Chapter
253
2007 -- S 492 SUBSTITUTE A AS AMENDED
Enacted 07/03/07
A N A C T
RELATING
TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- THE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
Introduced
By: Senator Leo R. Blais
Date
Introduced: February 13, 2007
It is enacted by the General Assembly as
follows:
SECTION 1. Title
42 of the General Laws entitled "STATE AFFAIRS AND
GOVERNMENT" is hereby amended by adding
thereto the following chapter:
CHAPTER
17.10
ENFORCEMENT OF CERTAIN
NATURAL RESOURCE VIOLATIONS
42-17.10-1.
Civil Violations – Jurisdiction – Penalties. -- In order to handle
minor
environmental offenses in a fair and expeditious
manner, the following environmental offenses
are declared to be civil violations and shall be
within the jurisdiction of the Rhode Island traffic
tribunal. Penalties assessed for violations
shall correspond to the fines described.
20-1-12 Fixing of seasons and bag limits $100.00
20-11-20
Fresh water fishing –
Penalties 100.00
20-16-17 Prohibition against
hunting/killing otter 100.00
23-22.5-9 Swimming in breachways
prohibited not to
exceed
fifty dollars
50.00
32-2-4 Parks and recreational
areas – Rules and regulations
Enforcement – Power of director not to exceed
one hundred
dollars $100.00
46-22-19(1) Regulation
of boats – Penalties not to exceed
one hundred
dollars $100.00
42-17.10-2.
Form of summons. -- (a) The form of the summons and the complaint
authorized by this section shall be used for all
environmental civil violations specified in section
42-17.10-1. The summons and complaint to be
issued to an alleged offender shall contain such
information, and be in such form, as may be
required by the rules and procedures promulgated by
the chief judge of the district court for the
traffic tribunal. Every summons shall provide notice
of: (i) the charge or charges against the
individual; and (ii) a date to appear in the traffic tribunal
and answer the charges against him or her.
(b) The summons
may be the same as the summons provided for in section 31-27-12.
The chief of law enforcement of the department
of environmental management, the chief
executive officer of any other police department
citing persons for environmental civil violations
in accordance with section 42-17.10-1, peace
officers and other individuals authorized to enforce
civil violations as stipulated in section
42-17.10-1 shall prepare or cause to be prepared any
records and reports that may be prescribed by
the rules of the traffic tribunal.
42-17.10-3.
Payment without personal appearance. – Any enforcement officer of
the
department of environmental management, the
chief executive officer of any other police
department citing persons for environmental
civil violations in accordance with section 42-17.10-
1, peace officers and other individuals
authorized to enforce civil violations as stipulated in
section 42-17.10-1 who charges any person with a
civil violation as set forth in section 42-17.10-
1 of this chapter shall, in addition to issuing
a summons for the violation, provide the alleged
violator with a form which will allow the
violator to dispose of the charge without the necessity
of personally appearing before the traffic
tribunal. Penalties assessed in accordance with this
section shall be one hundred dollars ($100) for
all violations set forth in section 42-17.10-1,
except for violations of section 23-22.5-9,
which shall have a penalty not to exceed fifty dollars
($50.00). This section shall apply to residents
and nonresidents alike.
42-17.10-4.
Method of payment. – If the alleged violator elects to dispose of
the charge
without personally appearing before the traffic
tribunal, he or she shall execute the form indicated
and return it to the traffic tribunal not later
than twenty (20) days from the date of the summons
either by mailing or delivering the form and
summons to the violation section of the traffic
tribunal, or to its designee, together with
cash, check or money order in the amount indicated by
the fine schedule on the form.
42-17.10-5.
Failure to answer or appear. – In the event the person charged with
a
violation does not pay the fine administratively
in accordance with the provisions of section 42-
17.10-3, then he or she shall have waived his or
her right to dispose of the violation without
personal appearance, and the person charged with
the violation must then appear before the traffic
tribunal on the date specified on the summons.
If the person charged with the violation shall fail
to appear on the specified date, a judge or
magistrate may enter default judgment, and after
hearing any evidence presented, determine
whether the charges have been established. If the
charges are not established, an order dismissing
the charges shall be entered. If a determination is
made that a charge has been established, an
appropriate order shall be entered in the records of
the traffic tribunal.
