2023 -- H 5889

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LC001368

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2023

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO MOTOR AND OTHER VEHICLES -- POLICE TRAFFIC STOP DATA

COLLECTION

     Introduced By: Representatives Ajello, Tanzi, Speakman, Morales, Henries, Knight,
Cruz, Diaz, Felix, and Hull

     Date Introduced: March 01, 2023

     Referred To: House Judiciary

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Title 31 of the General Laws entitled "MOTOR AND OTHER VEHICLES"

is hereby amended by adding thereto the following chapter:

CHAPTER 21.3

POLICE TRAFFIC STOP DATA COLLECTION

     31-21.3-1. Data collection.

     (a) The office of highway safety of the Rhode Island department of transportation or

designee, shall, no later than January 1, 2024, develop a form or electronic equivalent to be used

by each police officer when making a traffic stop to record the data required under this chapter,

which form shall include for each motor vehicle stop, and/or search the following data:

     (1) The date, time and general location of the traffic stop;

     (2) The race and ethnicity, gender, and approximate age of the driver stopped; provided

that, the identification of these characteristics shall be based on the observation and perception of

the police officer making the stop and the information shall not be requested of the person stopped;

     (3) The reason for the stop;

     (4) Whether a search was instituted as a result of the stop;

     (5) The scope of any search conducted;

     (6) Whether the search was conducted pursuant to consent, probable cause, or reasonable

suspicion of the commission of a crime;

     (7) Whether any contraband, including money, was seized in the course of the search, and

if so, the nature of the contraband;

     (8) Whether any warning or citation was issued as a result of the stop;

     (9) Whether an arrest was made as a result of either the stop or the search;

     (10) The approximate duration of the stop; and

     (11) Whether the vehicle is registered in Rhode Island or out of the state.

     (b) For those motor vehicle stops or searches where a citation was issued or an arrest was

made, the data collection form shall include a citation or arrest number. It shall also include the

name or badge number of the officer completing the form; provided, however, that the name and

the badge number of the officer shall not be public.

     (c) The office of highway safety shall advise the Rhode Island state police and each

municipal police department as to the date that data collection shall commence. Data collection

shall begin not later than January 1, 2024; provided, however, that collection may begin prior to

that time upon notification to police departments from the office of highway safety of the Rhode

Island department of transportation, or designee.

     (d) A traffic stop data and search collection card or electronic equivalent shall be completed

for each routine traffic stop and/or search by the Rhode Island state police and each municipal

police department.

     (e) Upon commencement of data collection, and monthly thereafter, each municipal police

department and the Rhode Island state police shall transmit to the office of highway safety all forms

or electronic data collected to date of motorists who were stopped, and/or searched and any other

information the police department or the Rhode Island state police deem appropriate.

     (f) Within ninety (90) days of the effective date of this chapter, each municipal department

and the Rhode Island state police shall transmit all traffic stop and search data collected between

July 1, 2021 and June 30, 2023 for analysis in the annual study required by § 31-21.3-4.

     (g) Appropriate funding shall be made available to implement the provisions of this chapter

and completion of the annual study shall be contingent upon such funding. Additional funding may

be made available to the advisory committee established by § 31-21.3-7 to assist police

departments, community groups and others in training, research, and community outreach to further

the goals of this chapter.

     (h) The office of highway safety shall be exempt from the provisions of chapter 2 of title

37 in connection with its procurement of equipment and services necessary to the implementation

of this chapter.

     (i) The office of highway safety shall consult the comprehensive community police

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relationship act ("CCPRA") advisory committee on at least a quarterly basis and shall consult on

other issues that arise relating to the implementation and enforcement of this chapter including the

information generated by the issuance of the reports required by this chapter.

     31-21.3-2. Data use and enforcement.

     (a) Data acquired under this chapter may be used in any civil proceeding to establish or

rebut an inference of discrimination in accordance with the rules of civil procedure. It is understood

that disparities may or may not equate to racial profiling.

     (b) All data collected and the reports and studies compiled pursuant to this chapter shall be

public, except information identifying any specific law enforcement officer.

     (c) Any police officer who in good faith records traffic stop or search information pursuant

to the requirements of this chapter shall not be held civilly liable for the act of recording the

information unless the officer’s conduct was reckless.

     (d) The office of highway safety in consultation with the CCPRA advisory committee, shall

issue guidelines for police departments to follow in preparing the annual reports required by § 31-

21.3-6, including establishing a form for the certification of compliance to be verified under oath.

