Chapter 263

2007 -- S 1140 AS AMENDED

Enacted 07/03/07

A N A C T

RELATING TO TOWNS AND CITIES -- MUNICIPAL DETENTION FACILITY

CORPORATIONS

Introduced By: Senator Daniel J. Issa

Date Introduced: June 21, 2007

It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Section 45-54-6 of the General Laws in Chapter 45-54 entitled "Municipal

Detention Facility Corporations" is hereby amended to read as follows:

45-54-6. Powers. -- Except to the extent inconsistent with any specific provision of this

chapter, the corporation has the power:

      (1) To sue and be sued, complain, and defend in its corporate name;

      (2) To have a seal, which may be altered at pleasure, and to use the seal by causing it or

a facsimile to be impressed, affixed, or in any other manner reproduced. The seal shall be clearly

distinguishable from the seal of any city or town;

      (3) To maintain an office at a place or places that it may designate within the boundaries

of the city or town whose council established the corporation;

      (4) To determine the location and character of any project to be financed under the

provisions of this chapter, not inconsistent with local zoning ordinances;

      (5) To purchase, hold, and use any property, real, personal, or mixed, tangible or

intangible, or any interest in it, necessary or desirable for carrying out the purposes for the

corporation, and to mortgage, lease, or sell any of that property;

      (6) To acquire, whether by purchase, lease, gift, exchange, or otherwise, and to

construct, reconstruct, improve, erect, maintain, operate, manage, equip, and furnish, one or more

projects, including all real, personal, or mixed properties which it may deem necessary in

connection with that, and regardless of whether or not the project or projects shall then be in

existence or shall then be partially or wholly constructed;

      (7) To lease, as lessor, to any person, firm, partnership, or corporation, either public or

private, any or all of its projects, and to charge and collect rent for them, and to terminate any

lease upon the failure of the lessee to comply with any of the obligations of the lease;

      (8) To lease, as lessee, any property, real, personal or mixed, or any interest in property;

      (9) To sell, exchange, mortgage, donate, and convey any or all of its properties whenever

it finds an action to be in furtherance of the purposes for which the corporation was established;

      (10) To grant options to purchase any of its projects on whatever terms it may deem

advisable, and to grant options to renew any leases entered into by it in connection with any of its

projects on any terms it may deem advisable;

      (11) To issue bonds of the corporation for the purpose of carrying out any of its

purposes, payable solely from the revenues pledged by the bonds for their payment, and to refund

its bonds, all as provided in this chapter;

      (12) As security for the payment of the principal and interest on any bonds so issued and

any agreements made in connection with that, to mortgage and pledge any or all of its projects, or

any part or parts of them, whether then owned or thereafter acquired, to pledge their revenues and

receipts or from an interest of the bonds, and to assign or pledge the income received by virtue of

the lease or leases;

      (13) To borrow money in anticipation of the issuance of bonds for any of its purposes,

and to issue notes, certificates, or other evidences of the borrowing, upon terms as may be

authorized by resolution of the corporation;

      (14) To make and enter into all contracts, leases, and other agreements necessary or

incidental to the performance of its duties and the execution of its powers under this chapter;

provided, that those contracts, leases, and other agreements with the federal government or other

federal agency are governed by federal procurement procedures, and other contracts, leases, or

other agreements are governed by the procurement requirements of the municipality, if any.

      (15) Without limitation of the preceding, to borrow money from, to receive and accept

grants for or in aid of construction or acquisition of projects authorized under this chapter from,

and to enter into contracts, leases, or other transactions with, the federal government or any

federal agency; and to receive and accept from the state or any municipality, and from any other

source, aid or contributions of money, property, labor, or other things of value; to be held, used,

and applied only for the purposes for which the grants and contributions may be made;

      (16) To combine for financing purposes any two (2) or more projects authorized to be

acquired or constructed under the provisions of this chapter;

      (17) To employ, in its discretion, attorneys, accountants, architectural and engineering

consultants, and other officers, employees, or agents as may be necessary in its judgment, and to

fix their compensation;

      (18) To acquire in the name of the corporation by purchase or otherwise, on terms and

conditions and in the manner that it may deem proper, or by the exercise of the rights of

condemnation in the manner provided in section 45-54-9, public or private lands, or parts of them

or rights in them, rights-of-way, property, rights, easements, and interests as it may deem

necessary for carrying out the provisions of this chapter; provided, that all public property

damaged in carrying out the powers granted by this chapter is restored or repaired and placed in

its original condition as nearly as practicable; and

      (19) To do all other acts and to do any and all things necessary or convenient to carry out

its purposes and exercise the powers given and granted in this chapter.;

(20) To provide for the care, custody, control and transportation of all detainees or

inmates committed to detention or incarceration at any project and to take all necessary steps to

maintain security, safety and order, to prevent escapes from any project, to take all necessary

precautions to prevent the occurrence or spread of any disorder, riot, or insurrection of any

project, including, but not limited to, the development, planning and coordination of emergency

riot procedures, and take suitable measures for the restoration of order;

(21) To establish and fund training and education programs for employees, under the

direction of the warden, the curriculum for which to be approved annually by the police officers’

commission on standards and training and to establish and enforce standards for each project;

