Rhode Island 2025 Regular Session

Rhode Island House Bill H5929 Compare Versions

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55 2025 -- H 5929
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77 LC001265
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99 S T A T E O F R H O D E I S L A N D
1010 IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
1111 JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2025
1212 ____________
1313
1414 A N A C T
1515 RELATING TO ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES -- REGULATION OF SALES
1616 Introduced By: Representatives Voas, Casimiro, and Alzate
1717 Date Introduced: February 28, 2025
1818 Referred To: House Judiciary
1919 (Dept. of Revenue)
2020
2121 It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
2222 SECTION 1. Sections 3-8-6 and 3-8-6.1 of the General Laws in Chapter 3-8 entitled 1
2323 "Regulation of Sales" are hereby amended to read as follows: 2
2424 3-8-6. Unlawful drinking and misrepresentation by underage persons — 3
2525 Identification cards for persons twenty-one and older. 4
2626 (a) It is unlawful for: 5
2727 (1) A person who has not reached his or her twenty-first (21st) birthday to enter any 6
2828 premises licensed for the retail sale of alcoholic beverages for the purpose of purchasing or having 7
2929 served or delivered to him or her alcoholic beverages; or 8
3030 (2) A person who has not reached his or her twenty-first (21st) birthday to consume any 9
3131 alcoholic beverage on premises licensed for the retail sale of alcoholic beverages or to purchase, 10
3232 attempt to purchase, or have another purchase for him or her any alcoholic beverage; or 11
3333 (3) A person to misrepresent or misstate his or her age, or the age of any other persons, or 12
3434 to misrepresent his or her age through the presentation of any of the following documents: 13
3535 (i) An armed service identification card, valid passport, the identification card license, or 14
3636 any other documentation used for identification purposes that may belong to any other person who 15
3737 is twenty-one (21) years or older; 16
3838 (ii) A motor vehicle operator’s license or a driver privilege card issued pursuant to § 31-17
3939 10.4-2 that bears the date of birth of the licensee and that is issued by this state or any other state; 18
4040 (iii) A Rhode Island identification card, as defined in subsection (b), for the purpose of 19
4141
4242
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4444 inducing any licensee, or any employee of any licensee, to sell, serve, or deliver any alcoholic 1
4545 beverage to a minor. 2
4646 (b)(1) The administrator of the division of motor vehicles shall issue to any person who 3
4747 has reached his or her twenty-first (21st) birthday a Rhode Island identification card upon payment 4
4848 of a fee of twenty-five dollars ($25), and, upon presentation of a certified birth or baptismal 5
4949 certificate, or U.S. or foreign passport, or U.S. naturalization certificate or a valid immigrant or 6
5050 refugee document issued by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, including, but 7
5151 not limited to, any one of the following: Form I-551, Form I-94, Form I-688A, Form I-688, and a 8
5252 form evidencing that the applicant is a current or past recipient of a grant of deferred action under 9
5353 the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, together with a document bearing the 10
5454 applicant’s signature. 11
5555 (2) A person who has reached his or her fifty-ninth (59th) birthday is not required to pay 12
5656 the fee. 13
5757 (3) Each registration card shall be subject to renewal every five (5) years upon payment of 14
5858 a fee of twenty-five dollars ($25). 15
5959 (4) No person who holds an operator’s license or a driver privilege card, or an identification 16
6060 card issued by this state or any other state or jurisdiction shall be issued a Rhode Island 17
6161 identification card. 18
6262 (5) The identification card shall be signed by the administrator of the division of motor 19
6363 vehicles and by the applicant and his or her picture shall appear on the card along with the required 20
6464 information and the card shall be encased in laminated plastic. The card shall be two inches (2″) in 21
6565 height and four inches (4″) in length and shall be printed in the following form: 22
6666 RHODE ISLAND IDENTIFICATION CARD 23
6767 Date Issued .......................................................................................................................... No. ....... 24
6868 First Name Middle Name Last Name 25
6969 ........................................................................................................................................................... 26
7070 Address 27
7171 ........................................................................................................................................................... 28
7272 BIRTH RECORD 29
7373 Month .......................................................................................... Day .............. Year ......................... 30
7474 Secure Photo by Pasting here Color of hair Color of eyes Sex Ht Wt. 31
7575 ………… ………… …… …… …… 32
7676 Issued by 33