     (e) An organization chartered for the purpose of combating discrimination, racism, or of

safeguarding civil liberties, or of promoting full, free, or equal employment opportunities, and/or a

governmental or quasi-governmental entity may seek appropriate relief in a civil action against any

police department for failing to collect or transmit the data required in this chapter, or for failing to

comply with the other requirements of this chapter, and may be awarded its costs, including

attorneys' fees, for bringing such an action. As a condition precedent to the filing of a civil action

by an organization under this section, the organization shall send a notice to the office of highway

safety identifying the police department which is failing to collect or transmit the data and the

organization shall then allow fifteen (15) days to elapse before filing a civil action.

     31-21.3-3. Quarterly data reports by the office of highway safety.

     (a) On a quarterly basis, a summary report of the monthly data provided by each police

department and the state police for that quarterly period shall be issued by the office of highway

safety. The summary report shall include, at a minimum, a monthly breakdown by race, age, gender,

and the outcome for vehicle operators for each police department regarding the number of traffic

stops made and of searches conducted. For those police departments collecting data through the

use of mobile display terminals in police vehicles, the report shall also include a breakdown by race

and outcome for vehicles operators.

     (b) The report shall be released not more than ninety (90) days after the end of each

quarterly period. No information revealing the identity of any individual shall be contained in the

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report.

     31-21.3-4. Annual study and data interface by the office of highway safety.

     (a) The office of highway safety, to be chosen by the department of transportation, shall,

with input from the CCPRA advisory committee, select an organization, company, person, or other

entity with sufficient expertise in the field of statistics, and expertise in the study of traffic stop and

search data collection and/or the study of data related to racial disparities to conduct an annual

study.

     (b) The study shall compile and examine data of routine traffic stops made and searches

conducted by the Rhode Island state police and each municipal police department in order to

determine whether racial disparities in traffic stops and searches exist, and to further examine

whether searches of vehicles and motorists are being conducted in a racially disparate manner. The

study shall include a multivariate analysis of the collected data in accordance with general statistical

standards, including analysis of data at and above the eighty-five percent (85%) confidence level.

The study shall be substantially similar to the study prepared pursuant to chapter 21.1 of this title,

and may include a multi-year data analysis. The annual study shall not identify specific officers.

     (c) Appropriate funding shall be made available to implement the provisions of this chapter

and completion of the annual study shall be contingent upon such funding.

     (d) On an annual basis, the office of highway safety shall present all data submitted in

accordance with § 31-21.3-1 in an online interface designed to enhance public interaction with the

data. In providing a visual presentation of the data, the interface shall allow for user-generated

analysis of the stop and search data points required to be collected pursuant to this chapter. The

interface shall generate analyses of the data such that the public may view the data by race or

ethnicity in conjunction with any of the data points collected, and shall allow users to view the data

statewide and for individual municipal law enforcement agencies both cumulatively and by year.

Within one year of the effective date of this section, the interface shall include all the annual data

collected since enactment of this chapter.

     31-21.3-5. Monthly review.

     (a) The head of every law enforcement agency collecting data pursuant to this chapter shall

regularly review the agency-wide data in an effort to determine whether any racial disparities in

the agency's traffic stops or searches exist, and to appropriately respond to any such disparities.

     (b) The head of every law enforcement agency shall ensure that supervisory personnel have

conducted monthly verifications of each officer's stop and search documentation and officer

specific data results to verify compliance, or document any noncompliance, with all policies,

prohibitions, and documentation requirements. Such monthly verifications shall include whether a

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review of an officer’s stop or search documentation and data results indicate the presence of racial

disparities.

     31-21.3-6. Annual report by law enforcement agency heads.

     (a) The head of every law enforcement agency shall submit a traffic stop and search report

which includes the information in § 31-21.3-5 to the office of highway safety and to the CCPRA

advisory committee on an annual basis beginning on September 1, 2023.

     (b) The head of the agency shall submit as part of each annual report, a certification of

compliance with this section, documentation of monthly verifications, and a summary of any racial

disparities found through the review.

     (c) Additionally, the annual report shall indicate what action, if any, has been taken, to

address any racial disparities in traffic stops and/or searches documented in each department’s

ongoing data collection and, in the study authorized by § 31-21.3-4, and to otherwise implement

any recommendations of the data collection and/or traffic studies, including, but not limited to:

     (1) Any changes to agency policies;

     (2) Revisions to traffic enforcement practices;

     (3) Detailed analysis and review of traffic stop data and the results of such review;

     (4) Steps taken to present the data and recommendations to the community;

     (5) The initiation of any disciplinary action; and

     (6) Where no remedial action has been taken in response to documented racial disparities,

an explanation for the department’s inaction.

