2024 -- S 2934 | |
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LC004487 | |
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STATE OF RHODE ISLAND | |
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY | |
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2024 | |
____________ | |
A N A C T | |
RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES -- COMMERCIAL SEXUAL ACTIVITY | |
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Introduced By: Senators Mack, and Murray | |
Date Introduced: March 28, 2024 | |
Referred To: Senate Judiciary | |
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: | |
1 | SECTION 1. Whereas, the Rhode Island House of Representatives passed House |
2 | Resolution 5250, creating a “Special Legislative Study Commission Ensuring Racial Equity and |
3 | Optimizing Health and Safety Laws Affecting Marginalized Individuals” (hereinafter “the |
4 | Commission”) in 2021. |
5 | Whereas, this thirteen-member Commission specifically sought to draw from and expand |
6 | upon the significant research on the health and safety implications of laws related to violence, |
7 | exploitation, stigma, human trafficking and sexual health; laws that disproportionately impact |
8 | women, transgender individuals, and people of color. |
9 | Whereas, members of the Commission met seven times between November 2021 and April |
10 | 2023 and heard testimony from a variety of experts and individuals with lived experience in the sex |
11 | trade. |
12 | Whereas, the Commission issued a comprehensive report on August 14, 2023 with |
13 | numerous findings. The findings below are relevant to this repealer: |
14 | Finding 6. The ACLU has a long-standing position on the issue of sex work |
15 | decriminalization and, for over 40 years, has opposed laws criminalizing sexual activity among |
16 | consenting adults. According to the ACLU, these laws have traditionally represented a direct form |
17 | of discrimination against women. |
18 | Finding 7. According to the Erotic Labor Alliance of New England, repressive policies |
19 | including criminalization of sex work has been associated with increased risk of sexual violence, |
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1 | almost two times increased risk of HIV and other STIs, and disruption of support networks and |
2 | access to services. |
3 | Finding 8. According to a study done in 2018 by Lucy Platt entitled “Associations between |
4 | sex work laws and sex workers’ health: A systematic review and meta-analysis of quantitative and |
5 | qualitative studies”, the removal of criminal and administrative sanctions for sex work is needed to |
6 | improve sex workers’ health and access to services and justice. |
7 | Finding 9. The “New Zealand Model” is a 2003 law passed by New Zealand which aims |
8 | to uphold the human rights of sex workers and decriminalizes prostitution. Under that model, it is |
9 | not against the law to work as a sex worker or operate a brothel, nor is it against the law to pay for |
10 | sexual services. However, it is illegal for any third party to facilitate anyone under the age of |
11 | eighteen (18) into undertaking sex work. |
12 | Finding 10. According to COYOTE RI: the main impact of the re-criminalization of indoor |
13 | prostitution has been the repeated arrests and deportations of Asian spa workers; over the last six |
14 | (6) years, there has been a sharp increase in arrests of Asian spa workers; and, in 2021, Asian spa |
15 | workers made up thirteen (13) of Rhode Island's sixteen (16) total prostitution-related arrests. |
16 | Whereas, this final report also called for numerous recommendations. In relevant part, the |
17 | report issued the following recommendation: |
18 | Recommendation 1. Consider a Rhode Island law to restore the pre-2009 landscape, such |
19 | that private, consensual sexual activity remains out of the reach of criminal laws. Alternatively, |
20 | consider adopting the New Zealand Model (referenced in the above findings), which decriminalizes |
21 | prostitution. |
22 | SECTION 2. Sections 11-34.1-1, 11-34.1-2, 11-34.1-3, 11-34.1-4, 11-34.1-6, 11-34.1-7, |
23 | 11-34.1-8, 11-34.1-9, 11-34.1-10, 11-34.1-11, 11-34.1-12, 11-34.1-13 and 11-34.1-14 of the |
24 | General Laws in Chapter 11-34.1 entitled "Commercial Sexual Activity" are hereby repealed. |
25 | 11-34.1-1. Definitions. |
26 | The following words and phrases, when used in this chapter, have the following meanings: |
27 | (1) “Sexual conduct” means sexual intercourse, cunnilingus, fellatio, anal intercourse, and |