7777 Administrator of the Division of Motor Vehicles 34
7878
7979
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8181 ............................................................................................... 1
8282 ............................................................................................... 2
8383 ............................................................................................... 3
8484 Administrator 4
8585 (6) The identification cards shall be produced at the adult correctional institutions if they 5
8686 have facilities to do so; if the adult correctional institutions have no facilities to do so, then all cards 6
8787 shall be manufactured by the lowest responsible bidder following advertisement for the solicitation 7
8888 of bids. 8
8989 (7) The identification cards shall be clearly distinguishable from those issued pursuant to 9
9090 § 3-8-6.1 and operators’ and chauffeurs’ licenses issued pursuant to title 31. 10
9191 (8) Any person who has been designated as permanently and totally disabled by the social 11
9292 security administration or who upon certification by an optometrist, ophthalmologist, or physician 12
9393 that a holder of a valid and current motor vehicle operator’s license is no longer able to operate a 13
9494 motor vehicle, the administrator of the division of motor vehicles shall issue to such person, upon 14
9595 request, a Rhode Island identification card for the unexpired term of the person’s motor vehicle 15
9696 operator’s license at no additional cost. Thereafter, a renewal of such card shall be subject to the 16
9797 standard renewal charge of twenty-five dollars ($25) until the person shall reach his or her fifty-17
9898 ninth (59th) birthday. 18
9999 (9) The administrator of the division of motor vehicles shall, upon presentation of a United 19
100100 States Department of Defense (DD) FORM 214 or other acceptable documentation of military 20
101101 service and verification of an honorable discharge, issue an identification card to the presenter that 21
102102 is clearly marked “veteran,” at no additional cost. 22
103103 (c)(1) Every retail Class A, B, C, and D licensee shall cause to be kept a book or 23
104104 photographic reproduction equipment that provides the same information as required by the book. 24
105105 That licensee or the licensee’s employee shall require any person who has shown a document as 25
106106 set forth in this section substantiating his or her age to sign that book or to permit the taking of his 26
107107 or her photograph and indicate what document was presented. Use of the photographic reproduction 27
108108 equipment is voluntary for every Class A, B, C, and D licensee. 28
109109 (2) The sign-in-as-minor book and photographic reproduction equipment shall be 29
110110 prescribed, published, and approved at the direction and control of the division. The book shall 30
111111 contain at least four hundred (400) pages; shall be uniform throughout the state; and shall be 31
112112 distributed at a cost not to exceed seven dollars ($7.00). 32
113113 (3) If a person whose age is in question signs the sign-in-as-minor book or has a photograph 33
114114 taken before he or she is sold any alcoholic beverage and it is later determined that the person had 34
115115
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118118 not reached his or her twenty-first (21st) birthday at the time of sale, it is considered prima facie 1
119119 evidence that the licensee and/or the licensee’s agent or servant acted in good faith in selling any 2
120120 alcoholic beverage to the person producing the document as set forth in this section misrepresenting 3
121121 his or her age. 4
122122 (4) Proof of good-faith reliance on any misrepresentation is a defense to the prosecution of 5
123123 the licensee and/or the licensee’s agent or servant for an alleged violation of this section. 6
124124 (d)(1) Any person who violates this section shall be punished for the first offense by a 7
125125 mandatory fine of not less than one hundred dollars ($100) nor more than five hundred dollars 8
126126 ($500) and shall be further punished by thirty (30) hours of community service and shall be further 9
127127 punished by a suspension of his or her motor vehicle operator’s license or driving privileges for a 10
128128 period of thirty (30) days; for the second offense by a mandatory fine of not less than five hundred 11
129129 dollars ($500) nor more than seven hundred fifty dollars ($750) and shall be further punished by 12
130130 forty (40) hours of community service and will be further punished by a suspension of his or her 13
131131 motor vehicle operator’s license or driving privileges for a period of three (3) months; and for the 14
132132 third and subsequent offenses by a mandatory fine for each offense of not less than seven hundred 15
133133 fifty dollars ($750) nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) and shall be further punished by 16
134134 fifty (50) hours of community service and will be further punished by a suspension of his or her 17
135135 motor vehicle operator’s license or driving privileges for a period of one year. 18
136136 (2) Any suspension of an operator’s license or driving privilege pursuant to this section 19
