| Chapter 408 |
| 2024 -- S 3134 Enacted 06/26/2024 |
| A N A C T |
| RELATING TO MOTOR AND OTHER VEHICLES -- OPERATORS' AND CHAUFFEURS' LICENSES |
Introduced By: Senator F. Lombardi |
| Date Introduced: June 04, 2024 |
| It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: |
| SECTION 1. Section 31-10-26 of the General Laws in Chapter 31-10 entitled "Operators’ |
| and Chauffeurs’ Licenses" is hereby amended to read as follows: |
| 31-10-26. Issuance of license. |
| (a) The division of motor vehicles shall, upon payment of the required fee, issue to every |
| qualifying applicant an operator’s or chauffeur’s license. The license shall be approximately two |
| and one-half inches (2½″) wide and three and one-half inches (3½″) long and shall bear on it a |
| distinguishing number assigned to the licensee; the full name; date of birth; residence address; brief |
| description of the licensee; a photograph of the licensee; whether the licensee has indicated a desire |
| to donate tissue or organs pursuant to the provisions of chapter 18.6.1 of title 23; and either a space |
| upon which the licensee shall write his or her usual signature with pen and ink or a facsimile of the |
| signature of the licensee. No license shall be valid until it has been so signed by the licensee |
| designated on it. A negative file of all photographs of licensees shall be maintained by the division |
| of motor vehicles for a period of five (5) years. |
| (b) The division of motor vehicles shall issue an operator’s or chauffeur’s license pursuant |
| to this chapter to every qualifying applicant, including, but not limited to, any current or past |
| recipient of a grant of deferred action under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) |
| program, provided any applicant subject to the DACA program shall provide evidence of having |
| received the grant from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. |
| (c) The division of motor vehicles shall issue special licenses to those licensees who have |
| indicated that they desire to donate tissue or organs, which conform to the provisions of the Revised |
| Uniform Anatomical Gift Act, chapter 18.6.1 of title 23. |
| (d) Any person who is a law enforcement officer, meaning any permanently employed |
| member of the state, city, or town police departments, sheriffs and deputy sheriffs, members of the |
| marshal’s unit, capitol police, and the state fire marshal and deputy fire marshals of the division of |
| building, design and fire professionals or a member of the department of attorney general, any |
| permanently employed federal law enforcement officer assigned in Rhode Island, or any member |
| of the United States Attorney’s Office in Rhode Island or any employee of the R.I. department of |
| corrections, as recommended by the director of the department of corrections, and members of the |
| Rhode Island judiciary or any employee of the Rhode Island judiciary as recommended by the chief |
| justice, upon request of the applicant, shall be issued a license that contains the applicant’s official |
| business address in lieu of a residence address as required under the general provisions of this |
| section. |
| (e) The license issued to a person applying for the first time shall be designated as a “first |
| license.” A first license shall be issued for a one-year period after which time a permanent driver’s |
| license shall be issued according to this section. |
| (f) If an applicant has been adjudicated for committing one moving motor vehicle violation, |
| has been involved in one reportable motor vehicle accident, or both, he or she shall be summoned |
| for a hearing before a judge of the traffic tribunal at which time the driving record will be reviewed. |
| The traffic tribunal judge shall determine if the person should be granted an operator’s license, be |
| reissued a first license, or be denied a license to operate a motor vehicle in the state of Rhode Island. |
| (g) Any person who is under the age of twenty-one (21) years shall, upon payment of the |
| required fee and upon meeting the qualifications for the receipt of an operator’s or chauffeur’s |
| license, be issued a license that shall be readily distinguishable in color from those licenses issued |
| to persons who are twenty-one (21) years of age or older. When a person under the age of twenty- |
| one (21) years to whom a license has been issued and whose license is in full force and effect, |
| attains his or her twenty-first birthday, he or she shall be entitled to receive a new license of the |
| type issued to persons who are older than the age of twenty-one (21) years from the administrator |
| of the division of motor vehicles upon demand at no expense. Every person shall supply to the |
| division of motor vehicles satisfactory proof of his or her date of birth. |
| (h) The division of motor vehicles shall issue special licenses upon the request of a licensee |
| that conform to the provisions of the Revised Uniform Anatomical Gift Act, chapter 18.6.1 of title |
| 23. |
| (i) The division of motor vehicles shall note in an appropriate manner a restriction on any |
| person’s license who is prohibited from operating a motor vehicle that is not equipped with an |
| ignition interlock system as provided in chapter 27 of this title. |
| (j) Any personal digitized information contained within an operator’s or chauffeur’s license |
| shall be limited to: (a) the licensee’s name, age, date of birth, address, gender, physical description |
| such as weight, height, hair color and eye color, signature and organ donor status; and (b) the license |
| number, commercial endorsements, expiration date, issue date, restriction, and class. |
| (k) Except to the extent an entity is authorized to renew drivers’ licenses, or except for |
| financial institutions engaged in the verification of information for financial transactions, |
| nongovernmental entities shall not have access to any digitized information contained in an |
| operator’s or chauffeur’s license other than the licensee’s name, age, date of birth, signature, and |
| photographic image, and the license’s expiration date; nor shall they store, record, or retain any |
| such information obtained through a digital reading device. Access to digitized information by |
| these entities shall be solely for the purpose of determining the age of an individual for a transaction, |
| right, or privilege available by law only to persons of a certain age. |
| (l) To the extent that nongovernmental entities shall have access to the digitized |
| information stored on an operator’s or chauffeur’s license, the entity shall be civilly liable for the |
| unauthorized access to, or retention or use of, the information by its agents or persons acting in the |
| name of the entity. |
| (m) The division of motor vehicles shall collect from applicants and licensees their social |
| security numbers and tax identification numbers only to the extent required by federal law. The |
| numbers shall not be included, either digitally or visually, on the operator’s or chauffeur’s license. |
| (n) Issuance of a Rhode Island operator’s license under this chapter to a current or past |
| recipient of a grant of deferred action under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) |
| program shall not confer the right to vote in the state of Rhode Island. |
| SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage. |
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| LC006220 |
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