2024 -- S 2137 | |
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LC003865 | |
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STATE OF RHODE ISLAND | |
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY | |
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2024 | |
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A N A C T | |
RELATING TO MOTOR AND OTHER VEHICLES -- COMPREHENSIVE COMMUNITY-- | |
POLICE RELATIONSHIP ACT OF 2015 | |
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Introduced By: Senators Quezada, Bell, DiMario, Euer, Britto, Cano, Valverde, and | |
Date Introduced: January 18, 2024 | |
Referred To: Senate Judiciary | |
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: | |
1 | SECTION 1. Sections 31-21.2-6 and 31-21.2-7 of the General Laws in Chapter 31-21.2 |
2 | entitled "Comprehensive Community-Police Relationship Act of 2015" are hereby amended to read |
3 | as follows: |
4 | 31-21.2-6. Continued data collection. Data collection. |
5 | (a) The office of highway safety of the Rhode Island department of transportation or a |
6 | designee to be chosen by the department of transportation by January 1, 2017, is authorized to and |
7 | shall conduct a study of routine traffic stops by the Rhode Island state police and each municipal |
8 | police department in order to determine whether racial disparities in traffic stops exist, and to |
9 | examine whether searches of vehicles and motorists are being conducted in a disparate manner. |
10 | (b)(a) The office of highway safety of the Rhode Island department of transportation or its |
11 | designee shall, no later than January 1, 2016 2025, develop a form or electronic equivalent to be |
12 | used by each police officer when making a traffic stop and/or search to record the data required |
13 | under this chapter, which form shall include for each motor vehicle stop and/or search, the race and |
14 | ethnicity of the driver based on the officer’s perception, and the information listed in § 31-21.1-4. |
15 | the following data: |
16 | (1) The date, time and general location of the traffic stop; |
17 | (2) The race and ethnicity, gender, and approximate age of the driver stopped; provided |
18 | that the identification of these characteristics shall be based on the observation and perception of |
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1 | the police officer making the stop and the information shall not be requested of the person stopped; |
2 | (3) The reason for the stop; |
3 | (4) Whether a search was instituted as a result of the stop; |
4 | (5) The scope of any search conducted; |
5 | (6) Whether the search was conducted pursuant to consent, probable cause, or reasonable |
6 | suspicion to suspect a crime; |
7 | (7) Whether any contraband, including money, was seized in the course of the search, and |
8 | if so, the nature of the contraband; |
9 | (8) Whether any warning or citation was issued as a result of the stop; |
10 | (9) Whether an arrest was made as a result of either the stop or the search; |
11 | (10) The approximate duration of the stop; and |
12 | (11) Whether the vehicle is registered in Rhode Island or out of the state. |
13 | (b) For those motor vehicle stops or searches where a citation was issued or an arrest was |
14 | made, the data collection form shall include a citation or arrest number. It shall also include the |
15 | name or badge number of the officer completing the form; provided, however, that the name and |
16 | the badge number of the officer shall not be public. |
17 | (c) The office of highway safety of the Rhode Island department of transportation or its |
18 | designee shall advise the Rhode Island state police and each municipal police department of the |
19 | date that data collection shall commence. Data collection shall begin not later than January 1, 2016 |
20 | 2025, but may begin prior to that time upon notification to police departments from the office of |
21 | highway safety of the Rhode Island department of transportation or its designee. |
22 | (d) A traffic stop and search data collection card or electronic equivalent shall be completed |
23 | for each routine traffic stop and/or searched by the Rhode Island state police and each municipal |
24 | police department during the term of this study. |
25 | (e) Upon commencement of data collection, and monthly thereafter, each municipal police |
26 | department and the Rhode Island state police shall transmit to the office of highway safety of the |
27 | Rhode Island department of transportation or its designee all forms or electronic data collected to |
28 | date of motorists who were stopped and/or searched, and any other information the police |
29 | department or the Rhode Island state police deem appropriate. Data collection shall continue for |
30 | forty-eight (48) months following commencement of data collection. |
31 | (f) Within ninety (90) days of the effective date of this section, each municipal department |
32 | and the Rhode Island state police shall transmit all traffic stop and search data collected between |
33 | July 1, 2022 and June 30, 2024 for analysis in the annual study required by § 31-21.2-10. |
34 | (f)(g) Appropriate funding may shall be made available to implement the provision |
