2021 -- H 5596

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LC001649

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2021

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT - STATEWIDE PUBLIC SAFETY

COMPUTER AIDED DISPATCH RECORDS MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

     Introduced By: Representatives Craven, and Noret

     Date Introduced: February 12, 2021

     Referred To: House State Government & Elections

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Title 42 of the General Laws entitled "STATE AFFAIRS AND

GOVERNMENT" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following chapter:

CHAPTER 28.10

     STATEWIDE PUBLIC SAFETY COMPUTER AIDED DISPATCH RECORDS

MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

     42-28.10-1. Statewide records management system.

     (a) The division of state police is hereby authorized and empowered to provide for the

installation, operation, and maintenance of a statewide records management system (RMS). The

statewide records management system shall provide for the storage, exchange, retrieval, retention,

manipulation, archiving, and viewing of information, records, documents, or files pertaining to law

enforcement operations. Such records may include, but not be limited to, incident and accident

reports, arrests, citations, warrants, case management, field contacts, and other operations-oriented

records.

     (b) The RMS is to be installed by the superintendent of the state police in his capacity as

the director of department of public safety and shall be maintained and controlled by the records

management system board of directors established pursuant to § 42-28.10-2.

     (c) State and local sworn law enforcement agencies are authorized to interface, at their own

expense, with the RMS for the exchange of information provided by the system.

     42-28.10-2. Record management system board of directors - Established.

     (a) There is hereby established a board of directors for the Rhode Island records

management system, sometimes referred to as the "board", which shall be empowered to maintain

the records system and shall have oversight over the collection and maintenance of user fees

collected from state agencies and/or cities and towns for the administration of the records system.

     (b) The board in consultation with the superintendent of the state police shall make rules

and regulations necessary to implement the provisions of this chapter.

     42-28.10-3. Records management system board of directors - Appointment.

     (a) The records management system board of directors shall consist of nine (9) members

as follows: One member who shall be a representative of the Rhode Island Association of Fire

Chiefs or designee; one member who shall be the Rhode Island attorney general or designee; one

member who shall be the chief of the Providence police department or designee; one member of a

law enforcement agency from a city or town with fewer than twenty-five thousand (25,000)

residents to be appointed by the Rhode Island Police Chiefs Association; one member of a law

enforcement agency from a city or town with twenty-five thousand (25,000) residents or more, to

be appointed by the Rhode Island Police Chiefs Association; one member who shall be the

President of the Rhode Island Police Chiefs Association or designee; one member who shall be the

director of the Rhode Island department of transportation's office on highway safety or designee;

one member who shall be the superintendent of the state police or designee; and one member from

a sworn law enforcement agency within the department of public safety other than the state police

appointed by the director of the department of public safety.

     (b) A majority of the board shall elect the chair of the board on an annual basis from among

the nine (9) board members pursuant to rules and regulations adopted by the board.

     42-28.10-4. Advisory board.

     There is hereby established a records management advisory board consisting of at least

thirteen (13) members who shall be representatives of Rhode Island agencies having an interest in

law enforcement records management and who shall be appointed by the records management

system board of directors. The advisory board's purpose shall be to assist the board of directors in

the administration of this chapter.

     42-28.10-5. Privacy policy and protections.

     (a) The RMS shall be responsible for safeguarding all collected information and shall

comply with all state and federal privacy laws in order to protect privacy rights, civil rights, and

civil liberties in the collection, use, analysis, retention, destruction, sharing, and disclosure of

information. Information gathered and retained by the RMS may only be disseminated for the

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specific purpose of administering the provisions of this chapter and shall only be accessed by sworn

law enforcement personnel authorized by law to have such access and only for those uses or

purposes specified by law.

     (b) The RMS shall not retain personal information for a period longer then is reasonably

required to carry out the purposes of this chapter.

     (c) The records management systems board of directors is hereby directed to develop and

maintain a privacy policy which shall ensure safeguards are in place to protect personal information

from unlawful access, sharing and/or second party dissemination.

     (d) Any request made pursuant to the Access to Public Records Act of § 38-2-1 et seq.

must be made to the agency that created the record.

     42-28.10-6. Collection of fees.

     Any participating law enforcement agency shall be required to pay a user fee to be

determined by the board. Fees paid pursuant to this section shall be maintained in a restricted receipt

account pursuant to this chapter for the exclusive purpose of implementing the provisions of this

chapter.

     42-28.10-7. Restricted receipt account.

     There is hereby created a restricted receipt account within the general fund of the state to

be known as the statewide records management system account. Fees collected pursuant to § 42-

28.10-6 shall be deposited into this account and be used for costs associated with the system. The

restricted receipt account shall be included in the budget of the division of the state police. All

expenditures from the account shall be subject to appropriation by the general assembly. Any other

available grants or funds from a public or private source may be deposited in the account and used

for associated costs.

     42-28.10-8. Annual reporting.

     The chairperson of the records management system board of directors shall annually

provide a report to the speaker of the house and the president of the senate. The report shall include

and document the systems annual activity including, but not limited to, the data reported and the

number of reports entered into the system.

     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT - STATEWIDE PUBLIC SAFETY

COMPUTER AIDED DISPATCH RECORDS MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

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     This act would establish a statewide public safety computer aided dispatch records

management system.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

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