     (d) The annual report, including any reference to disciplinary action, shall not identify

specific officers

     31-21.3-7. Advisory committee - Establishment - Duties.

     (a) The CCPRA advisory committee is hereby established. The advisory committee shall

consist of twelve (12) members:

     (1) One of whom shall be appointed by the governor;

     (2) One of whom shall be appointed by the senate president;

     (3) One of whom shall be appointed by the speaker of the house;

     (4) One of whom shall be the attorney general, or designee;

     (5) One of whom shall be the public defender, or designee;

     (6) One of whom shall be the director of the department of public safety, or designee;

     (7) One of whom shall be the executive director of the Rhode Island Police Chiefs

Association, or designee;

     (8) One of whom shall be the executive director of the Rhode Island commission for human

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rights, or designee;

     (9) One of whom shall be the executive director of Rhode Island for Community & Justice,

or designee, or other organization chartered for the purpose of combating discrimination, racism or

of safeguarding civil liberties;

     (10) One of whom shall be the president of the NAACP Providence branch, or designee;

and

     (11) Two (2) of whom shall be community members; one of whom shall be appointed by

the speaker of the house and the second of whom shall be appointed by the president of the senate.

     (b) The members of the advisory committee shall be appointed for terms of three (3) years;

provided, however, that, with regard to the initial appointments, four (4) members shall be

appointed for terms of one year; four (4) members shall be appointed for a term of two (2) years;

and four (4) members shall be appointed for a term of three (3) years. Members may be reappointed,

and their appointments shall continue until their successors are appointed. A vacancy other than by

expiration shall be filled in the manner of the original appointment, but only for the unexpired

portion of the term.

     (c) The members of the advisory committee shall receive no compensation.

     (d) The governor’s appointee shall be the chairperson; a vice-chairperson and secretary

shall be elected by the advisory committee members annually. All officers of the advisory

committee shall serve until their successors have been duly appointed or elected.

     (e) The advisory committee shall meet at least quarterly at the call of the chairperson of the

committee.

     (f) The advisory committee shall have the following purposes and duties:

     (1) Advise the office of highway safety, on all matters pertaining to the duties and powers

of the committee, including evaluating and making recommendations regarding plans, programs,

and strategies relating to the CCPRA;

     (2) Provide input to the office of highway safety, to choose an organization, company,

person or entity to conduct an annual traffic stop and search study;

     (3) Advise the study consultant on the recommended design of each study;

     (4) Consult with the office of highway safety, on guidelines for police departments to

follow in preparing the reports required pursuant to § 31-21.3-2(d);

     (5) Receive, review and discuss each CCPRA study;

     (6) Receive, review and discuss each law enforcement agency’s annual report required

pursuant to § 31-21.3-6(a);

     (7) Consult with the CAD/RMS board of advisors, as established in § 42-28.10-2;

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     (8) Recommend appropriate assessments for the studies;

     (9) Recommend policies for stops, searches and seizures;

     (10) Recommend appropriate enforcement mechanisms to address any study results; and

     (11) Promote the involvement and investment of the public in CCPRA research, the annual

studies, and the work of the CCPRA advisory committee.

     (g) The office of highway safety or the department of administration shall provide space

and secretarial services to the advisory committee without charge to the committee.

     SECTION 2. Section 31-21.2-6 of the General Laws in Chapter 31-21.2 entitled

"Comprehensive Community-Police Relationship Act of 2015" is hereby amended to read as

follows:

     31-21.2-6. Continued data collection.

     (a) The office of highway safety of the Rhode Island department of transportation or a

designee to be chosen by the department of transportation by January 1, 2017, and until January 1,

2024, is authorized to and shall conduct a study of routine traffic stops by the Rhode Island state

police and each municipal police department in order to determine whether racial disparities in

traffic stops exist, and to examine whether searches of vehicles and motorists are being conducted

in a disparate manner.

     (b) The office of highway safety of the Rhode Island department of transportation or its

designee shall, no later than January 1, 2016, develop a form or electronic equivalent to be used by

each police officer when making a traffic stop to record the data required under this chapter, which

form shall include for each motor vehicle stop, the race and ethnicity of the driver based on the

officer’s perception, and the information listed in § 31-21.1-4.