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1 | provisions of this chapter and completion of this the annual study shall be contingent upon such |
2 | funding. Additional funding may be made available to the advisory committee established by § 31- |
3 | 21.2-13 to assist police departments, community groups and others in training, research, and |
4 | community outreach to further the goals of this chapter. |
5 | (g) The study shall include a multivariate analysis of the collected data in accordance with |
6 | general statistical standards and shall be substantially similar to the study prepared pursuant to |
7 | chapter 21.1 of this title. The study shall be prepared by an organization, company, person, or other |
8 | entity with sufficient expertise in the field of statistics and the study of traffic stop data collection |
9 | to assist with the implementation of this chapter, and chosen by the office of highway safety of the |
10 | Rhode Island department of transportation or its designee. The study shall be released on an annual |
11 | basis, with the first release not later than eighteen (18) months after commencement of data |
12 | collection under this chapter. The report, findings, and conclusions submitted pursuant to this |
13 | subsection shall be a public record. |
14 | (h) The office of highway safety of the Rhode Island department of transportation, or its |
15 | designee, shall be exempt from the provisions of chapter 2 of title 37 in connection with its |
16 | procurement of equipment and services necessary to the implementation of this chapter. |
17 | (i) On a quarterly basis, a summary report of the monthly data provided by each police |
18 | department and the state police for that quarterly period shall be issued. The report shall be a public |
19 | record. The summary report shall include, at a minimum, a monthly breakdown by race, age, |
20 | gender, and outcome for operators for each police department of the number of traffic stops made |
21 | and of searches conducted. For those police departments collecting data through the use of mobile |
22 | display terminals in police vehicles, the report shall also include a breakdown by race and outcome |
23 | for operators. The report shall be released not more than ninety (90) days after the end of each |
24 | quarterly period. No information revealing the identity of any individual shall be contained in the |
25 | report. |
26 | (j) Every law enforcement agency collecting data pursuant to this chapter shall ensure that |
27 | supervisory personnel review each officer’s stop and search documentation and data results on a |
28 | monthly basis to ensure compliance with all policies, prohibitions, and documentation |
29 | requirements. |
30 | (k) The head of every law enforcement agency subject to this chapter, or his or her |
31 | designee, shall review the data on a regular basis in an effort to determine whether any racial |
32 | disparities in the agency’s traffic stops enforcement exists, and to appropriately respond to any such |
33 | disparities. It is understood that disparities may or may not equate to racial profiling. |
34 | (l) An organization chartered for the purpose of combating discrimination, racism, or of |
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1 | safeguarding civil liberties, or of promoting full, free, or equal employment opportunities, and/or a |
2 | governmental or quasi-governmental entity may seek appropriate relief in a civil action against any |
3 | police department for failing to collect or transmit the data required in this chapter, and may be |
4 | awarded its costs, including attorney’s fees, for bringing such an action. As a condition precedent |
5 | to the filing of a civil action by an organization under this section, the organization shall send a |
6 | notice to the office of highway safety of the Rhode Island department of transportation or its |
7 | designee identifying the police department which is failing to collect or transmit the data and the |
8 | organization shall then allow fifteen (15) days to elapse. |
9 | (m)(i) The office of highway safety of the Rhode Island department of transportation or its |
10 | designee shall consult with community, police and civil rights representatives the CCPRA advisory |
11 | committee in the development of the form required by subsection (b) and on at least a quarterly |
12 | basis shall consult on other issues that arise relating to the implementation and enforcement of this |
13 | chapter including the information generated by the issuance of the reports required by subsection |
14 | (i) this chapter. |
15 | 31-21.2-7. Data collection and use Data use and enforcement. |
16 | (a) Data acquired under this chapter shall not be used in any civil proceeding to establish |
17 | or rebut an inference of discrimination except by court order or when otherwise admissible in |
18 | accordance with rules of civil procedure. It is understood that disparities may or may not equate to |
19 | racial profiling. |
20 | (b) All data collected and the reports and studies compiled pursuant to this chapter shall be |
21 | public, except information identifying any specific law enforcement officer. For those motor |
