2019 -- H 5924

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LC001575

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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 COURTS AND CIVIL PROCEDURE--PROCEDURES GENERALLY -- THE

STATE FALSE CLAIM ACT

     

     Introduced By: Representative Shelby Maldonado

     Date Introduced: March 28, 2019

     Referred To: House Judiciary

     (Attorney General)

It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

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

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

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     9-1.1-3. Liability for certain acts.

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     (a) Any person who:

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

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payment or approval;

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

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material to a false or fraudulent claim;

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     (3) Conspires to commit a violation of subsection (a)(1), (a)(2), (a)(4), (a)(5), (a)(6), or

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(a)(7);

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

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

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property;

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

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

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completely knowing that the information on the receipt is true;

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

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

 

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pledge the property; or

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

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

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

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property to the state; is liable to the state for a civil penalty in an amount equal to the civil penalty

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set forth in the Federal False Claims Act, following the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation

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Agreement Act of 1990 (31 U.S.C. § 3729(a)), Pub. L. No. 101-410 section 5, 104 Stat. 891, note

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following 28 U.S.C. § 2461, as amended and annually adjusted by the Federal Civil Penalties

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Inflation Adjustment Improvements Act of 2015, plus three (3) times the amount of damages the

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state sustains because of the act of that person. A person violating this subsection (a) shall also be

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liable to the state for the costs of a civil action brought to recover any penalty or damages.

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     (b) Definitions. For purposes of this section:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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demanded; or

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

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or property that is requested or demanded; and

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

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

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

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     (2) "Knowing" and "knowingly"

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     (i) Means means that a person with respect to information:

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     (i)(A) Has actual knowledge of the information;

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

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

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     (iv)(ii) Requires no proof of specific intent to defraud;

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

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the payment or receipt of money or property; and

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

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

 

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

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

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the Rhode Island personal income tax law contained in chapter 30 of title 44.

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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--PROCEDURES GENERALLY -- THE

STATE FALSE CLAIM ACT

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     This act would make a change to the meaning of the words "knowing" and "knowingly"

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in the state false claim act.

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     This act would take effect upon passage.

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