28 | digital intrusion or intrusion by any object into the genital opening or anal opening of another |
29 | person’s body, or the stimulation by hand of another’s genitals for the purposes of arousing or |
30 | gratifying the sexual desire of either person. |
31 | (2) “Commercial sexual activity” means any sexual conduct which is performed or |
32 | promised in return for a fee. |
33 | (3) “Fee” means any thing of monetary value, including but not limited to money, given as |
34 | consideration for sexual conduct. |
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1 | 11-34.1-2. Prostitution. |
2 | (a) A person is guilty of prostitution when such person engages, or agrees, or offers to |
3 | engage in sexual conduct with another person in return for a fee. Any person found guilty under |
4 | this section shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be subject to imprisonment for a |
5 | term not exceeding six (6) months, or to a fine of not less than two hundred fifty dollars ($250) nor |
6 | more than one thousand dollars ($1,000), or both. |
7 | (b) Any person found guilty of a subsequent offense under this section shall be subject to |
8 | imprisonment for a term of not more than one year, or a fine of not less than five hundred dollars |
9 | ($500) nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000), or both. |
10 | (c) In any prosecution for a violation under this section, it shall be an affirmative defense |
11 | if the accused was forced to commit a commercial sexual activity by: |
12 | (1) Being threatened or subjected to physical harm; |
13 | (2) Being physically restrained or threatened to be physically restrained; |
14 | (3) Being subject to threats of abuse of law or legal process; |
15 | (4) Being subject to destruction, concealment, removal, or confiscation, of any passport or |
16 | other immigration document or any other actual or purported governmental identification |
17 | document; or |
18 | (5) Being subject to intimidation in which the accused’s physical well being was perceived |
19 | as threatened. |
20 | 11-34.1-3. Procurement of sexual conduct for a fee. |
21 | (a) A person is guilty of procuring or attempting to procure sexual conduct for the payment |
22 | of a fee if they engage or seek to engage in sexual conduct for any type of fee and/or pay or agree |
23 | to pay any type of fee for sexual conduct, regardless of the time, place or location of the |
24 | procurement, attempted procurement, payment, attempted payment or conduct. Any person found |
25 | guilty under this section shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be subject to |
26 | imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year, or to a fine of not less than two hundred fifty |
27 | dollars ($250) nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000), or both. |
28 | (b) Any person found guilty of a subsequent offense under this section shall be subject to |
29 | imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year, or a fine of not less than five hundred dollars |
30 | ($500) nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000), or both. |
31 | 11-34.1-4. Loitering for prostitution. |
32 | (a) It shall be unlawful for any person to stand or wander in or near any public highway or |
33 | street, or any public or private place, and attempt to engage passersby in conversation, or stop or |
34 | attempt to stop motor vehicles, for the purpose of prostitution or other commercial sexual activity. |
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1 | Any person found guilty of the crime of loitering for prostitution shall be subject to a sentence of |
2 | up to six (6) months incarceration or by a fine of not less than two hundred fifty dollars ($250) nor |
3 | more than one thousand dollars ($1,000), or both. |
4 | (b) Any person found guilty of a subsequent offense under this section shall be subject to |
5 | imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year, or a fine of not less than five hundred dollars |
6 | ($500) nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000), or both. |
7 | 11-34.1-6. Soliciting from motor vehicles for indecent purposes — Forfeiture of motor |
8 | vehicle. |
9 | (a) It shall be unlawful for any person, while an operator or passenger in a motor vehicle |
10 | to stop, or attempt to stop another vehicle or pedestrian, or to engage or attempt to engage persons |
11 | in another vehicle or pedestrians in conversation, for the purposes of prostitution or other indecent |
