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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | 2023 -- H 6063 |
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| 6 | 6 | | ======== |
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| 7 | 7 | | LC002436 |
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| 8 | 8 | | ======== |
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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 CRIMINAL OFFENSES -- COMMERCIAL SEXUAL AC TIVITY |
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| 16 | 16 | | Introduced By: Representatives Ajello, Knight, Kazarian, Handy, Cortvriend, Cruz, and |
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| 17 | 17 | | Speakman |
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| 18 | 18 | | Date Introduced: March 03, 2023 |
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| 19 | 19 | | Referred To: House Judiciary |
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| 20 | 20 | | |
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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. Sections 11-34.1-2, 11-34.1-3, 11-34.1-4 and 11-34.1-6 of the General Laws 1 |
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| 24 | 24 | | in Chapter 11-34.1 entitled "Commercial Sexual Activity" are hereby amended to read as follows: 2 |
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| 25 | 25 | | 11-34.1-2. Prostitution. 3 |
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| 26 | 26 | | (a) A person is guilty of prostitution when such person engages, or agrees, or offers to 4 |
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| 27 | 27 | | engage in sexual conduct with another person in return for a fee. Any person found guilty under 5 |
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| 28 | 28 | | this section shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be subject to imprisonment for a 6 |
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| 29 | 29 | | term not exceeding six (6) months, or to a fine of not less than two hundred fifty dollars ($250) nor 7 |
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| 30 | 30 | | more than one thousand dollars ($1,000), or both. 8 |
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| 31 | 31 | | (b) Any person found guilty of a subsequent offense under this section shall be subject to 9 |
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| 32 | 32 | | imprisonment for a term of not more than one year, or a fine of not less than five hundred dollars 10 |
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| 33 | 33 | | ($500) nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000), or both. 11 |
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| 34 | 34 | | (c) In any prosecution for a violation under this section, it shall be an affirmative defense 12 |
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| 35 | 35 | | if the accused was forced to commit a commercial sexual activity by: 13 |
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| 36 | 36 | | (1) Being threatened or subjected to physical harm; 14 |
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| 37 | 37 | | (2) Being physically restrained or threatened to be physically restrained; 15 |
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| 38 | 38 | | (3) Being subject to threats of abuse of law or legal process; 16 |
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| 39 | 39 | | (4) Being subject to destruction, concealment, removal, or confiscation, of any passport or 17 |
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| 40 | 40 | | other immigration document or any other actual or purported governmental identification 18 |
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| 41 | 41 | | document; or 19 |
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| 42 | 42 | | |
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| 43 | 43 | | |
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| 44 | 44 | | LC002436 - Page 2 of 7 |
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| 45 | 45 | | (5) Being subject to intimidation in which the accused’s physical well being was perceived 1 |
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| 46 | 46 | | as threatened. 2 |
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| 47 | 47 | | (d) A person shall not be cited, arrested, or prosecuted under this section if the person 3 |
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| 48 | 48 | | witnessed or was a victim of, and reported to law enforcement in good faith and in a timely manner, 4 |
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| 49 | 49 | | one or more of the reported offenses listed in subsection (e) of this section. 5 |
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| 50 | 50 | | (e) A reported offense covered by this chapter shall include any offense prohibited by the 6 |
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| 51 | 51 | | following chapters of the general laws: chapter 5 of title 11, assaults; chapter 18 of title 11, fraud 7 |
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| 52 | 52 | | and false dealing; chapter 23 of title 11, homicide, chapter 26 of title 11, kidnapping; chapter 37 of 8 |
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| 53 | 53 | | title 11, sexual assault; chapter 39 of title 11, robbery; chapter 41 of title 11, theft, embezzlement, 9 |
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| 54 | 54 | | false pretenses and misappropriation; chapter 42 of title 11, threats and extortion; chapter 57 of title 10 |
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| 55 | 55 | | 11, racketeer violence; chapter 59 of title 11, stalking; chapter 67.1 of title 11, human trafficking; 11 |
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| 56 | 56 | | and § 11-9-1.3, child pornography. 12 |
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| 57 | 57 | | 11-34.1-3. Procurement of sexual conduct for a fee. 13 |
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| 58 | 58 | | (a) A person is guilty of procuring or attempting to procure sexual conduct for the payment 14 |
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| 59 | 59 | | of a fee if they engage or seek to engage in sexual conduct for any type of fee and/or pay or agree 15 |
