2018 -- S 2473

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LC004532

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2018

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT - APPROPRIATE DISABILITY

LANGUAGE

     

     Introduced By: Senators DiPalma, Pearson, Seveney, Goldin, and Sheehan

     Date Introduced: February 15, 2018

     Referred To: Senate Labor

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

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     SECTION 1. Chapter 22-11 of the General Laws entitled "Joint Committee on

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Legislative Services" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following section:

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     22-11-3.6. Revision of statutes - appropriate disability language.

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     The law revision director is authorized and empowered to amend statutes to ensure

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statutes use appropriate disability language as required by § 43-3-7.1.

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     SECTION 2. Section 36-3-5 of the General Laws in Chapter 36-3 entitled "Division of

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Personnel Administration" is hereby amended to read as follows:

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     36-3-5. Powers and duties of the administrator.

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     In addition to the duties imposed upon the personnel administrator elsewhere in the law

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and the personnel rules, it shall be the duty of the personnel administrator:

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     (1) As executive head of the division of personnel administration, to direct, supervise,

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develop, and authorize all personnel related administrative and technical activities including

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personnel administration and personnel management.

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     (2) To prepare and recommend to the director of administration such rules as are deemed

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necessary to carry out the provisions of the law.

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     (3) To supervise the operation of the classification plan and to recommend to the director

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amendments and additions thereto.

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     (4) To supervise the operation of the pay plan and to recommend to the director

 

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amendments and additions thereto.

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     (5) To establish and supervise the maintenance of employment lists, promotion lists, and

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reemployment lists; to develop recruitment procedures, monitor agency recruitment processes for

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compliance with the statutes and policies, and make available to state agencies qualified

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candidates as vacancies occur; direct and supervise equal opportunity programs; manage

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employee benefit plans including the coordination of health insurance, prescription/vision care,

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group life insurance, dental care, prepaid legal services, deferred compensation and cancer

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programs, and any other programs established by the legislature related to employee benefits; and

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to manage career awards programs and state and local enforcement firefighters incentive training

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programs.

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     (6) To perform any other lawful act which he or she may consider necessary or desirable

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to carry out the purposes and provisions of this chapter, and chapter 4 of this title, and the rules

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and to conduct innovative demonstration projects to improve state personnel management.

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     (7) The personnel administrator is authorized and empowered to revise job descriptions to

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ensure the use of appropriate disability language as required by § 43-3-7.1.

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     SECTION 3. Section 43-3-7.1 of the General Laws in Chapter 43-3 entitled

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"Construction and Effect of Statutes" is hereby amended to read as follows:

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     43-3-7.1. Use of appropriate disability language.

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     (a) Whenever the terms "the handicapped", "handicap person", or "handicapped person"

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are used in the general laws, they shall be replaced with the words "persons with disabilities" or

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"person with a disability," inclusive, and whenever the term "handicap" is used in the general

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laws, it shall be replaced with the word "disability"; provided that this section shall not be applied

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retroactively but shall only be applied prospectively.

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     (b) Whenever the term "developmental disability" or "developmental disabilities" or

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"mentally retarded" or "retarded" are used in the general laws, they shall be replaced with the

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words "intellectual and developmental disability".

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     (c) Whenever the term "substance abuse" or "addict" are used in the general laws, they

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shall be replaced with the words "substance use disorder".

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     (b)(d) Whenever an act, resolution, statute, regulation, guideline, directive, job

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description, or other document of a governmental entity refers to people with disabilities, terms

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that stigmatize, like "the handicapped", "the disabled", "the blind", "the deaf", "the hearing

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impaired" "cerebral palsied", "paralytic", "epileptic", "confined to a wheelchair", "wheelchair

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bound", "lunatic", "idiot", "defective", "deformed", "victim", "suffers from", "mentally retarded",

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"retarded", "addict", "substance abuser", etc., shall not be used. Language that puts the "person

 

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first", rather than the impairment or assistive device, such as "person with a disability", "child

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who has mental illness", "worker who is deaf", "voter who uses a wheelchair", "person who is

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hard-of-hearing", shall be used.

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     SECTION 4. Chapter 42-64.13 of the General Laws entitled "Rhode Island Regulatory

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Reform Act" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following section:

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     42-64.13-13. Revision of regulations - appropriate disability language.

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     The office of regulatory reform is authorized and empowered to ensure regulations use

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appropriate disability language as required by § 43-3-7.1.

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     SECTION 5. This act shall take effect on January 1, 2019.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT - APPROPRIATE DISABILITY

LANGUAGE

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     This act would ensure appropriate disability language is used in job descriptions and

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statutes.

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     This act would take effect on January 1, 2019.

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