     (c) The office of highway safety of the Rhode Island department of transportation or its

designee shall advise the Rhode Island state police and each municipal police department of the

date that data collection shall commence. Data collection shall begin not later than January 1, 2016,

but may begin prior to that time upon notification to police departments from the office of highway

safety of the Rhode Island department of transportation or its designee.

     (d) A traffic stop data collection card or electronic equivalent shall be completed for each

routine traffic stop by the Rhode Island state police and municipal police department during the

term of this study.

     (e) Upon commencement of data collection, and monthly thereafter, each municipal police

department and the Rhode Island state police shall transmit to the office of highway safety of the

Rhode Island department of transportation or its designee all forms or electronic data collected to

date of motorists who were stopped, and any other information the police department or the Rhode

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Island state police deem appropriate. Data collection shall continue for forty-eight (48) months

following commencement of data collection.

     (f) Appropriate funding may be made available to implement the provision of this chapter

and completion of this study shall be contingent upon such funding.

     (g) The study shall include a multivariate analysis of the collected data in accordance with

general statistical standards and shall be substantially similar to the study prepared pursuant to

chapter 21.1 of this title. The study shall be prepared by an organization, company, person, or other

entity with sufficient expertise in the field of statistics and the study of traffic stop data collection

to assist with the implementation of this chapter, and chosen by the office of highway safety of the

Rhode Island department of transportation or its designee. The study shall be released on an annual

basis, with the first release not later than eighteen (18) months after commencement of data

collection under this chapter. The report, findings, and conclusions submitted pursuant to this

subsection shall be a public record.

     (h) The office of highway safety of the Rhode Island department of transportation, or its

designee, shall be exempt from the provisions of chapter 2 of title 37 in connection with its

procurement of equipment and services necessary to the implementation of this chapter.

     (i) On a quarterly basis, a summary report of the monthly data provided by each police

department and the state police for that quarterly period shall be issued. The report shall be a public

record. The summary report shall include, at a minimum, a monthly breakdown by race, age,

gender, and outcome for operators for each police department of the number of traffic stops made

and of searches conducted. For those police departments collecting data through the use of mobile

display terminals in police vehicles, the report shall also include a breakdown by race and outcome

for operators. The report shall be released not more than ninety (90) days after the end of each

quarterly period. No information revealing the identity of any individual shall be contained in the

report.

     (j) Every law enforcement agency collecting data pursuant to this chapter shall ensure that

supervisory personnel review each officer’s stop and search documentation and data results on a

monthly basis to ensure compliance with all policies, prohibitions, and documentation

requirements.

     (k) The head of every law enforcement agency subject to this chapter, or his or her

designee, shall review the data on a regular basis in an effort to determine whether any racial

disparities in the agency’s traffic stops enforcement exists, and to appropriately respond to any such

disparities. It is understood that disparities may or may not equate to racial profiling.

     (l) An organization chartered for the purpose of combating discrimination, racism, or of

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safeguarding civil liberties, or of promoting full, free, or equal employment opportunities, and/or a

governmental or quasi-governmental entity may seek appropriate relief in a civil action against any

police department for failing to collect or transmit the data required in this chapter, and may be

awarded its costs, including attorney’s fees, for bringing such an action. As a condition precedent

to the filing of a civil action by an organization under this section, the organization shall send a

notice to the office of highway safety of the Rhode Island department of transportation or its

designee identifying the police department which is failing to collect or transmit the data and the

organization shall then allow fifteen (15) days to elapse.

     (m) The office of highway safety of the Rhode Island department of transportation or its

designee shall consult with community, police and civil rights representatives in the development

of the form required by subsection (b) and on at least a quarterly basis shall consult on other issues

that arise relating to the implementation and enforcement of this chapter including the information

generated by the issuance of the reports required by subsection (i).

     SECTION 3. Chapter 31-21.2 of the General Laws entitled "Comprehensive Community-

Police Relationship Act of 2015" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following section:

     31-21.2-9. Sunset clause.

     Any and all powers, duties, rights, obligations and authorities of the office of highway

safety as it pertains to this chapter shall sunset as of January 1, 2024,

     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 MOTOR AND OTHER VEHICLES -- POLICE TRAFFIC STOP DATA

COLLECTION

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     This act would make revisions to the Comprehensive Community-Police Relationship Act

of 2015 (CCPRA) with regard to the continued collection of data for routine police traffic stops by

transferring that responsibility to the office of highway safety as of January 1, 2024 and would

create a twelve (12) member advisory committee to assist the office in the analysis and reporting

of the data collected.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

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