12 | act, or to patronize, induce, or otherwise secure another person to commit any commercial sexual |
13 | activity. Any person found guilty under this section shall be subject to a sentence of up to six (6) |
14 | months incarceration or a fine of not less than five hundred dollars ($500) nor more than one |
15 | thousand dollars ($1,000), or both. |
16 | (b) Any person found guilty of a subsequent offense under this section shall be subject to |
17 | imprisonment for a term of not more than one year and a fine of not less than seven hundred fifty |
18 | dollars ($750) nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000). No fine imposed under this section |
19 | may be suspended. |
20 | (c) The motor vehicle being unlawfully operated as defined in this chapter by a person |
21 | convicted of a second or subsequent offense of soliciting from a motor vehicle for indecent |
22 | purposes pursuant to this chapter which vehicle is owned by the operator, may be seized by the law |
23 | enforcement agency and forfeited at the discretion of the court. Any funds received from the |
24 | forfeiture shall be deposited in the victim’s of crimes indemnity fund (VCIF). |
25 | 11-34.1-7. Pandering or permitting prostitution — Not allowed. |
26 | (a) It shall be unlawful for any person, by any promise or threat, by abuse of person, or by |
27 | any other device or scheme, to cause, induce, persuade, or encourage a person to become a |
28 | prostitute or to come into this state or leave this state for the purpose of prostitution. It shall be |
29 | unlawful for any person to receive or give, or agree to receive or give, any money or thing of value |
30 | for procuring or attempting to procure any person to become a prostitute or to come into this state |
31 | or leave this state for the purpose of prostitution. |
32 | (b) It shall be unlawful for any person to knowingly permit, allow, transport, or offer or |
33 | agree to receive any person into any place, structure, house, building, room, or business for the |
34 | purpose of committing any commercial sexual activity, or knowingly permit any person to remain |
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1 | in the premises for those purposes, or to, in any way, aid or abet or participate in any of the acts or |
2 | things enumerated in this chapter. Any person, knowing a person to be a prostitute, who shall live |
3 | or derive support or maintenance, in whole or in part, from the earnings or proceeds of commercial |
4 | sexual activity, from moneys loaned, advanced to, or charged against the prostitute by a landlord, |
5 | manager, owner of a spa or business, or any other place where commercial sexual activity is |
6 | practiced or allowed, or who shall share in the earnings, proceeds, or moneys shall be guilty of the |
7 | crime of permitting prostitution. |
8 | (c) Every person who commits any of the offenses described in subsection (a) of this |
9 | section, or who assists, abets, or aids another to commit any of those offenses, shall be guilty of |
10 | pandering. For the first offense, that person shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than |
11 | one year and not more than five (5) years and a fine of not less than two thousand dollars ($2,000), |
12 | nor more than five thousand dollars ($5,000). For every subsequent offense, that person shall be |
13 | punished by imprisonment for not less than three (3) years and not more than ten (10) years and a |
14 | fine of not less than five thousand dollars ($5,000), nor more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000). |
15 | (d) Any proceeds derived directly from a violation of this section are subject to seizure and |
16 | forfeiture and further proceedings shall be required for their forfeiture as is prescribed by law in |
17 | chapter 21 of title 12. |
18 | 11-34.1-8. Venue of pandering or permitting prostitution prosecutions. |
19 | It shall not be a defense to any prosecution of any of the offenses described in this chapter |
20 | that the offense or any part of the offense shall have been committed outside the state, and any |
21 | offense described in this chapter may be alleged to have been committed. The offender may be |
22 | prosecuted and punished in any county in which the offender or the person upon or against whom |
23 | the offense was committed may be found, or in which the offense was consummated, or in which |
24 | any overt acts in furtherance of the offenses shall have been committed. |