22 | vehicle stops where a citation was issued or an arrest was made, the forms prepared pursuant to § |
23 | 31-21.2-6(b) of this chapter shall include a citation or arrest number for reference. The data |
24 | collection form shall not include the name or badge number of the officer completing the form. The |
25 | report from the department of transportation or its designee shall not be officer specific. |
26 | (b)(c) Any police officer who in good faith records traffic stop or search information |
27 | pursuant to the requirements of this chapter shall not be held civilly liable for the act of recording |
28 | the information unless the officer’s conduct was reckless. |
29 | (c)(d) All police departments shall submit to the office of highway safety of the department |
30 | of transportation, or its designee, on an annual basis beginning on July 15, 2016, and for four (4) |
31 | years following the conclusion of data collection, a report indicating what action, if any, has been |
32 | taken, to address any racial disparities in traffic stops and/or searches documented in the studies |
33 | authorized by §§ 31-21.1-4 and 31-21.2-6, and to otherwise implement any recommendations of |
34 | those studies, including, but not limited to, any changes to agency policies; revisions to traffic |
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1 | enforcement practices; detailed analysis and review of traffic stop data and the results of such |
2 | review; or the initiation of any disciplinary action. Any reference to disciplinary action shall not |
3 | identify the officer. The office of highway safety of the department of transportation or its designee, |
4 | in consultation with the CCPRA advisory committee, shall issue guidelines for police departments |
5 | to follow in preparing these reports the annual reports required by § 31-21.2-12, including |
6 | establishing a form for the certification of compliance to be verified under oath. The reports shall |
7 | be public records and shall contain a certification that the department has complied with § 31-21.2- |
8 | 6(j) and (k). |
9 | (d) Every twelve (12) months, each state and municipal law enforcement agency shall |
10 | submit to the office of highway safety of the Rhode Island department of transportation, or its |
11 | designee, on a brief form prepared by that office, or its designee, information summarizing what, |
12 | if any, actions were taken by the agency in response to any racial disparities documented in the |
13 | previous reports issued pursuant to § 31-21.2-6(i). The summary shall include, but not be limited |
14 | to: any changes to agency policies; revisions to traffic enforcement practices; detailed analysis and |
15 | review of traffic stop data and the results of such review; or the initiation of any disciplinary action. |
16 | Any references to disciplinary action shall not identify the officer. The forms shall be public |
17 | records, and shall contain a certification that the department has complied with § 31-21.2-6(j) and |
18 | (k). |
19 | (e) An organization chartered for the purpose of combating discrimination, racism, or of |
20 | safeguarding civil liberties, or of promoting full, free, or equal employment opportunities, and/or a |
21 | governmental or quasi-governmental entity may seek appropriate relief in a civil action against any |
22 | police department for failing to collect or transmit the data required in this chapter, or for failing to |
23 | comply with the other requirements of this chapter, and may be awarded its costs, including |
24 | attorney's fees, for bringing such an action. As a condition precedent to the filing of a civil action |
25 | by an organization under this section, the organization shall send a notice to the office of highway |
26 | safety of the Rhode Island department of transportation or its designee identifying the police |
27 | department which is failing to collect or transmit the data and the organization shall then allow |
28 | fifteen (15) days to elapse before filing a civil action. |
29 | SECTION 2. Chapter 31-21.2 of the General Laws entitled "Comprehensive Community- |
30 | Police Relationship Act of 2015" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following sections: |
31 | 31-21.2-9. Quarterly data reports by office of highway safety. |
32 | (a) On a quarterly basis, a summary report of the monthly data provided by each police |
33 | department and the state police for that quarterly period shall be issued by the office of highway |
34 | safety of the Rhode Island department of transportation or its designee. The summary report shall |
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1 | include, at a minimum, a monthly breakdown by race, age, gender, and outcome for operators for |
2 | each police department of the number of traffic stops made and of searches conducted. For those |
3 | police departments collecting data through the use of mobile display terminals in police vehicles, |
4 | the report shall also include a breakdown by race and outcome for operators. |
5 | (b) The report shall be released not more than ninety (90) days after the end of each |
6 | quarterly period. No information revealing the identity of any individual shall be contained in the |
