2019 -- H 5289

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LC001158

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2019

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT - APPROPRIATE DISABILITY

LANGUAGE

     

     Introduced By: Representatives McNamara, Ajello, Jackson, Ackerman, and Amore

     Date Introduced: February 06, 2019

     Referred To: House Judiciary

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

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     SECTION 1. Section 22-11-3.4 of the General Laws in Chapter 22-11 entitled "Joint

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Committee on Legislative Services" is hereby amended to read as follows:

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     22-11-3.4. Duties of the law revision director.

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     (a) In addition to other duties assigned to the law revision director, he or she shall

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rearrange, rephrase, and consolidate the public laws and acts and resolves of the general assembly

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so that redundancies may be avoided, obsolete enactments eliminated, contradictions reconciled,

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omissions supplied, and imperfections cured. The law revision director has no authority either to

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change the law or to alter the substance of the statutes but shall alert the general assembly

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annually to specific changes, which may be required. In addition, a report shall be filed annually

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with the general assembly which shall indicate which sections of the general laws at the previous

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session had more than one amendment and displaying a copy of the final version of the statute on

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the first legislative day of the next subsequent session of the general assembly.

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     (b) The law revision director shall, by February 1, 2020, file a report with the general

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assembly, proposing amendments to those sections of the general laws that do not use appropriate

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disability language as required by § 43-3-7.1. The report shall also include a list of those statutes

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for which amendments are not being proposed pursuant to § 43-3-7.1 because the director had

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determined that such amendments could alter the intent of the statute. The report shall be

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prepared after consultation with the governor's commission on disabilities.

 

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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 state job

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descriptions to 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 the law revision director shall, unless they determine it

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could alter the intent of the statute, recommend that they be replaced with the words "persons

 

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with disabilities" or "person with a disability," inclusive, and whenever the term "handicap" is

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used in the general laws, it shall the law revision director shall, unless they determine it could

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alter the intent of the statute, recommend that it be replaced with the word "disability"; provided

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that this section shall not be applied 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, the law revision director shall,

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unless they determine it could alter the intent of the statute, recommend that they be replaced with

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the words "intellectual and developmental disability" or "person with an intellectual and

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developmental disability", if the context so requires.

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

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revision director shall, unless they determine it could alter the intent of the statute, recommend

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that they be replaced with the words "substance use disorder" or "person with a substance use

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disorder", if the context so requires.

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

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document of a governmental entity refers to people with disabilities, terms that stigmatize, like

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"the handicapped", "the disabled", "the blind", "the deaf", "the hearing impaired", "cerebral

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palsied", "paralytic", "epileptic", "confined to a wheelchair", "wheelchair bound", "lunatic",

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

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

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than the impairment or assistive device, such as "person with a disability", "child who has mental

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illness", "worker who is deaf", "voter who uses a wheelchair", "person who is hard-of-hearing",

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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 all 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, 2020.

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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 all job descriptions and

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statutes.

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     This act would take effect on January 1, 2020.

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