137137 shall not operate to affect the insurance rating of the offender and any operator’s license or driving 20
138138 privilege suspended pursuant to this section shall be reinstated without further expense upon 21
139139 application. 22
140140 (e) Within thirty (30) days after this incident the police chief of the city or town where the 23
141141 incident took place is directed to inform, in writing, the department of business regulation whether 24
142142 or not charges in accordance with this section have been preferred against a person who has not 25
143143 reached his or her twenty-first (21st) birthday and has violated this section. If no charge is brought 26
144144 against any person who has not reached his or her twenty-first (21st) birthday and has violated the 27
145145 provisions of this section, then the police chief of the city or town where the incident took place 28
146146 will state the reason for his or her failure to charge the person who has not reached his or her twenty-29
147147 first (21st) birthday. 30
148148 (f) The Rhode Island identification card may be withdrawn at any time for just cause, at 31
149149 the discretion of the administrator of the division of motor vehicles. The administrator of the 32
150150 division of motor vehicles shall keep a record of the cards issued and each card shall contain an 33
151151 identification number specifically assigned to the person to whom the card was issued. 34
152152
153153
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155155 (g) Issuance of a Rhode Island identification card under this section to a current or past 1
156156 recipient of a grant of deferred action under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) 2
157157 program shall not confer the right to vote in the state of Rhode Island. 3
158158 3-8-6.1. Identification cards for persons under the age of 21. 4
159159 (a)(1) The administrator of the division of motor vehicles shall issue to any person upon 5
160160 request, who is under twenty-one (21) years of age, an identification card upon payment of a fee of 6
161161 twenty-five dollars ($25.00), and, upon presentation of a certified birth or baptismal certificate, or 7
162162 U.S. or foreign passport, or U.S. naturalization certificate, or a valid immigrant or refugee 8
163163 document issued by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services including, but not 9
164164 limited to, any one of the following: Form I-551, Form I-94, Form I-688A, Form I-688, and a form 10
165165 evidencing that the applicant is a current or past recipient of a grant of deferred action under the 11
166166 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, together with a document bearing the applicant’s 12
167167 signature. No person who holds an operator’s license or, a driver privilege card, or an identification 13
168168 card issued by this state or any other state or jurisdiction, shall be issued an identification card. 14
169169 (2) The identification card shall be subject to renewal every five (5) years upon the payment 15
170170 of a fee of twenty-five dollars ($25.00). 16
171171 (3) The identification card shall be signed by the administrator of the division of motor 17
172172 vehicles and also by the applicant, and his or her picture shall appear on the card along with the 18
173173 required information and the card shall be encased in laminated plastic. The card shall be two inches 19
174174 (2″) in height and four inches (4″) in length and shall be printed in the following form: 20
175175 IDENTIFICATION CARD 21
176176 Date Issued .......................................................................................................................... No. ....... 22
177177 First Name Middle Name Last Name 23
178178 ........................................................................................................................................................... 24
179179 Address 25
180180 ........................................................................................................................................................... 26
181181 BIRTH RECORD 27
182182 Month .......................................................................................... Day .............. Year ......................... 28
183183 Secure Photo by Pasting here Color of hair Color of eyes Sex Ht Wt. 29
184184 ………… ………… …… …… …… 30
185185 Issued by 31
186186 Administrator of the Division of Motor Vehicles 32
187187 ............................................................................................... 33
188188 ............................................................................................... 34
189189
190190
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192192 ............................................................................................... 1
193193 Administrator 2
194194 (4) The identification cards shall be produced at the adult correctional institution if they 3
195195 have facilities to do so; if the adult correctional institutions have no facilities to do so, then all cards 4
196196 shall be manufactured by the lowest responsible bidder following advertisement for the solicitation 5
197197 of bids. 6
198198 (5) The identification cards shall be clearly distinguishable from those issued pursuant to 7