7 | report. |
8 | 31-21.2-10. Annual study and data interface by office of highway safety. |
9 | (a) The office of highway safety of the Rhode Island department of transportation or a |
10 | designee to be chosen by the department of transportation shall, with input from the CCPRA |
11 | advisory committee, select an organization, company, person, or other entity with sufficient |
12 | expertise in the field of statistics, and expertise in the study of traffic stop and search data collection |
13 | and/or the study of data related to racial disparities to conduct an annual study. |
14 | (b) The study shall compile and examine data of routine traffic stops made and searches |
15 | conducted by the Rhode Island state police and each municipal police department in order to |
16 | determine whether racial disparities in traffic stops and searches exist, and to further examine |
17 | whether searches of vehicles and motorists are being conducted in a racially disparate manner. The |
18 | study shall include a multivariate analysis of the collected data in accordance with general statistical |
19 | standards, and may include an analysis of data at and above the eighty-five percent (85%) |
20 | confidence level. The study shall be substantially similar to the study prepared pursuant to chapter |
21 | 21.1 of title 31, and may include a multi-year data analysis. The annual study shall not identify |
22 | specific officers. |
23 | (c) Appropriate funding shall be made available to implement the provisions of this chapter |
24 | and completion of the annual study shall be contingent upon such funding. |
25 | (d) On an annual basis, the office of highway safety of the Rhode Island department of |
26 | transportation or its designee shall present all data submitted in accordance with § 31-21.2-6 in an |
27 | online interface designed to enhance public interaction with the data. In providing a visual |
28 | presentation of the data, the interface shall allow for user-generated analysis of the stop and search |
29 | data points required to be collected pursuant to this chapter. The interface shall generate analyses |
30 | of the data such that the public may view the data by race or ethnicity in conjunction with any of |
31 | the data points collected, and shall allow users to view the data statewide and for individual |
32 | municipal law enforcement agencies both cumulatively and by year. Within one year of the |
33 | effective date of this section, the interface shall include all the annual data collected since the |
34 | effective date of this chapter. |
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1 | 31-21.2-11. Monthly review. |
2 | (a) The head of every law enforcement agency collecting data pursuant to this chapter shall |
3 | regularly review the agency-wide data in an effort to determine whether any racial disparities in |
4 | the agency's traffic stops or searches exist, and to appropriately respond to any such disparities. |
5 | (b) The head of every law enforcement agency shall ensure that supervisory personnel have |
6 | conducted monthly verifications of each officer's stop and search documentation and officer |
7 | specific data results to verify compliance, or document any noncompliance, with all policies, |
8 | prohibitions, and documentation requirements. Such monthly verifications shall include whether a |
9 | review of an officer’s stop and search documentation and data results indicate the presence of racial |
10 | disparities. |
11 | 31-21.2-12. Annual report by law enforcement agency heads. |
12 | (a) The head of every law enforcement agency shall submit a traffic stop and search report |
13 | which includes the information in § 31-21.2-11 to the office of highway safety of the department |
14 | of transportation, or its designee, and to the CCPRA advisory committee on an annual basis |
15 | beginning on July 1, 2025. |
16 | (b) The head of the agency shall submit as part of each annual report, a certification of |
17 | compliance with this section, documentation of monthly verifications, and a summary of any racial |
18 | disparities found through the review. |
19 | (c) Additionally, the annual report shall indicate what action, if any, has been taken, to |
20 | address any racial disparities in traffic stops and/or searches documented in each department’s |
21 | ongoing data collection and, in the study authorized by § 31-21.2-10, and to otherwise implement |
22 | any recommendations of the data collection and/or traffic studies, including, but not limited to: |
23 | (1) Any changes to agency policies; |
24 | (2) Revisions to traffic enforcement practices; |
25 | (3) Detailed analysis and review of traffic stop data and the results of such review; |
26 | (4) Steps taken to present the data and recommendations to the community; |
27 | (5) The initiation of any disciplinary action; and |
28 | (6) Where no remedial action has been taken in response to documented racial disparities, |
29 | an explanation for the department’s inaction. |
30 | (d) The annual report, including any reference to disciplinary action, shall not identify |
31 | specific officers. |
32 | 31-21.2-13. Advisory committee -- Establishment -- Duties. |