42-17.10-6.
Hearings. – (a) Every hearing for the adjudication of a violation,
as provided
by this chapter, shall be held before a judge or
magistrate of the traffic tribunal. The burden of
proof shall be upon the state, and no charge may
be established except by clear and convincing
evidence. A verbatim recording shall be made of
all proceedings. The chief judge may prescribe,
by rule or regulation, the procedures for the
conduct of the hearings and for pre-hearing
discovery.
(b) After due
consideration of the evidence and arguments, the judge or magistrate shall
determine whether the charges have been
established, and appropriate findings of fact shall be
made on the record. If the charges are not
established, an order dismissing the charges shall be
entered. If a determination is made that a
charge has been established or if an answer admitting
the charge has been received, an appropriate
order shall be entered in the records of the traffic
tribunal.
(c) An order
entered after the receipt of an answer admitting the charge or where a
determination is made that the charge has been
established shall be civil in nature, and shall be
treated as an adjudication that a violation has
been committed. A judge or magistrate may include
in the order the imposition of any penalty
authorized by any provisions of this chapter for the
violation, except that no penalty for it shall
include imprisonment.
(d) A hearing
fee of twenty-five dollars ($25.00) shall be assessed by the traffic tribunal
against each person pleading guilty to or found
guilty of the violation. Any person charged with a
violation who pays the fine administratively
pursuant to section 42-17.10-3 shall not be subject to
any hearing fee or additional costs or
assessments.
(e) Any party
aggrieved by a judgment or order of the traffic tribunal entered pursuant to
the provisions of this chapter may seek further
review pursuant to sections 31-41.1-8 and 31-41.1-
9.
42-17.10-7.
Violations by juveniles. -- The Rhode Island family court shall
retain
exclusive jurisdiction over violations of this
chapter involving juveniles.
42-17.10-8.
Suspension for failure to pay fine. – The Department of
Environmental
Management shall immediately suspend all license(s)
and registration of a person issued by the
Department, and shall deny access to all
services and facilities owned or managed by the
Department, upon certification of a clerk of the
traffic tribunal that the person has failed to pay
fines or costs imposed for a violation of any
provision of this chapter within the time period
provided for payment by the court. All agencies
of the state, shall cooperate and provide any
information requested by the Department of
Environmental Management to enforce the
provisions of this section. The suspension(s)
shall remain in force until all fines or costs are paid
to the respective courts.
SECTION 2. Section
8-8.2-2 of the General Laws in Chapter 8-8.2 entitled "Traffic
Tribunal" is hereby amended to read as
follows:
8-8.2-2.
Jurisdiction. -- (a) Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of law,
all
probationary license hearings as provided in
section 31-10-26, all violations of the department of
transportation, department of environmental
management or board of governors for higher
education regulations regarding parking,
standing, or stopping in areas under the jurisdiction of
said agencies, all violations of state statutes
relating to motor vehicles, littering and traffic
offenses, except those traffic offenses
committed in places within the exclusive jurisdiction of the
United States, and except driving so as to
endanger resulting in death, driving so as to endanger
resulting in personal injury, driving while
under the influence of liquor or drugs, driving while
under the influence of liquor or drugs resulting
in death, driving while under the influence of
liquor or drugs resulting in serious bodily
injury, reckless driving and other offenses against
public safety as provided in section 31-27-4,
eluding a law enforcement officer with a motor
vehicle in a high speed pursuit, driving after
denial, suspension or revocation of license, and
leaving the scene of an accident in violation of
section 31-26-1 and section 31-26-2, and driving
without the consent of the owner and possession
of a stolen motor vehicle in violation of section
31-9-1 and section 31-9-2, shall be heard and
determined by the traffic tribunal pursuant to the
regulations promulgated by the chief judge of the
district court; provided, however, the traffic
tribunal shall not hear any parking, standing or
stopping violations which occur in any city or
town which has established its own municipal
court and has jurisdiction over such violations.
Nothing contained herein shall abrogate the
powers of the Rhode Island family court under the
provisions of chapter 1 of title 14.
