2014 -- S 2137 SUBSTITUTE A
Enacted 07/01/14
RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT - DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
Introduced By: Senators Sosnowski, Cool Rumsey, Walaska, Miller, and Kettle
Date Introduced: January 29, 2014
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Section 42-17.1-4 of the General Laws in Chapter 42-17.1 entitled "Department of Environmental Management" is hereby amended to read as follows:
42-17.1-4. Divisions within department. -- Within the department of environmental management there are established the following divisions:
(1) A division of parks and recreation
which that
shall carry out those functions of the department relating to the operation and
maintenance of parks and recreation areas and the establishment and maintenance
of such additional recreation areas as may from time to time be acquired and
such other functions and duties as may from time to time be assigned by the
director;
(2) A division of fish and wildlife which that
shall carry out those functions of the department relating to the
administration of hunting, fishing, and shell fisheries; the preservation of
wetlands, marsh lands, and wildlife; and
such other functions and duties as may from time to time be assigned by the
director;
(3) A division of agriculture which that
shall carry out those functions of the department relating to agriculture, and
such other functions and duties as may from time to time be assigned by the
director, including, but not limited to, plant industry, farm viability,
marketing and promotion, farmland ecology and protection, plant and animal
health and quarantine, pesticides, mosquito abatement, pest survey and
response, food policy and security, and, in collaboration with the department of
health, public health as it relates to farm production and direct marketing of
farm products, and those agreed upon through memorandum of agreement with the
department of health or other state agencies. The department of health shall
continue to act as the lead agency for all public health issues in the state
pursuant to chapter 23-1 of title 23. Nothing herein contained shall limit
the department of health's statutory authority, nor shall any provision herein
be construed as a limitation upon the statutory authority of the department of
health granted to the department under title 23 of the general laws, nor shall
any provision herein be construed to limit the authority of the department of
environmental management to enter into memoranda of agreement with any
governmental agency. The chief of the division of
agriculture shall report directly to the director.
(4) A division of coastal resources which that
shall carry out those functions of the department relating to harbors and
harbor lines, pilotage, flood control, shore development, construction of port
facilities, and the registration of boats and such other functions and duties
as may, from time to time, be assigned by the director, except that the
division shall not be responsible for the functions of inspection of dams and
reservoirs, approving plans for construction or improvement of dams, reservoirs, and other structures in non-tidal waters, and
the operation of stream-gauging stations in cooperation with the United States
Geological Survey, and provided, further, that the division and its staff shall be
responsible through the director of environmental management, to the coastal
resources management council, and the chief and the staff of the division shall
serve as staff to the council;
(5) A division of planning and
development which that shall carry out those functions of the
department relating to planning, programming, acquisition of land, engineering
studies, and such other studies as the
director may direct, and which that shall work with the board of governors for
higher education and the board of regents for elementary and secondary
education, with educational institutions at all levels, and with the public in the dissemination of
information and education relating to natural resources, and shall perform the publication and public
relations functions of the department, the functions of inspection of dams and
reservoirs, approving plans for construction or improvement of dams,
reservoirs, and other structures in non-tidal waters, and the operation of
stream-gauging stations in cooperation with the United States Geological
Survey;
(6) A division of enforcement which that
shall enforce all of the laws and regulations of the department and the coastal
resources management council, which that shall cooperate with the other enforcement
agencies of the state and its municipalities, and which
that shall administer all of the
policing, enforcing, licensing, registration, and inspection functions of the
department and such other functions and duties as may, from time to time, be
assigned by the director;
(7) A division of forest environment which that
shall carry out those functions of the department relating to the
administration of forests and natural areas, including programs for
utilization, conservation, forest fire protection, and improvements of these
areas; assisting other agencies and local governments in urban programs
relating to trees, forests, green belts, and environment and such other
functions and duties as may, from time
to time, be assigned by the director; and
(8) (i) A division of boating safety which that
shall carry out those functions of the department relating to the development
and administration of a coordinated,
safe boating program in accordance with the Model Safe Boating Act of 1971 as
approved by the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators;.
(ii) Administration of the division of boating safety shall be the responsibility of the state boating law administrator whose duties shall include:
(A) The enforcement of all laws relating to the act; and
(B) The powers vested in the state
boating law administrator and boating safety enforcement officer shall include
the enforcement of laws, rules and regulations relating to "Regulation of
Boats," title 46, chapter 22 of title 46 and shall also include the power to:
(I) Execute all warrants and search warrants for the violation of laws, rules, and regulations relating to the act.
(II) Serve subpoenas issued for the trial of all offenses hereunder.
(III) To carry firearms or other weapons, concealed or otherwise, in the course of, and in performance of, their duties under this chapter.
(IV) To arrest without warrant and on
view any person found violating any law, rule, or regulation relating to the
act,;
take that person before a court having jurisdiction for trial,; detain
that person in custody at the expense of the state until arraignment; and to make and execute complaints within any
district to the justice or clerk of the court against any person for any of the
offenses enumerated under the act committed within the district.
(V) Boating safety enforcement officers shall not be required to give surety for costs upon any complaint made by him or her.
(iii) The development and administration of a coordinated, safe boating program.
(iv) The establishment and enforcement of such rules and regulations as are deemed necessary to achieve the purposes of the Model Safe Boating Act as approved by the state boating law administrators.
(v) The state boating law administrator shall serve as the liaison to the United States Coast Guard.
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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LC003447/SUB A
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