25 | 11-34.1-9. Spouse as witness in pandering or permitting prostitution. |
26 | In any prosecution for any offense under this chapter, any person shall be a competent |
27 | witness against the offender in relation to any offense committed by the offender upon or against |
28 | him or her, or by the offender against or upon another person or persons in his or her presence, |
29 | notwithstanding that person may have been married to the offender before or after the commission |
30 | of the offense, and notwithstanding that person may be called as witness during the existence of |
31 | the marriage or after its dissolution. |
32 | 11-34.1-10. Reputation testimony as evidence. |
33 | In the trial of any person charged with a violation of this chapter, testimony concerning the |
34 | reputation of the place where the violation occurred or of persons who frequent or reside in it shall |
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1 | be admissible in evidence in support of the charge. |
2 | 11-34.1-11. Examination and treatment for venereal disease. |
3 | Any person convicted for any violation of this chapter or of any other statute relating to |
4 | lewd or lascivious behavior or unlawful sexual intercourse, and who shall be confined or |
5 | imprisoned in any correctional institution for more than ten (10) days, may be examined by the |
6 | department of health for venereal disease, through duly appointed, licensed physicians as agents. |
7 | Any person that is examined may be detained until the result of the examination is duly reported. |
8 | If found with venereal disease in an infectious stage, the person shall be treated, and if a menace to |
9 | the public, quarantined, in accordance with rules and regulations, not inconsistent with law, of the |
10 | director of health, who is authorized to formulate and issue them. Refusal to comply with or obey |
11 | the rules or regulations shall constitute a misdemeanor and be punishable by fine not to exceed two |
12 | hundred fifty dollars ($250), or a sentence of incarceration of up to three (3) months, or both. |
13 | 11-34.1-12. Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). |
14 | (a) Any person convicted of a violation of any provisions of this chapter shall be required |
15 | to be tested for Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). No consent for the testing shall be required. |
16 | (b) The department of health shall maintain sites for providing both anonymous and |
17 | confidential HIV testing, and HIV counseling and referral. Each site, funded by the department of |
18 | health, shall offer free testing, counseling and referral for indigent parties and other individuals |
19 | without health insurance, offer a sliding scale for payment for all other individuals and, in the case |
20 | of confidential testing, screen for ability to pay through a third-party insurer. In the case of |
21 | nonfunded sites for HIV testing, organizations and/or institutions performing the test shall offer |
22 | free testing, counseling and referral for indigent parties and other individuals without health |
23 | insurance. |
24 | (c) All persons tested under this section shall be provided pre-test and post-test counseling |
25 | by individuals trained by the department of health, as an HIV testing counselor, in accordance with |
26 | regulations promulgated by the department of health; provided, that the counseling shall be in |
27 | accordance with acceptable medical standards. |
28 | (d) All persons who are tested under this section, who are determined to be injecting drug |
29 | users, shall be referred to appropriate sources of substance abuse treatment by the HIV testing |
30 | counselor and/or the attending practitioner as follows: |
31 | (1) Those persons who test positive for HIV infection shall be given priority for those |
32 | outpatient substance abuse treatment programs that are sponsored or supported by the appropriate |
33 | state agency responsible for these services. |
34 | (2) Those persons who are injecting drug users and test negative for HIV infection shall be |
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1 | referred, by the HIV testing counselor and/or attending practitioner, to the appropriate state agency |
2 | responsible for these services for earliest possible evaluation and treatment. |
3 | 11-34.1-13. Reporting. |
4 | On or before January 15, 2010, and semi-annually thereafter, each law enforcement agency |
5 | in this state shall file with the Governor, the Attorney General, the Speaker of the House of |