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| 60 | 60 | | to pay any type of fee for sexual conduct, regardless of the time, place or location of the 16 |
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| 61 | 61 | | procurement, attempted procurement, payment, attempted payment or conduct. Any person found 17 |
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| 62 | 62 | | guilty under this section shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be subject to 18 |
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| 63 | 63 | | imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year, or to a fine of not less than two hundred fifty 19 |
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| 64 | 64 | | dollars ($250) nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000), or both. 20 |
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| 65 | 65 | | (b) Any person found guilty of a subsequent offense under this section shall be subject to 21 |
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| 66 | 66 | | imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year, or a fine of not less than five hundred dollars 22 |
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| 67 | 67 | | ($500) nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000), or both. 23 |
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| 68 | 68 | | (c) A person shall not be cited, arrested, or prosecuted under this section if the person 24 |
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| 69 | 69 | | witnessed or was a victim of, and reported to law enforcement in good faith and in a timely manner, 25 |
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| 70 | 70 | | one or more of the reported offenses listed in subsection (d) of this section. 26 |
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| 71 | 71 | | (d) A reported offense covered by this chapter shall include any offense prohibited by the 27 |
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| 72 | 72 | | following chapters of the general laws: chapter 5 of title 11, assaults; chapter 18 of title 11, fraud 28 |
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| 73 | 73 | | and false dealing; chapter 23 of title 11, homicide, chapter 26 of title 11, kidnapping; chapter 37 of 29 |
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| 74 | 74 | | title 11, sexual assault; chapter 39 of title 11, robbery; chapter 41 of title 11, theft, embezzlement, 30 |
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| 75 | 75 | | false pretenses and misappropriation; chapter 42 of title 11, threats and extortion; chapter 57 of title 31 |
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| 76 | 76 | | 11, racketeer violence; chapter 59 of title 11, stalking; chapter 67.1 of title 11, human trafficking; 32 |
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| 77 | 77 | | and § 11-9-1.3, child pornography. 33 |
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| 78 | 78 | | 11-34.1-4. Loitering for prostitution. 34 |
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| 79 | 79 | | |
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| 80 | 80 | | |
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| 81 | 81 | | LC002436 - Page 3 of 7 |
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| 82 | 82 | | (a) It shall be unlawful for any person to stand or wander in or near any public highway or 1 |
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| 83 | 83 | | street, or any public or private place, and attempt to engage passersby in conversation, or stop or 2 |
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| 84 | 84 | | attempt to stop motor vehicles, for the purpose of prostitution or other commercial sexual activity. 3 |
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| 85 | 85 | | Any person found guilty of the crime of loitering for prostitution shall be subject to a sentence of 4 |
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| 86 | 86 | | up to six (6) months incarceration or by a fine of not less than two hundred fifty dollars ($250) nor 5 |
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| 87 | 87 | | more than one thousand dollars ($1,000), or both. 6 |
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| 88 | 88 | | (b) Any person found guilty of a subsequent offense under this section shall be subject to 7 |
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| 89 | 89 | | imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year, or a fine of not less than five hundred dollars 8 |
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| 90 | 90 | | ($500) nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000), or both. 9 |
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| 91 | 91 | | (c) A person shall not be cited, arrested, or prosecuted under this section if the person 10 |
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| 92 | 92 | | witnessed or was a victim of, and reported to law enforcement in good faith and in a timely manner, 11 |
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| 93 | 93 | | one or more of the reported offenses listed in subsection (d) of this section. 12 |
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| 94 | 94 | | (d) A reported offense covered by this chapter shall include any offense prohibited by the 13 |
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| 95 | 95 | | following chapters of the general laws: chapter 5 of title 11, assaults; chapter 18 of title 11, fraud 14 |
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| 96 | 96 | | and false dealing; chapter 23 of title 11, homicide, chapter 26 of title 11, kidnapping; chapter 37 of 15 |
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| 97 | 97 | | title 11, sexual assault; chapter 39 of title 11, robbery; chapter 41 of title 11, theft, embezzlement, 16 |
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| 98 | 98 | | false pretenses and misappropriation; chapter 42 of title 11, threats and extortion; chapter 57 of title 17 |
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| 99 | 99 | | 11, racketeer violence; chapter 59 of title 11, stalking; chapter 67.1 of title 11, human trafficking; 18 |