199199 § 3-8-6 and operators’ and chauffeurs’ licenses issued pursuant to title 31. 8
200200 (b) The identification card may be withdrawn at any time for just cause, at the discretion 9
201201 of the administrator of the division of motor vehicles. The administrator of the division of motor 10
202202 vehicles shall keep a record of the cards issued and each card shall contain an identification number 11
203203 specifically assigned to the person to whom the card was issued. 12
204204 (c) The administrator of the division of motor vehicles shall, upon presentation of a United 13
205205 States Department of Defense (DD) FORM 214 or other acceptable documentation of military 14
206206 service and verification of an honorable discharge, issue an identification card to the presenter that 15
207207 is clearly marked “veteran,” at no additional cost. 16
208208 (d) Issuance of a Rhode Island identification card under this section to a current or past 17
209209 recipient of a grant of deferred action under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) 18
210210 program shall not confer the right to vote in the state of Rhode Island. 19
211211 SECTION 2. Section 31-10-1 of the General Laws in Chapter 31-10 entitled "Operators’ 20
212212 and Chauffeurs’ Licenses" is hereby amended to read as follows: 21
213213 31-10-1. License required to drive. 22
214214 (a) No person, except those expressly exempted in this chapter, shall drive any motor 23
215215 vehicle upon a highway in this state unless that person has a valid license as an operator or chauffeur 24
216216 under the provisions of this chapter. No person shall receive an operator’s license unless and until 25
217217 he or she surrenders to the division of motor vehicles all valid operators’ licenses and identification 26
218218 cards in his or her possession issued to that person by this state or any other state or jurisdiction. 27
219219 All surrendered licenses shall be returned by the division of motor vehicles to the issuer together 28
220220 with the information that the licensee is now licensed in this state. No person shall be permitted to 29
221221 have more than one valid operator’s license at any time. Any resident as defined under § 31-1-18 30
222222 shall be required to obtain a Rhode Island operator’s or chauffeur’s license within thirty (30) days 31
223223 of establishing residency. 32
224224 (b) No person shall drive a motor vehicle as a chauffeur unless he or she holds a valid 33
225225 chauffeur’s license. No person shall receive a chauffeur’s license unless and until he or she 34
226226
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229229 surrenders to the division of motor vehicles any operator’s license issued to him or her, or an 1
230230 affidavit that he or she does not possess an operator’s license. 2
231231 (c) Any person holding a valid chauffeur’s license under this chapter need not procure an 3
232232 operator’s license. 4
233233 (d) Any person licensed as an operator or chauffeur under this chapter may exercise the 5
234234 privilege granted by that license upon all streets and highways in this state, and shall not be required 6
235235 to obtain any other license to exercise that privilege by any county, municipal, or local board, or 7
236236 by any body having authority to adopt local police regulations. 8
237237 SECTION 3. Section 31-46-4 of the General Laws in Chapter 31-46 entitled "Rhode Island 9
238238 Salvage Law" is hereby amended to read as follows: 10
239239 31-46-4. Restoration. 11
240240 If a motor vehicle is restored for operation on the highways, application shall be made to 12
241241 the division of motor vehicles for a certificate of title. Upon inspection by the division of motor 13
242242 vehicles, which shall include establishing proof of ownership, and upon the surrender of the salvage 14
243243 certificate of title, the division of motor vehicles shall issue a certificate of title for a fee prescribed 15
244244 by the administrator of the division of motor vehicles. The certificate of title shall be in the same 16
245245 form and color as the original certificate and bear the same number as the salvage certificate and 17
246246 the original certificate and shall bear the word “re-constructed rebuilt salvage” on the title. A fee 18
247247 of fifty-five dollars ($55.00) shall be assessed for each inspection made pursuant to this section. 19
248248 SECTION 4. Sections 1 and 2 of this act shall take effect upon passage and section 3 shall 20
249249 take effect six (6) months after passage. 21
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256256 EXPLANATION
257257 BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
258258 OF
259259 A N A C T
260260 RELATING TO ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES -- REGULATION OF SALES
261261 ***
262262 This act would prohibit the holding of multiple drivers licenses or identification cards and 1
263263 would change the term "re-constructed salvage" to "rebuilt salvage" for purposes of the Rhode 2
264264 Island salvage law. 3
265265 Sections 1 and 2 of this act would take effect upon passage and section 3 would take effect 4
266266 six (6) months after passage. 5
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