6 | Representatives and the President of the Senate a report concerning the agency’s enforcement of |
7 | this chapter during the preceding six (6) month period. Each semi-annual report shall contain, but |
8 | need not be limited to, the following information: |
9 | (1) The number of persons arrested pursuant to subsection 11-34.1-2(a), subsection 11- |
10 | 34.1-2(b), § 11-34.1-3, § 11-34.1-4, subsection 11-34.1-6(a), subsection 11-34.1-6(b) and |
11 | subsection 11-34.1-7 of this chapter; |
12 | (2) Of those arrested, the number of persons convicted, placed on probation, whose case is |
13 | filed pursuant to § 12-10-12, whether those persons pled guilty or nolo contendere or were found |
14 | guilty after trial by judge or jury; |
15 | (3) The fines and/or sentences of those persons identified pursuant to subdivision (2) of |
16 | this section; and |
17 | (4) A summary of the amounts of fines levied and the lengths of sentences identified |
18 | pursuant to subdivision (3) of this section. |
19 | 11-34.1-14. Severability. |
20 | If any provision of this chapter or its application to any person or circumstances is held |
21 | invalid, the invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of the chapter which can be |
22 | given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this |
23 | chapter are declared to be severable. |
24 | SECTION 3. Sections 11-34-8.3 and 11-34-11 of the General Laws in Chapter 11-34 |
25 | entitled "Prostitution and Lewdness" are hereby repealed. |
26 | 11-34-8.3. Criminal forfeiture procedures. |
27 | (a) Any criminal complaint charging an offense under §§ 11-34-8.1 or 11-34-8.2 shall set |
28 | forth with reasonable particularity: |
29 | (1) Whether the law enforcement agency seeks to have forfeited property pursuant to this |
30 | section; and |
31 | (2) What property the law enforcement agency seeks to have forfeited. |
32 | (b) The court may, upon application of the law enforcement agency, enter a restraining |
33 | order or injunction, require any person claiming any interest in the subject motor vehicle to execute |
34 | a satisfactory performance bond to the state, or take any other action to preserve the availability of |
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1 | the motor vehicle subject to forfeiture described in § 11-34-8.2 whether prior to or subsequent to |
2 | the filing of a complaint. Written notice and an opportunity for a hearing shall be afforded to |
3 | persons appearing to have an interest in the motor vehicle. The hearing is limited to the issues of |
4 | whether: |
5 | (1) There is a substantial probability that the law enforcement agency will prevail on the |
6 | issue of forfeiture and that failure to enter the order will result in the motor vehicle being destroyed, |
7 | conveyed, encumbered or further encumbered, removed from the jurisdiction of the court, or |
8 | otherwise made unavailable for forfeitures; and |
9 | (2) The need to preserve the availability of property through the entry of the requested |
10 | order outweighs the hardship on any party against whom the order is to be entered. |
11 | (c)(1) An order under this section may be entered upon application of the law enforcement |
12 | agency without notice or opportunity for a hearing when a complaint has not yet been filed with |
13 | respect to the property if the law enforcement agency demonstrates that there is probable cause to |
14 | believe that the property with respect to which the order is sought would, in the event of conviction, |
15 | be subject to forfeiture under § 11-34-8.2 and that provision of notice will jeopardize the availability |
16 | of the motor vehicle for forfeiture. The order shall expire within ten (10) days of the date on which |
17 | it is entered unless for good cause shown or unless the party against whom it is entered consents to |
18 | an extension for a longer period. |
19 | (2) A hearing requested by any party in interest concerning an order entered under this |
20 | subsection shall be held at the earliest possible time and prior to the expiration of the temporary |
21 | order. |
22 | (3) The court may receive and consider, at the hearing held pursuant to this subsection, |
23 | evidence and information that would be inadmissible in court. |
24 | (d) Upon conviction of a person for an offense under § 11-34-8.1, the court may enter a |
25 | judgment of forfeiture of the property described in §§ 11-34-8.2 and 11-34-8.3 to the city or town |
26 | and shall also authorize the law enforcement agency to seize the motor vehicle ordered forfeited |