(b)
Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of law, the traffic tribunal shall
have
concurrent jurisdiction to hear and determine,
pursuant to rules and regulations promulgated by
the chief judge of the district court, all
violations of any ordinances, rules and regulations
governing the public waters and the speed,
management and control of all vessels and the size,
type and location and use of all anchorages and
moorings within the jurisdiction of the towns of
North Kingstown, South Kingstown, Portsmouth,
Middletown, Narragansett and Tiverton
enforced and supervised by the harbormaster and
referred to the traffic tribunal, and the terms
"traffic violations" and "traffic
infraction" when used in this chapter shall include the aforesaid
violations and such violations shall be
adjudicated in accordance with the provisions of this
chapter. Nothing contained herein shall abrogate
the powers of the Rhode Island coastal
management council under the provisions of
chapter 23 of title 46.
(c)
Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of law, the traffic tribunal shall
have
jurisdiction to hear and determine, pursuant to
rules and regulations promulgated by the chief
judge of the district court, all civil
violations for sections 20-1-12, 20-11-20, 20-16-17, 23-22.5-9,
32-2-4 and subsection 46-22-19(1) as set forth
in section 42-17.10-1.
SECTION 3. Section
20-1-12 of the General Laws in Chapter 20-1 entitled "General
Provisions" is hereby amended to read as
follows:
20-1-12.
Fixing of seasons and bag limits. -- (a) The director is authorized to
adopt
regulations fixing seasons, bag limits, size
limits, possession limits, and methods of taking on any
species of fish, game, bird, or other wild
animal occurring within the state, other than marine
species regulated by the marine fisheries
council.
(1) These
regulations may prohibit the taking, holding, or possession of any species,
prohibit the taking, molestation, or disturbance
in any way of nesting, breeding, or feeding sites
of any species and/or prohibit, control, or
regulate any commercial use, importation into the state,
or exportation from the state of any species.
(2) These
regulations may be of statewide applicability or may be applicable in any
specified locality or localities within the
state when the director shall find, after investigation, that
the regulations are appropriate.
(b) Any person who
violates any provision of this chapter section or any rule or
regulation made under the provisions of this chapter
section shall be guilty of a violation and shall
be subject to a fine of one hundred dollars ($100)
for each violation
civil violation and subject to
a fine of one hundred dollars ($100) for each
offense.
(c)
Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of law, the district court shall
have
exclusive jurisdiction to hear and determine all
violations specified in this chapter and shall be
afforded those options as provided for in
section 46-22-19.2
the traffic tribunal shall have
jurisdiction to hear and determine all
violations specified in this section.
(d) The
regulations shall be adopted only after the holding of a public hearing subject
to
the provisions of the Administrative Procedures
Act, chapter 35 of title 42.
SECTION 4.
Sections 20-11-20 and 20-11-21 of the General Laws in Chapter 20-11
entitled "Fresh Water Fishing" are
hereby amended to read as follows:
20-11-20.
Penalties. -- Any person who violates any provision of this chapter, or
who
violates any rule or regulation made under the
provisions of this chapter, shall be guilty of a
violation and subject to a fine of one hundred
dollars ($100) for each violation and afforded those
options as provided for in section 46-22-19.2. shall be guilty of a
civil violation and be subject to
a fine of one hundred dollars ($100) for each
offense. Jurisdiction over violations of this chapter
shall be with the traffic tribunal.
20-11-21.
Jurisdiction. -- Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of law, the
district
court traffic tribunal shall have exclusive
jurisdiction to hear and determine all violations
specified in this chapter.
SECTION 5. Section
20-16-17 of the General Laws in Chapter 20-16 entitled "Fur-
bearing Animals" is hereby amended to read
as follows:
20-16-17.
Prohibition against hunting or killing otter. -- No person shall hunt,
trap,
take, or kill an otter in this state. Any person
violating the provision of this section shall be
punished by a fine of one hundred dollars ($100)
for each offense.
guilty of a civil violation and
be subject to a fine of one hundred dollars
($100) for each offense. Jurisdiction over violations of
this section shall be with the traffic tribunal.
