2023 -- H 5693
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LC001140
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S TATE OF RHODE IS LAND
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2023
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A N A C T
RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES -- WEAPONS
Introduced By: Representatives Noret, Hull, Baginski, Vella-Wilkinson, Finkelman,
Place, Dawson, Azzinaro, Lima, and Costantino
Date Introduced: February 17, 2023
Referred To: House Judiciary
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Section 11-47-15.3 of the General Laws in Chapter 11-47 entitled "Weapons" 1
is hereby amended to read as follows: 2
11-47-15.3. Commission on law enforcement standards and training. 3
(a) In lieu of the provisions of §§ 11-47-15.1, 11-47-15.2 and 11-47-17, each law 4
enforcement department of this state and its political subdivisions may, on an annual basis, submit 5
to the commission on law enforcement standards and training, referred to in this section as the 6
“commission”, a proposal for the training and qualification of their officers on all firearms which 7
they are authorized to carry or use in the performance of their official duties. 8
(b) Each proposal shall include training and qualification in the following areas: 9
(1) Decision shooting; 10
(2) Reduced light shooting; 11
(3) Moving targets; 12
(4) Use of cover; 13
(5) Non-dominate hand shooting; 14
(6) Alternate position shooting; 15
(7) Reloading drills; 16
(8) Malfunction drills. 17
(c) A minimum number of one hundred (100) three hundred (300) rounds shall be fired by 18
each officer during the training and qualification. 19
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(d) Qualification shall be no less than twenty percent (20%) nor more than fifty percent 1
(50%) of the total rounds fired. A minimum qualifying score shall be sixty-six percent (66%) of 2
the rounds fired during the qualification phase. 3
(e) The commission shall review each proposal and, within fourteen (14) days, notify the 4
department, in writing, whether the proposal is accepted or rejected. In the case of rejection, the 5
commission shall make recommendations to the department which, if implemented, would make 6
the proposal acceptable. Upon receipt of this notification, the department shall have fourteen (14) 7
days to submit a new proposal that is acceptable to the commission. 8
(f) In the event that a department neglects to submit a proposal to the commission or fails 9
to submit a proposal that is approved by the commission, the officers of that department shall be 10
required to fulfill the requirements for qualification as set out in § 11-47-15.1, 11-47-15.2, 11-47-11
17 or 11-47-17.1. 12
(g) All law enforcement officers of this state and its political subdivisions whose permanent 13
appointment shall take place after July 1, 1997, will be required to qualify under the provisions of 14
this section with all weapons which they are authorized to carry or use in the execution of their 15
official duties. 16
(h) Any law enforcement officer of this state and its political subdivisions whose permanent 17
appointment took place prior to July 1, 1997, may elect to qualify under the applicable provisions 18
of § 11-47-15.1, 11-47-15.2, 11-47-17 or 11-47-17.1. 19
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect on July 1, 2023. 20
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EXPLANATION
BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
OF
A N A C T
RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES -- WEAPONS
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This act would increase the number of minimum rounds fired from one hundred (100) to 1
three hundred (300) during the qualification and training of police officers. 2
This act would take effect on July 1, 2023. 3
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LC001140
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