(22) To hire, promote, transfer, assign, and retain employees for the operation of each project

and suspend, demote, discharge, or take other necessary disciplinary action with regard to such

employees;

(23) To determine the methods, means, and personnel by which the operation of each

project is to be conducted;

(24) To relieve employees of duty because of lack of work or for other legitimate

reasons;

(25) To investigate grievances of its employees and to inquire into alleged misconduct by

employees;

(26) To make and promulgate necessary rules and regulations incident to the

corporation's exercise of its powers and the performance of the corporation's duties, including, but

not limited to, rules and regulations regarding nutrition, sanitation, safety, discipline, recreation,

religious services, communication and visiting privileges, classification, education, training,

employment, care, and custody for all persons detained at any project; and

(27) To delegate any or all of the above referenced powers to its duly designated agents,

servants, consultants or employees at its discretion, who being so designated may exercise said

power(s) on behalf of the corporation.

     SECTION 2. Section 11-47-9 of the General Laws in Chapter 11-47 entitled "Weapons"

is hereby amended to read as follows:

11-47-9. Persons exempt from restrictions. -- The provisions of section 11-47-8 shall

not apply to sheriffs, deputy sheriffs, the superintendent and members of the state police,

members of the Rhode Island airport police department, assistant director (adult services), deputy

assistant director, associate directors, members of the Rhode Island state marshals, correctional

officers, all within the department of corrections, members of the city or town police force,

capitol police investigators of the department of attorney general appointed pursuant to section

42-9-8.1, the witness protection coordinator for the witness protection review board as set forth in

chapter 30 of title 12 and subject to the minimum qualifications of section 42-9-8.1, the director,

assistant director, and other inspectors and agents at the Rhode Island state fugitive task force

appointed pursuant to section 12-6-7.2, railroad police while traveling to and from official

assignments or while on assignments, conservation officers, or other duly appointed law

enforcement officers, nor to members of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps of the

United States, the National Guard, or organized reserves, when on duty, nor to members of

organizations by law authorized to purchase or receive firearms from the United States or this

state, provided these members are at or going to or from their places of assembly or target

practice, nor to officers or employees of the United States authorized by law to carry a concealed

firearm, nor to any civilian guard or criminal investigator carrying sidearms or a concealed

firearm in the performance of his or her official duties under the authority of the commanding

officer of the military establishment in the state of Rhode Island where he or she is employed by

the United States, nor to any civilian guard carrying sidearms or a concealed firearm in the

performance of his or her official duties under the authority of the adjutant general where he or

she is employed guarding a national guard facility, provided, that the commanding officer of the

military establishment shall have on file with the attorney general of this state a list of the names

and addresses of all civilian guards and criminal investigators so authorized, nor to duly

authorized military organizations when on duty, nor to members when at or going to or from their

customary places of assembly, nor to any individual employed in the capacity of warden,

associate warden, major, captain, lieutenant, sergeant, correctional officer or investigator at any

project owned or operated by a municipal detention facility corporation, including the Donald W.

Wyatt Detention Facility, nor to the regular and/or ordinary transportation of pistols as

merchandise, nor to any person while carrying a pistol unloaded and securely wrapped from the

place of purchase to his or her home or place of business, or in moving goods from one place of

abode or business to another. Persons exempted by the provisions of this section from the

provisions of section 11-47-8 shall have the right to carry concealed firearms everywhere within

this state; provided, that this shall not be construed as giving the right to carry concealed firearms

to a person transporting firearms as merchandise or as household or business goods.

     SECTION 3. Section 12-7-21 of the General Laws in Chapter 12-7 entitled "Arrest" is

hereby amended to read as follows:

12-7-21. "Peace officer" defined. -- "Peace officer", as used within this chapter, means

the following individuals or members of:

      (1) Rhode Island state police;

      (2) Any member of a municipal or local police department;

      (3) Rhode Island marshals,

      (4) Rhode Island airport corporation police;

      (5) Rhode Island park police;

      (6) Rhode Island capitol police;

      (7) Rhode Island conservation officers;

      (8) Rhode Island department of environmental management officers;

      (9) Rhode Island fire marshals;

      (10) Brown University police officers;

      (11) University of Rhode Island campus police officers;

      (12) Rhode Island College campus security;

      (13) Campus security at the Community College of Rhode Island;

      (14) Rhode Island sheriff's department;

      (15) Rhode Island drug enforcement officers;

      (16) The investigators of the department of attorney general appointed pursuant to

section 42-9-8.1;

      (17) The director, assistant director, and other inspectors and agents of the Rhode Island

state fugitive task force appointed pursuant to section 12-6-7.2;

      (18) Any federal law enforcement officer;

      (19) Correctional investigators and correctional officers of the Rhode Island department

of corrections; and

      (20) The witness protection coordinator of the department of attorney general.; and

(21) The warden, associate wardens, majors, captains, lieutenants, sergeants, correctional

officers and investigators employed by a project operated by a municipal detention facility

corporation, including, but not limited to, the Donald W. Wyatt Detention Facility; provided, such

parties listed in this subsection (21) herein shall be deemed to be peace officers while in

performance of their duties for the municipal detention facility only, and shall not be deemed to

be peace officers at any time when they are not in performance of said duties.

     SECTION 4. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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LC03436

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