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| 9 | 9 | | S TATE OF RHODE IS LAND |
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| 10 | 10 | | IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 11 | 11 | | JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2023 |
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| 12 | 12 | | ____________ |
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| 13 | 13 | | |
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| 14 | 14 | | A N A C T |
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| 15 | 15 | | RELATING TO HIGHWAYS -- RHODE ISLAND TURNPIKE AND BRIDGE AUTHORITY |
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| 16 | 16 | | Introduced By: Representatives Finkelman, Noret, Dawson, Caldwell, O'Brien, Abney, |
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| 17 | 17 | | Carson, and Cortvriend |
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| 18 | 18 | | Date Introduced: February 08, 2023 |
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| 19 | 19 | | Referred To: House State Government & Elections |
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| 20 | 20 | | (RI Bridge and Turnpike Authority) |
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| 21 | 21 | | |
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| 22 | 22 | | It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: |
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| 23 | 23 | | SECTION 1. Section 24-12-37 of the General Laws in Chapter 24-12 entitled "Rhode 1 |
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| 24 | 24 | | Island Turnpike and Bridge Authority" is hereby amended to read as follows: 2 |
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| 25 | 25 | | 24-12-37. Penalty for nonpayment of toll — Toll violators and toll evaders. 3 |
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| 26 | 26 | | (a) Legislative findings. The general assembly finds as follows: 4 |
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| 27 | 27 | | (1) That all users of any tolled projects should be required to timely pay for the use of such 5 |
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| 28 | 28 | | projects; 6 |
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| 29 | 29 | | (2) That toll violators and toll evaders unfairly shift the financial burden of maintaining the 7 |
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| 30 | 30 | | tolled projects to other project users; and 8 |
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| 31 | 31 | | (3) Rhode Island has a strong interest in ensuring that its transportation infrastructure is 9 |
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| 32 | 32 | | adequately funded in a fair and equitable manner. 10 |
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| 33 | 33 | | (b) In each instance when a person fails or refuses to pay or prepay the required toll on a 11 |
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| 34 | 34 | | tolled project, and is issued a violation for the same, the toll violator shall pay the toll amount within 12 |
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| 35 | 35 | | fourteen (14) thirty (30) days of issuance of the violation. 13 |
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| 36 | 36 | | (c) Any toll violator who fails to pay the toll amount due within the fourteen-day (14) thirty 14 |
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| 37 | 37 | | (30) day period in subsection (b) shall immediately incur a forty-dollar ($40.00) administrative fee 15 |
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| 38 | 38 | | in addition to the unpaid toll amount. 16 |
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| 39 | 39 | | (d) Any toll violator who fails to pay the administrative fee and unpaid toll as required by 17 |
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| 47 | 47 | | (e) Toll evaders shall be responsible for any tolls and administrative fees applicable to toll 3 |
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| 48 | 48 | | violators. Further, at the request of the authority, any toll evader shall also promptly receive a traffic 4 |
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| 49 | 49 | | violation summons that shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the Rhode Island traffic tribunal, 5 |
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| 50 | 50 | | which may suspend the toll evader’s driver’s license for up to six (6) months for the violations and 6 |
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| 51 | 51 | | assess a fine of up to five hundred dollars ($500), or both. All tolls, administrative fees, and fines 7 |
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| 52 | 52 | | shall be payable to the authority. 8 |
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| 53 | 53 | | (f) If any unpaid toll amounts, administrative fees, and fines are not paid within ninety (90) 9 |
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| 54 | 54 | | days of the issuance of the original violation, and the toll violator has incurred at least ten (10) 10 |
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| 55 | 55 | | instances in which such toll violator has failed to pay any required toll amounts, administrative 11 |
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| 56 | 56 | | fees, and fines, then the authority may report the person as a toll violator, or, if appropriate, as a 12 |
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| 57 | 57 | | toll evader, to the Rhode Island division of motor vehicles, who then shall not permit that person 13 |
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| 58 | 58 | | to renew his or her driver’s license and vehicle registration until any unpaid toll amounts, 14 |
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| 59 | 59 | | administrative fees, and fines are paid to the authority. Upon the authority’s receipt of such payment 15 |
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| 60 | 60 | | or a written repayment agreement between the person and the authority, the authority shall promptly 16 |
