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HB 5445

AN ACT RELATING TO STATUTES AND STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION -- EFFECT OF GENERAL LAWS

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Brian Newberry and 3 co-sponsors

Requires the Office of Law Revision to annually identify U.S. Supreme Court decisions that require Rhode Island statute amendments and notify each legislative chamber.

02/25/2025 Committee recommended measure be held for further study
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Bill Summary · HB 5445

Bill Summary — HB 5445

Title: AN ACT RELATING TO STATUTES AND STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION -- EFFECT OF GENERAL LAWS
Bill No.: HB 5445 (2025)
Introduced by: Reps. Place, Newberry, Santucci, and Perez
Status (most recent): 02/25/2025 — Committee recommended measure be held for further study; subsequently read and referred to Ways & Means (04/07/2025)
Effective date (if enacted): Upon passage

Purpose / Intent

HB 5445 clarifies and updates the statutory reenactment process administered by the Office of Law Revision and adds an explicit annual duty: the Office must identify United States Supreme Court decisions or holdings that would require amendments to Rhode Island statutes and notify each chamber of the General Assembly. The bill also restates rules about how reenacted statutory text should be construed and the effective timing of reenactments.

Key provisions (section-by-section highlights)

  • Amends R.I. Gen. Laws § 43-4-18 (enactment of supplemental reenactments by the Law Revision Director).
  • Authorizes the Office of Law Revision to annually reenact specific titles of the general laws as amendatory to the 1956 general laws for purposes already specified in § 22-11-3.4.
  • Requires the Office of Law Revision, on a yearly basis, to identify any U.S. Supreme Court decisions or rulings that would require amendments to state statutes or general laws and to inform each legislative chamber of those decisions.
  • States reenacted sections are to be treated as continuations of previously enacted public laws, preserving rights and remedies.
  • Establishes that in the event of a conflict between a session act and an amendment made by a reenactment or the “Statutes and Statutory Construction” bill, the session act controls regardless of dates.
  • Provides that reenactments take effect on and after December 31 of the calendar year in which they are reenacted.
  • Clarifies that “text” in reenactments does not include printer’s reference lines, most chapter/title headings, tables of contents, or boldface captions (except section/title numbers), unless needed for clarification.
  • Requires recording of subsequent reenactments in the history of the section.
  • Effective upon passage.

Who is affected

  • Office of Law Revision / Joint Committee on Legislative Services: adds an annual reporting duty to identify Supreme Court decisions that necessitate statutory changes.
  • Rhode Island General Assembly: receives information about federal holdings that may require state statutory updates; may use that information to draft corrective legislation.
  • State agencies, courts, attorneys, businesses, and individuals: may see more timely legislative activity to bring state law into alignment with U.S. Supreme Court precedent, potentially reducing legal uncertainty or exposure.
  • Budget/administration: likely minimal fiscal impact, limited to staff time or resources needed to track and report relevant federal decisions.

Procedural / timeline notes

  • Introduced to the House Judiciary Committee (02/12/2025; filed 03/14/2025 according to legislative actions).
  • Scheduled for hearing 02/21/2025 and, on 02/25/2025, the committee recommended holding the measure for further study.
  • Read first time and referred to Ways & Means on 04/07/2025.
  • If enacted, provisions take effect upon passage; reenactment provisions themselves are timed to take effect on/after December 31 of the reenactment year.

Practical effect

The bill does not itself change substantive policy except to clarify reenactment mechanics and precedence rules; its principal operational change is the creation of a formal, annual obligation for the law revision office to flag U.S. Supreme Court decisions that may require statutory amendments—aimed at improving legislative awareness and facilitating statutory updates to maintain conformity with federal constitutional and statutory interpretation.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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