27 | upon any terms and conditions that the court shall deem proper. Following the entry of an order |
28 | declaring the property forfeited, the court may, upon application of the law enforcement agency, |
29 | enter any appropriate orders, require the execution of satisfactory performance bonds, appoint |
30 | receivers, conservators, appraisers, accountants, or trustees, or take any other action to protect the |
31 | interest of the law enforcement agency in the motor vehicle ordered forfeited. |
32 | (e) All right, title, and interest in the motor vehicle described in § 11-34-8.1 vests in the |
33 | city or town upon the commission of the act giving rise to forfeiture under this section subject to |
34 | the limitations of § 11-34-8.2. Any such motor vehicle that is subsequently transferred to any person |
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1 | may be the subject of a special verdict of forfeiture and thereafter shall be ordered forfeited to the |
2 | state, unless the transferee establishes in a hearing that he or she is a bona fide purchaser for value |
3 | of the motor vehicle who at the time of purchase was reasonably without cause to believe that the |
4 | motor vehicle was subject for forfeiture. |
5 | 11-34-11. Loitering for indecent purposes in or near schools. |
6 | Any person who violates this section by attempting to engage a person for the purpose of |
7 | prostitution or other indecent act, or to patronize or induce or otherwise secure a person to commit |
8 | any indecent act in the building or on the grounds or within three hundred (300) yards of the grounds |
9 | of a public or private elementary, vocational, or secondary school, shall be punished by a term of |
10 | imprisonment of not more than one year and a fine of not less than five hundred dollars ($500) nor |
11 | more than one thousand dollars ($1,000). |
12 | SECTION 4. Section 11-34.1-5 of the General Laws in Chapter 11-34.1 entitled |
13 | "Commercial Sexual Activity" is hereby amended to read as follows: |
14 | 11-34.1-5. Expungement of certain criminal records. |
15 | (a) Records defined in § 12-1.3-1 of any person convicted, placed on probation, or whose |
16 | case was filed pursuant to § 12-10-12, for a violation of §§ 11-34.1-2, 11-34.1-3, or § 11-34.1-4, |
17 | 11-34.1-6 or 11-34-11 shall may be expunged at no cost upon petition of the person one year after |
18 | completion of that person’s sentence. |
19 | (b) The motion shall be filed in accordance with a chapter 12-1.3 and may be granted in |
20 | the court’s discretion regardless of the person’s first offender status. |
21 | SECTION 5. Section 7-14-2 of the General Laws in Chapter 7-14 entitled "Suppression of |
22 | Criminally Operated Businesses" is hereby amended to read as follows: |
23 | 7-14-2. Enjoining operations of a business. |
24 | The attorney general is authorized to institute civil proceedings in the superior court to |
25 | enjoin the operation of any business other than a corporation, including a partnership, limited |
26 | partnership, unincorporated association, joint venture, or sole proprietorship, when: |
27 | (1) Any person in control of the business, who may be a partner in a partnership, a |
28 | participant in a joint venture, the owner of a sole proprietorship, an employee or agent of the |
29 | business, or a person who, in fact, exercises control over the operations of the business, has, in |
30 | conducting its business affairs, purposely engaged in a persistent course of gambling, unlawful |
31 | traffic in narcotics, extortion, embezzlement, intimidation, bribery, prostitution, human trafficking, |
32 | crimes against nature, or other illegal conduct with the intent to compel or induce other persons, |
33 | firms, or corporations to deal with the business or engage in any illegal conduct; and |
34 | (2) That for the prevention of future illegal conduct of the same character, the public |
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1 | interest requires the operation of the business to be enjoined. |
2 | SECTION 6. Section 7-15-1 of the General Laws in Chapter 7-15 entitled "Racketeer |
3 | Influenced and Corrupt Organizations" is hereby amended to read as follows: |
4 | 7-15-1. Definitions. |
5 | (a) “Enterprise” includes any sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, association, or |
6 | other legal entity, and any union or group of individuals associated for a particular purpose although |
7 | not a legal entity. |