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| 100 | 100 | | and § 11-9-1.3, child pornography. 19 |
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| 101 | 101 | | 11-34.1-6. Soliciting from motor vehicles for indecent purposes — Forfeiture of motor 20 |
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| 102 | 102 | | vehicle. 21 |
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| 103 | 103 | | (a) It shall be unlawful for any person, while an operator or passenger in a motor vehicle 22 |
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| 104 | 104 | | to stop, or attempt to stop another vehicle or pedestrian, or to engage or attempt to engage persons 23 |
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| 105 | 105 | | in another vehicle or pedestrians in conversation, for the purposes of prostitution or other indecent 24 |
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| 106 | 106 | | act, or to patronize, induce, or otherwise secure another person to commit any commercial sexual 25 |
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| 107 | 107 | | activity. Any person found guilty under this section shall be subject to a sentence of up to six (6) 26 |
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| 108 | 108 | | months incarceration or a fine of not less than five hundred dollars ($500) nor more than one 27 |
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| 109 | 109 | | thousand dollars ($1,000), or both. 28 |
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| 110 | 110 | | (b) Any person found guilty of a subsequent offense under this section shall be subject to 29 |
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| 111 | 111 | | imprisonment for a term of not more than one year and a fine of not less than seven hundred fifty 30 |
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| 112 | 112 | | dollars ($750) nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000). No fine imposed under this section 31 |
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| 113 | 113 | | may be suspended. 32 |
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| 114 | 114 | | (c) The motor vehicle being unlawfully operated as defined in this chapter by a person 33 |
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| 115 | 115 | | convicted of a second or subsequent offense of soliciting from a motor vehicle for indecent 34 |
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| 116 | 116 | | |
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| 117 | 117 | | |
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| 118 | 118 | | LC002436 - Page 4 of 7 |
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| 119 | 119 | | purposes pursuant to this chapter which vehicle is owned by the operator, may be seized by the law 1 |
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| 120 | 120 | | enforcement agency and forfeited at the discretion of the court. Any funds received from the 2 |
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| 121 | 121 | | forfeiture shall be deposited in the victim’s of crimes indemnity fund (VCIF). 3 |
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| 122 | 122 | | (d) A person shall not be cited, arrested, or prosecuted under this section if the person 4 |
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| 123 | 123 | | witnessed or was a victim of, and reported to law enforcement in good faith and in a timely manner, 5 |
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| 124 | 124 | | one or more of the reported offenses listed in subsection (e) of this section. 6 |
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| 125 | 125 | | (e) A reported offense covered by this chapter shall include any offense prohibited by the 7 |
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| 126 | 126 | | following chapters of the general laws: chapter 5 of title 11, assaults; chapter 18 of title 11, fraud 8 |
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| 127 | 127 | | and false dealing; chapter 23 of title 11, homicide, chapter 26 of title 11, kidnapping; chapter 37 of 9 |
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| 128 | 128 | | title 11, sexual assault; chapter 39 of title 11, robbery; chapter 41 of title 11, theft, embezzlement, 10 |
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| 129 | 129 | | false pretenses and misappropriation; chapter 42 of title 11, threats and extortion; chapter 57 of title 11 |
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| 130 | 130 | | 11, racketeer violence; chapter 59 of title 11, stalking; chapter 67.1 of title 11, human trafficking; 12 |
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| 131 | 131 | | and § 11-9-1.3, child pornography. 13 |
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| 132 | 132 | | SECTION 2. Section 23-20.8-3 of the General Laws in Chapter 23-20.8 entitled "Licensing 14 |
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| 133 | 133 | | of Massage Therapists" is hereby amended to read as follows: 15 |
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| 134 | 134 | | 23-20.8-3. Practice of massage therapy — License required — Use of title limited — 16 |
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| 135 | 135 | | Qualifications for licenses continuing education — Fees. 17 |
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| 136 | 136 | | (a) A person shall not practice, or hold himself or herself out to others as practicing massage 18 |
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| 137 | 137 | | therapy, or as a massage therapist, without first receiving from the board a license to engage in that 19 |
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| 138 | 138 | | practice. 20 |
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| 139 | 139 | | (b) A person shall hold himself or herself out to others as a massage therapist when the 21 |
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| 140 | 140 | | person adopts or uses any title or description, including: “massage therapist,” “masseur,” 22 |
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| 141 | 141 | | “masseuse,” “massagist,” “massotherapist,” “myotherapist,” “body therapist,” “massage 23 |
