§ 1-2-1.1. Powers relating to vehicular traffic accessing airport facilities — Rhode Island T.F. Green International Airport.
(a)(1) The Rhode Island airport corporation is authorized:
(i) To impose charges on customers of rental companies, as defined in § 31-34.1-1, who directly or indirectly use Warwick Station or the Rhode Island T.F. Green International Airport, at the rates that the Rhode Island airport corporation may deem necessary to provide adequate revenue to pay all costs of constructing, reconstructing, expanding, reconfiguring, operating, and maintaining Warwick Station regardless of whether those charges may have an anticompetitive effect; and
(ii) To regulate the access of vehicular traffic to airport properties including by excluding one or more classes of vehicular traffic from accessing portions of airport roadways, parking lots, curbsides, and other vehicular facilities.
(2) Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the authority of Rhode Island airport corporation to impose other fees, charges, rates, or rentals including any other fees, charges, rates, or rentals imposed on rental companies or to adopt other regulations.
(b) All customer facility charges collected under the authority of subsection (a)(1)(i) of this section and all customer facility charges collected by any rental company from customers under color of those provisions, or pursuant to regulations adopted by the airport corporation, constitute a trust fund for the airport corporation until paid. That trust is enforceable against: (1) The rental company; (2) Any officer, agent, servant, or employee of any rental company responsible for either the collection or payment, or both, of the customer facility charge; (3) Any person receiving any part of the fund without consideration, or knowing that the rental company or any officer, agent, servant, or employee of any rental company is committing a breach of trust; and (4) The estates, heirs, and representatives of persons or entities described in subsections (b)(1) — (b)(3); provided, that a customer to whom a refund has been properly made, or any person who receives payment of a lawful obligation of the rental company from that fund, is presumed to have received that amount in good faith and without any knowledge of the breach of trust.
(c) If the airport corporation or any officer of the corporation believes that the payment to the airport corporation of the trust fund established under subsection (b) of this section will be jeopardized by delay, neglect, or misappropriation, the airport corporation or officer shall notify the rental company that the trust fund shall be segregated, and kept separate and apart from all other funds and assets of the rental company and shall not be commingled with any other funds or assets. The notice shall be given by either hand delivery or by registered mail, return receipt requested. Within four (4) days after the sending of the notice, all of the customer facility charges which thereafter either become collectible or are collected shall be deposited daily in any financial institution in the state as defined in title 19 and those customer facility charges designated as a special fund in trust for the airport corporation and payable to the airport corporation by the rental company as trustee of that fund.
(d) The penalty for misappropriations provided by § 44-19-37 shall apply as though that section referred to “customer facility charge” in each place where it refers to “tax”.
(e) The provisions of subsections (b), (c), and (d) of this section are not exclusive, and are in addition to all other remedies the airport corporation may employ in the enforcement and collection of customer facility charges.
History of Section.
P.L. 2002, ch. 65, art. 40, § 2; P.L. 2021, ch. 32, § 2, effective June 1, 2021; P.L.
2021, ch. 36, § 2, effective June 1, 2021.