| Chapter 281 |
| 2024 -- S 2758 Enacted 06/25/2024 |
| A N A C T |
| RELATING TO BUSINESSES AND PROFESSIONS -- RYAN'S LAW |
Introduced By: Senators F. Lombardi, DiPalma, Britto, Tikoian, Felag, Ciccone, and Pearson |
| Date Introduced: March 08, 2024 |
| It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: |
| SECTION 1. Section 5-90-1 of the General Laws in Chapter 5-90 entitled "Ryan’s Law" |
| is hereby amended to read as follows: |
| 5-90-1. Authority to fine healthcare professionals and assess administrative costs. |
| (a)(1) Any licensing board responsible for governing the professional conduct of |
| individuals with the authority to prescribe controlled substances shall have the authority to assess |
| a fine against a licensee who has been found guilty of unprofessional conduct and/or violating any |
| provision of the general laws, any rule, any regulation, any order, any license, or any approval |
| issued by the director. |
| (2)(i) No such fine shall be assessed for the first charge or count against a licensee. |
| (ii) Any fine assessed against a licensee for the second charge or count, regardless if the |
| charge or count appears on the first complaint or a subsequent complaint, shall not exceed one |
| thousand dollars ($1,000). |
| (iii) Any fine assessed against a licensee for each charge or count subsequent to the second |
| charge or count, regardless if the charge or count appears on the first complaint or a subsequent |
| complaint, shall not exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000). |
| (b) Any licensee who fails to pay an assessed fine within the time period prescribed by the |
| relevant licensing board shall be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including revocation. |
| (c) When an individual licensed by a board described in subsection (a): |
| (1) Concurrently holds at least one other license issued by a regulatory entity subject to the |
| jurisdiction of the department; and |
| (2) Fails to comply with any provision of the general laws, any rule, any regulation, any |
| order, any license, or any approval issued by the director, only one board may issue a fine for the |
| licensed individual’s unprofessional conduct in connection therewith. |
| (d) Prior to the assessment of a fine under this section, the department of health shall adopt |
| rules and regulations providing guidance on the appropriate range of sanctions and the criteria to |
| be considered when recommending specific sanctions or administrative monetary penalties to the |
| director. |
| (e) Any licensing board responsible for governing the professional conduct of individuals |
| with the authority to prescribe controlled substances shall have the authority to assess against the |
| individual the administrative costs of the proceedings instituted against the licensee under this |
| chapter; provided that, this assessment shall not exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000), except for |
| those individuals licensed under chapter 37 of this title. |
| (f) In addition to any other penalty authorized by law, the board shall impose a probationary |
| period on any licensee with the authority to prescribe controlled substances found guilty by the |
| board of over prescribing, death resulting, for a minimum period of three (3) years. Any subsequent |
| violation, if substantially related to the conduct or violation for which the licensee is on probation, |
| occurring during a licensee's probationary period may result in a suspension or revocation of |
| licensure. |
| SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage. |
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| LC005215 |
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