| Chapter 253 |
| 2024 -- H 8349 Enacted 06/24/2024 |
| A N A C T |
| RELATING TO COURTS AND CIVIL PROCEDURE -- COURTS -- FAMILY COURT |
Introduced By: Representative Jason Knight |
| Date Introduced: June 09, 2024 |
| It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: |
| SECTION 1. Section 8-10-21 of the General Laws in Chapter 8-10 entitled "Family Court" |
| is hereby amended to read as follows: |
| 8-10-21. Records of court. |
| The records of the family court shall be public records, except that records of hearings in |
| matters set forth in § 14-1-5, together with stenographic notes and transcripts of those hearings, |
| shall not be available for public inspection unless the court shall otherwise order. Notwithstanding |
| the foregoing provisions, the records of the family court in criminal matters involving adults shall |
| be public records. The record of delinquent or wayward adjudications of juveniles, or protective |
| orders issued against juveniles, may be accessed by law enforcement personnel to be used for law |
| enforcement purposes only and shall remain otherwise confidential. The Attorney General |
| attorney general shall promulgate rules and regulations necessary to facilitate the purposes of this |
| section. |
| SECTION 2. Section 12-29-8.1 of the General Laws in Chapter 12-29 entitled "Domestic |
| Violence Prevention Act" is hereby amended to read as follows: |
| 12-29-8.1. Restraining order no-contact order system (R.O.N.C.O.). |
| (a) All domestic violence and sexual assault protective orders must be filed in the |
| R.O.N.C.O. system at the attorney general’s bureau of criminal identification (B.C.I.) unit. |
| (b)(1) All protective orders from filed against individuals aged eighteen (18) years and over |
| and issued by the district court, superior court, family court, police departments and or bail |
| commissioners must be filed upon issuance by faxing or delivering the orders to the B.C.I. unit, |
| either electronically or in hard copy, no later than the end of the day of issuance. Orders shall |
| include the following: the terms of the order,; the date of issuance,; the date of the second hearing |
| (if any),; the dates of birth of the parties,; and the date of expiration. |
| (2) All modifications and terminations of the orders must also be faxed or delivered to the |
| B.C.I. unit, either electronically or in hard copy, no later than the end of the day of the modification. |
| Any protective order issued pursuant to chapter 15 of title 15, chapter 8.1 of title 8, and chapter 5 |
| of title 15 which that is terminated or expires for any reason, and any no-contact order issued by |
| any superior court, district court, or family court which that is removed, rescinded, or expired for |
| any reason shall be expunged within thirty (30) days from the R.O.N.C.O. system and the prior |
| existence of the protective order or no-contact order shall not be disclosed except by court order. |
| (c) A person entitled to protection under an existing protection order shall, upon request, |
| be given a certified copy of the order by the court clerk. The attorney general’s B.C.I. unit shall |
| accept the certified copy and enter that copy into the R.O.N.C.O. system. |
| (d) For purposes of this section, “protective orders” includes all family, district, and |
| superior court restraining orders issued against individuals aged eighteen (18) years and over, as |
| well as district and superior court no-contact orders issued against individuals aged eighteen (18) |
| years and over. |
| SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage. |
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| LC006257 |
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