved

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would not warrant collection of the amount due.

 

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     (g) Limited disclosure of information -- Retirement board. The tax administrator shall

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disclose to the retirement board of the state of Rhode Island information needed by the board to

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implement the provisions of §§ 36-10-17, 36-10-36, and 45-21-24. The content and nature of the

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information to be disclosed shall be determined and approved by the tax administrator and shall

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be kept confidential by the board.

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     (h) Limited disclosure of information -- Jury Commissioner. The tax administrator shall

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disclose to the jury commissioners of the State of Rhode Island information needed by him or her

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to implement provisions of § 9-9-1(d).

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     (i) Limited disclosure of information – Unclaimed property administrator. The tax

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administrator shall disclose to the unclaimed property administrator of the state of Rhode Island,

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who is the administrator as defined in §33-21.1-1, information needed by the unclaimed property

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administrator to implement the provisions of §33-21.1-24. The content and nature of the

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information to be disclosed shall be determined and approved by the tax administrator and shall

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be kept confidential by the unclaimed property administrator. The unclaimed property

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administrator shall be subject to the requirements and penalties in §44-30-95(c).

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     SECTION 4. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT - STATE DEPARTMENTS'

COOPERATION

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     This act would facilitate the sharing of information between the treasury, state retirement

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system, division of taxation, and the department of labor and training concerning unclaimed

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property, taxation collection, and pension benefit monitoring.

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     This act would take effect upon passage.

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