33 | (a) The CCPRA advisory committee is hereby established. The advisory committee shall |
34 | consist of twelve (12) members: |
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1 | (1) One of whom shall be appointed by the governor; |
2 | (2) One of whom shall be appointed by the senate president; |
3 | (3) One of whom shall be appointed by the speaker of the house; |
4 | (4) One of whom shall be the attorney general, or designee; |
5 | (5) One of whom shall be the public defender, or designee; |
6 | (6) One of whom shall be the director of the department of public safety, or designee; |
7 | (7) One of whom shall be the executive director of the Rhode Island Police Chiefs |
8 | Association, or designee; |
9 | (8) One of whom shall be the executive director of the Rhode Island commission for human |
10 | rights, or designee; |
11 | (9) One of whom shall be the executive director of Rhode Island for Community & Justice, |
12 | or designee or other organization chartered for the purpose of combating discrimination, racism or |
13 | of safeguarding civil liberties; |
14 | (10) One of whom shall be the president of the NAACP Providence branch, or designee; |
15 | (11) Two (2) of whom shall be community members. |
16 | (b) The members of the advisory committee shall be appointed for terms of three (3) years; |
17 | provided, however that, with regard to the initial appointments, four (4) members shall be appointed |
18 | for terms of one year; four (4) members shall be appointed for a term of two (2) years; and four (4) |
19 | members shall be appointed for a term of three (3) years. Members may be reappointed, and their |
20 | appointments shall continue until their successors are appointed. A vacancy other than by |
21 | expiration shall be filled in the manner of the original appointment, but only for the unexpired |
22 | portion of the term. |
23 | (c) The members of the advisory committee shall receive no compensation. |
24 | (d) The governor’s appointee shall be the chairperson; a vice-chairperson and secretary |
25 | shall be elected by the advisory committee members annually. All officers of the advisory |
26 | committee shall serve until their successors have been duly appointed or elected. |
27 | (e) The advisory committee shall meet at least quarterly and at the call of the chairperson |
28 | of the committee. |
29 | (f) The advisory committee shall have the following purposes and duties: |
30 | (1) Advise the office of highway safety of the department of transportation or designee on |
31 | all matters pertaining to the duties and powers of the committee, including evaluating and making |
32 | recommendations regarding plans, programs, and strategies relating to the CCPRA; |
33 | (2) Provide input to the office of highway safety of the department of transportation or |
34 | designee to choose an organization, company, person or entity to conduct an annual traffic stop and |
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1 | search study; |
2 | (3) Advise the study consultant on the recommended design of each study; |
3 | (4) Consult with the office of highway safety of the department of transportation or |
4 | designee on guidelines for police departments to follow in preparing the reports required pursuant |
5 | to § 31-21.2-7(d); |
6 | (5) Receive, review and discuss each CCPRA study; |
7 | (6) Receive, review and discuss each law enforcement agency’s annual report required |
8 | pursuant to § 31-21.2-12(a); |
9 | (7) Consult with the CAD/RMS board of advisors, as established in § 42-28.10-2; |
10 | (8) Recommend appropriate assessments for the studies; |
11 | (9) Recommend policies for stops, searches and seizures; |
12 | (10) Recommend appropriate enforcement mechanisms to address any study results; and |
13 | (11) Promote the involvement and investment of the public in CCPRA research, the annual |
14 | studies, and the work of the CCPRA advisory committee. |
15 | (g) The office of highway safety of the department of transportation, or designee, in |
16 | conjunction with the department of administration, shall provide space and secretarial services to |
17 | the advisory committee without charge to the committee. |
18 | SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage. |
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EXPLANATION | |
BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL | |
OF | |
A N A C T | |
RELATING TO MOTOR AND OTHER VEHICLES -- COMPREHENSIVE COMMUNITY-- | |
POLICE RELATIONSHIP ACT OF 2015 | |
*** | |
1 | This act would amend the comprehensive community-police relationship act of 2015 to |
2 | require an annual study by an outside agency chosen by the department with input from the CCPRA |
3 | advisory committee on traffic stop and search data related to racial disparities and would require a |
4 | monthly review and annual reporting by law enforcement agencies statewide on the traffic stop and |
5 | search data. The act would also create a twelve (12) member CCPRA advisory committee to advise |
6 | the office of highway safety on all matters pertaining to the committee's duties relating to stop and |
7 | search data. |
8 | This act would take effect upon passage. |
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