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| 142 | 142 | | technician,” “massage practitioner,” or any derivation of those terms that implies this practice. 24 |
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| 143 | 143 | | (c) It shall be unlawful to advertise the practice of massage therapy using the term massage 25 |
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| 144 | 144 | | therapy, or any other term that implies a massage technique or method, in any public or private 26 |
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| 145 | 145 | | publication or communication by a person not licensed by the state of Rhode Island department of 27 |
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| 146 | 146 | | health as a massage therapist. Any person who holds a license to practice as a massage therapist in 28 |
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| 147 | 147 | | this state may use the title “licensed massage therapist” and the abbreviation “LMT.” No other 29 |
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| 148 | 148 | | persons may assume this title or use such abbreviation or any other word, letters, signs, or figures 30 |
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| 149 | 149 | | to indicate that the person using the title is a licensed massage therapist. A massage therapist’s 31 |
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| 150 | 150 | | name and license number must conspicuously appear on all of the massage therapist’s print and 32 |
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| 151 | 151 | | electronic material. A massage therapist licensed under this chapter must have available his or her 33 |
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| 152 | 152 | | license in all places of business practice. 34 |
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| 153 | 153 | | |
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| 154 | 154 | | |
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| 155 | 155 | | LC002436 - Page 5 of 7 |
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| 156 | 156 | | (d)(1) The board shall, by rule, establish requirements for continuing education. The board 1 |
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| 157 | 157 | | may establish such requirements to be completed and verified annually. The board shall require no 2 |
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| 158 | 158 | | more than six (6) continuing education units annually. 3 |
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| 159 | 159 | | (2) Applicants for annual licensure renewal shall meet continuing education requirements 4 |
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| 160 | 160 | | as prescribed by the board. On application for renewal of license, massage therapists shall attest to 5 |
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| 161 | 161 | | completion of six (6) continuing education units annually that may include, but not be limited to: 6 |
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| 162 | 162 | | (i) Formal presentations; 7 |
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| 163 | 163 | | (ii) Conferences; 8 |
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| 164 | 164 | | (iii) Coursework from a massage school or program, accredited college/university; and/or 9 |
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| 165 | 165 | | (iv) Self-study or online coursework. 10 |
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| 166 | 166 | | The programs or offerings shall be approved or sponsored by a board-approved 11 |
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| 167 | 167 | | organization. 12 |
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| 168 | 168 | | (3) A licensee who fails to complete the continuing education requirements described 13 |
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| 169 | 169 | | herein may be subject to disciplinary action pursuant to § 5-40-13. 14 |
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| 170 | 170 | | (4) A license may be denied to any applicant who fails to provide satisfactory evidence of 15 |
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| 171 | 171 | | completion of continuing education relevant to massage therapy as required herein. 16 |
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| 172 | 172 | | (5) The board may waive the requirement for continuing education if the board is satisfied 17 |
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| 173 | 173 | | that the applicant has suffered hardship that may have prevented meeting the educational 18 |
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| 174 | 174 | | requirements. 19 |
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| 175 | 175 | | (e) The fee for original application for licensure as a massage therapist and for annual 20 |
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| 176 | 176 | | license renewal shall be as set forth in § 23-1-54. Fees for all other licenses under this chapter shall 21 |
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| 177 | 177 | | be fixed in an amount necessary to cover the cost of administering this chapter. 22 |
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| 178 | 178 | | (f) Any person applying for a license under this chapter shall undergo a national criminal 23 |
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| 179 | 179 | | background check. Such persons shall apply to the bureau of criminal identification of the state 24 |
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| 180 | 180 | | police or local police department for a national criminal background check. Fingerprinting shall be 25 |
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| 181 | 181 | | required. Upon the discovery of any disqualifying information as defined in subsection (g), the 26 |
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| 182 | 182 | | bureau of criminal identification of the state police or the local police department shall inform the 27 |
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| 183 | 183 | | applicant, in writing, of the nature of the disqualifying information and, without disclosing the 28 |