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| 61 | 61 | | issue a verbal, written, or electric confirmation showing the amounts paid and a certification that 17 |
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| 62 | 62 | | the person does not owe any amounts to the authority or has otherwise made satisfactory repayment 18 |
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| 63 | 63 | | arrangements with the authority. In any such case, the Rhode Island division of motor vehicles shall 19 |
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| 64 | 64 | | forthwith release any hold placed for this purpose on the person’s license renewal and vehicle 20 |
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| 65 | 65 | | registration renewal. If a person who made satisfactory repayment arrangements with the authority 21 |
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| 66 | 66 | | subsequently fails to honor and comply with such arrangements with the authority according to 22 |
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| 67 | 67 | | their terms, the authority may re-report the person to the Rhode Island division of motor vehicles 23 |
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| 68 | 68 | | which shall then prohibit that person from renewing their driver’s license and vehicle registration 24 |
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| 69 | 69 | | until the originally unpaid toll amounts, administrative fees, and fines are paid to the authority. 25 |
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| 70 | 70 | | (g) “Toll violator” means, for the purposes of this section, any person who uses any project 26 |
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| 71 | 71 | | and fails to pay or prepay the required toll. 27 |
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| 72 | 72 | | (h) “Toll evader” means, for the purposes of this section, any person who uses a project, 28 |
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| 73 | 73 | | fails or refuses to pay or prepay the required toll, and deliberately circumvents or proceeds around 29 |
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| 74 | 74 | | or through a gate or other barrier on a project; and/or any toll violator who fails or refuses to pay 30 |
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| 75 | 75 | | or prepay the required toll on a tolled project at least twenty (20) or more times, received at least 31 |
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| 76 | 76 | | three (3) written notices from the authority (or its agent) regarding the non-payment of tolls, and is 32 |
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| 77 | 77 | | not a party to, or in current compliance with, a written repayment plan with the authority. 33 |
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| 78 | 78 | | (i) The authority may promulgate appropriate rules and regulations to ensure the proper 34 |
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| 79 | 79 | | |
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| 80 | 80 | | |
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| 82 | 82 | | administration of the provisions of this section. Any person aggrieved by the authority’s assessment 1 |
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| 83 | 83 | | of any administrative fees may request review of such assessment through the process established 2 |
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| 84 | 84 | | by the authority, which shall not be subject to the provisions of chapter 35 of title 42. 3 |
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| 85 | 85 | | (j) For the purposes of this section only, “person” means the registered owner, EZPass 4 |
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| 86 | 86 | | account holder, driver, rentee, or lessee of a motor vehicle. 5 |
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| 87 | 87 | | (k) This section shall apply retroactively to all persons who are toll evaders as of the 6 |
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| 88 | 88 | | effective date of this act [October 1, 2016]. 7 |
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| 89 | 89 | | (l) Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to reduce or otherwise eliminate 8 |
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| 90 | 90 | | any tolls, fines, or penalties a person owes to the authority based upon violations occurring prior to 9 |
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| 91 | 91 | | the effective date of this act [October 1, 2016]. 10 |
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| 92 | 92 | | (m) It is unlawful for any person or business, other than an authorized representative of the 11 |
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| 93 | 93 | | authority, or any other duly authorized and existing toll or transportation agency, to sell, lease, rent, 12 |
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| 94 | 94 | | or offer for sale, lease or rent, any tokens, tickets, passes, transponders, or other evidences of 13 |
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| 95 | 95 | | payment issued for passage on any project. Any person or business who or that is found in violation 14 |
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| 96 | 96 | | of this subsection shall be punished, for each offense, by a fine of not more than five hundred 15 |
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| 97 | 97 | | dollars ($500). 16 |
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| 98 | 98 | | (n) If any provision of this section or its application to any person is deemed invalid, any 17 |
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| 99 | 99 | | such invalidity shall not affect the other provisions of this section that may lawfully be given effect 18 |
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| 100 | 100 | | without the invalid provision. 19 |
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| 101 | 101 | | SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage. 20 |
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| 102 | 102 | | ======== |
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