2025 -- S 0671
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LC000989
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S T A T E O F R H O D E I S L A N D
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2025
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A N A C T
RELATING TO MILITARY AFFAIRS AND DEFENSE -- EMERGENCY MANAGEM ENT
Introduced By: Senators Bissaillon, Britto, DiMario, and Urso
Date Introduced: March 07, 2025
Referred To: Senate Finance
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Section 30-15-15 of the General Laws in Chapter 30-15 entitled "Emergency 1
Management" is hereby amended to read as follows: 2
30-15-15. Immunity from liability — Compensation for death or injury of disaster 3
response workers. 4
(a) All functions under this chapter, and all other activities relating to disaster response, are 5
hereby declared to be governmental functions. Neither the state, nor any political subdivision 6
thereof, nor other agencies of the state or political subdivision thereof, nor, except in cases of willful 7
misconduct, gross negligence, or bad faith, any disaster response worker complying with, or 8
reasonably attempting to comply with this chapter, or any order, rule, or regulation promulgated 9
pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, or pursuant to any ordinance relating to precautionary 10
measures enacted by any political subdivision of the state, shall be liable for the death of, or injury 11
to, persons, or for damage to property, as a result of disaster response activity. The provisions of 12
this section shall not affect the right of any person to receive benefits to which he or she would 13
otherwise be entitled under this chapter, nor under the Workers’ Compensation Act, chapters 29 — 14
38 of title 28, nor under any pension law, nor the right of any person to receive any benefits or 15
compensation under any act of Congress. 16
(b) Any requirement for a license to practice any professional, mechanical, or other skill 17
shall not apply to any authorized disaster response worker who shall, in the course of performing 18
his or her duties as such, practice such professional, mechanical, or other skill during a disaster 19
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emergency. 1
(c) In the absence of any other benefits as provided by law, all disaster response workers 2
who shall be killed or sustain disability or injury while in training for or on disaster response duty 3
shall be construed to be employees of the state, any other provisions of the law to the contrary 4
notwithstanding, and shall be compensated in like manner as state employees are compensated 5
under the provisions of chapters 29 — 38 of title 28. 6
(d) In the absence of any other benefits as provided by law, any and all authorized disaster 7
response workers who shall, in the course of performing their duties as such, practice professional, 8
mechanical, or other skill during a disaster emergency, shall be considered a state employee and 9
shall be entitled to all rights in like manner as state employees under the provisions of chapters 29 10
through 38 of title 28 and under § 9-31-8. 11
(d)(e) As used in this section, the term “disaster response worker” shall include any full- 12
or part-time paid, volunteer, or auxiliary employee of this state, other states, territories, or 13
possessions, the District of Columbia, the federal government, any neighboring country, or any 14
political subdivision thereof, or any agency or organization, or any private person, firm, or 15
corporation performing disaster response services at any place in this state subject to the order or 16
control of, or pursuant to a request of, the state government or any political subdivision thereof. 17
SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage. 18
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EXPLANATION
BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
OF
A N A C T
RELATING TO MILITARY AFFAIRS AND DEFENSE -- EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT
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This act would provide that any disaster response worker shall, in the course of their duties, 1
be considered a state employee and be entitled to all rights in like manner as state employees under 2
the provisions of chapters 29 through 38 of title 28 ("workers compensation") and under § 9-31-8 3
("defense of state employees by attorney general"). 4
This act would take effect upon passage. 5
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