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| 184 | 184 | | nature of the disqualifying information, shall notify the board, in writing, that disqualifying 29 |
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| 185 | 185 | | information has been found. In those situations in which no disqualifying information has been 30 |
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| 186 | 186 | | found, the bureau of criminal identification shall inform the applicant and the board in writing of 31 |
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| 187 | 187 | | this fact. An applicant against whom disqualifying information has been found may request that a 32 |
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| 188 | 188 | | copy of the national criminal background report be sent to the board, which shall make a judgment 33 |
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| 189 | 189 | | regarding the licensure of the applicant. The applicant shall be responsible for payment of the costs 34 |
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| 190 | 190 | | |
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| 191 | 191 | | |
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| 192 | 192 | | LC002436 - Page 6 of 7 |
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| 193 | 193 | | of the national criminal background check. 1 |
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| 194 | 194 | | (g) “Disqualifying information” means those offenses, including, but not limited to, those 2 |
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| 195 | 195 | | defined in chapters 34, 34.1, and 37 of title 11, and § 23-17-37. 3 |
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| 196 | 196 | | (h) Notwithstanding the above, any city or town may, by ordinance, regulate the opening, 4 |
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| 197 | 197 | | the presence, the location, and the operation of any body-works business or any business providing 5 |
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| 198 | 198 | | body-works services. Provided, however, no ordinance may impose additional qualifications 6 |
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| 199 | 199 | | beyond those adopted by the department of health pursuant to this chapter respecting national 7 |
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| 200 | 200 | | criminal background checks for persons applying for a license. 8 |
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| 201 | 201 | | (i) A person shall not be cited, arrested, or prosecuted under this section if the person 9 |
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| 202 | 202 | | witnessed or was a victim of, and reported to law enforcement in good faith and in a timely manner, 10 |
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| 203 | 203 | | one or more of the reported offenses listed in subsection (j) of this section. 11 |
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| 204 | 204 | | (j) A reported offense covered by this chapter shall include any offense prohibited by the 12 |
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| 205 | 205 | | following chapters of the general laws: chapter 5 of title 11, assaults; chapter 18 of title 11, fraud 13 |
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| 206 | 206 | | and false dealing; chapter 23 of title 11, homicide, chapter 26 of title 11, kidnapping; chapter 37 of 14 |
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| 207 | 207 | | title 11, sexual assault; chapter 39 of title 11, robbery; chapter 41 of title 11, theft, embezzlement, 15 |
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| 208 | 208 | | false pretenses and misappropriation; chapter 42 of title 11, threats and extortion; chapter 57 of title 16 |
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| 209 | 209 | | 11, racketeer violence; chapter 59 of title 11, stalking; chapter 67.1 of title 11, human trafficking; 17 |
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| 210 | 210 | | and § 11-9-1.3, child pornography. 18 |
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| 211 | 211 | | SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage. 19 |
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| 212 | 212 | | ======== |
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| 213 | 213 | | LC002436 |
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| 214 | 214 | | ======== |
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| 215 | 215 | | |
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| 216 | 216 | | |
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| 217 | 217 | | LC002436 - Page 7 of 7 |
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| 218 | 218 | | EXPLANATION |
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| 219 | 219 | | BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL |
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| 220 | 220 | | OF |
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| 221 | 221 | | A N A C T |
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| 222 | 222 | | RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES -- COMMERCIAL SEXUAL AC TIVITY |
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| 223 | 223 | | *** |
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| 224 | 224 | | This act would prohibit the arrest of any person who is engaged in commercial sexual 1 |
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| 225 | 225 | | activity or practicing massage without a license if they were a witness or victim of and, in good 2 |
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| 226 | 226 | | faith and in a timely manner, reported to law enforcement, the enumerated criminal offenses to 3 |
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| 227 | 227 | | include assault, sexual assault, homicide, robbery, larceny and the like. 4 |
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| 228 | 228 | | This act would take effect upon passage. 5 |
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| 229 | 229 | | ======== |
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| 230 | 230 | | LC002436 |
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| 231 | 231 | | ======== |
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