SECTION 6. Section
23-22.5-9 of the General Laws in Chapter 23-22.5 entitled
"Drowning Prevention and Lifesaving"
is hereby amended to read as follows:
23-22.5-9.
Swimming in breachways prohibited. -- No person shall swim in the
breachway of the Charlestown Pond, or in the
breachway of Quonochontaug Pond, or in the
breachway of Weekapaug Pond. Any person
violating any of the provisions of this section shall,
upon conviction, be fined not more than fifty
dollars ($50.00) for each offense be guilty of a civil
violation and be subject to a fine, not to
exceed fifty dollars ($50.00) for each offense.
Jurisdiction over violations of this section
shall be with the traffic tribunal. In accordance with
chapter 42-17.10, any person charged with
violating any of the provisions of this section may
elect to dispose of the charge without
personally appearing before the traffic tribunal by mailing
or delivering the form and summons to the
traffic tribunal with a check or money order in the
amount of fifty dollars ($50.00).
SECTION 7. Section
32-2-4 of the General Laws in Chapter 32-2 entitled "Metropolitan
Park District" is hereby amended to read as
follows:
32-2-4.
Rules and regulations -- Enforcement -- Powers of director. -- (a) The
director
of the department of environmental management
may make rules and regulations for the control,
government, and use of all the public properties
and highways under his or her care., and for
breaches thereof may affix penalties, not
exceeding one hundred dollars ($100), and costs for any
one offense, to be imposed in the discretion of
the court by any district court, municipal court, or
police court, in the city or town where the
breach is made or other court of competent jurisdiction;
and in A person violating the rules and regulations
promulgated pursuant to this section shall be
guilty of a civil violation and be subject to a
fine not to exceed one hundred dollars ($100) for
each offense. Jurisdiction over violations of
this section shall be with the traffic tribunal. In
accordance with chapter 42-17.10, any person
charged with violating the rules and regulations
promulgated pursuant to this section may elect
to dispose of the charge without personally
appearing before the traffic tribunal by mailing
or delivering the form and summons to the traffic
tribunal with a check or money order in the
amount of one hundred dollars ($100). In general, the
director may do all acts needful for the proper
execution of the powers and duties granted to and
imposed upon the director by the terms of this
chapter. The director shall also have power to
expend such funds as may be given in trust, and
the income thereof, in accordance with the terms
of the trusts, as provided for in section
32-2-6.
(b) Those persons
duly authorized by the director of the department of environmental
management to exercise the powers specified in
sections 2-10-13, 2-12-8, 2-12-19, 37-15-2,
and/or 46-22-17, may also be commissioned by the
director of the department to enforce any
rules or regulations promulgated by the director
of the department as applicable to public
properties under his or her care.
SECTION 8. Section
46-22-19 of the General Laws in Chapter 46-22 entitled
"Regulation of Boats" is hereby
amended to read as follows:
46-22-19.
Penalties. -- In addition to any other penalties specified in this
chapter:
(1) Any person
who violates any provision of sections 46-22-3 -- 46-22-5, 46-22-8, 46-
22-9.2, 46-22-10, and 46-22-13, or who violates
any rule or regulation made under the provisions
of this chapter those sections
shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be subject to a fine not to
exceed one hundred dollars ($100) for each
violation.
civil violation and be subject to a fine not
to exceed one hundred dollars ($100) for each
violation. Jurisdiction over violations of this
subsection shall be with the traffic tribunal.
In accordance with chapter 42-17.10, any person
charged with violating any rule or regulation
made under the provisions of this subsection may
elect to dispose of the charge without
personally appearing before the traffic tribunal by mailing
or delivering the form and summons to the
traffic tribunal with a check or money order in the
amount of one hundred dollars ($100).
(2) Any person
who violates any provision of sections 46-22-7 and 46-22-12 shall be
guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be subject to
a fine not to exceed two hundred dollars ($200)
for each violation.
(3) Any person
who violates any provision of sections 46-22-9 and 46-22-9.1 shall be
guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be subject to
a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars
($1,000), or imprisonment not to exceed one
year, or both for each violation.
SECTION 9. This
act shall take effect on August 1, 2007.
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LC01115/SUB A/7
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