8 | (b) “Person” includes any individual or entity capable of holding a legal or beneficial |
9 | interest in property. |
10 | (c) “Racketeering activity” means any act or threat involving murder, kidnapping, |
11 | gambling, arson in the first, second, or third degree, robbery, bribery, extortion, larceny, human |
12 | trafficking or prostitution, or any dealing in narcotic or dangerous drugs that is chargeable as a |
13 | crime under state law and punishable by imprisonment for more than one year, or child |
14 | exploitations for commercial or immoral purposes in violation of § 11-9-1(b) or (c) or § 11-9-1.1. |
15 | (d) “Unlawful debt” means a debt incurred or contracted in an illegal gambling activity or |
16 | business or that is unenforceable under state law in whole or in part as to principal or interest |
17 | because of the law relating to usury. |
18 | SECTION 7. Section 9-17-13 of the General Laws in Chapter 9-17 entitled "Witnesses" is |
19 | hereby amended to read as follows: |
20 | 9-17-13. Spouses of parties. |
21 | In the trial of every civil cause, the husband or wife of either party shall be deemed a |
22 | competent witness; provided, that neither shall be permitted to give any testimony tending to |
23 | criminate the other or to disclose any communication made to him or her, by the other, during their |
24 | marriage, except on trials of petitions for divorce between them, and trials between them involving |
25 | their respective property rights, and under the provisions of § 11-34.1-9. |
26 | SECTION 8. Section 10-1-5 of the General Laws in Chapter 10-1 entitled "Abatement of |
27 | Nuisances" is hereby repealed. |
28 | 10-1-5. Evidence of reputation — Conviction of offenses against decency. |
29 | In any hearing in proceedings under this chapter, evidence of the general reputation of the |
30 | place, or the conviction, whether by trial or plea, including a plea of nolo, of any person of the |
31 | violation of statutes against prostitution, lewdness, or assignation committed in any such place shall |
32 | be admissible for the purposes of proving the existence of the nuisance. |
33 | SECTION 9. Sections 11-30-1 and 11-30-8 of the General Laws in Chapter 11-30 entitled |
34 | "Nuisances" are hereby amended to read as follows: |
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1 | 11-30-1. Definitions. |
2 | For the purpose of this chapter and chapter 1 of title 10, the terms “nuisance or common |
3 | nuisance”, “person”, or “place” are defined as follows: |
4 | (1) “Nuisance” or “common nuisance” means and includes any place as defined in this |
5 | section in or upon which lewdness, assignation, or prostitution is conducted, permitted, continued, |
6 | or exists, and the personal property used in conducting or maintaining any place for that purpose, |
7 | and all buildings, places, or tenements used as houses of ill fame, for illegal gaming, or where |
8 | intemperate, idle, dissolute, noisy, or disorderly persons are in the habit of resorting; |
9 | (2) “Person” includes any individual, corporation, association, partnership, trustee, lessee, |
10 | agent, or assignee; and |
11 | (3) “Place” includes any building, structure, or tenement, or any separate part or portion of |
12 | a building or structure, or the ground itself. |
13 | 11-30-8. Entry by police officers of premises — Commanding departure of persons |
14 | found. |
15 | The sheriffs of the several counties and their deputies, and the town sergeants, constables, |
16 | and chiefs of police of the several towns and cities may, within their respective towns and counties, |
17 | enter any house or building that they have cause to suspect to be inhabited for purposes of |
18 | prostitution and lewdness, to be resorted to by persons of ill fame or by persons of dissolute, idle, |
19 | or disorderly character, or in which they have reasonable cause to believe intoxicating liquors are |
20 | sold in violation of law, or unlawful games are carried on or permitted, or in which they have |
21 | reasonable cause to believe a common nuisance is kept or maintained. Upon entering the house or |
22 | building, they may command all persons assembled there to immediately depart from the house or |
23 | building. In the event of the neglect or refusal of any person so commanded to leave, they may |
24 | arrest that person and hold him or her for a period not exceeding twenty-four (24) hours for |
25 | prosecution. Every person who shall so refuse or neglect shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor |
26 | and shall be fined not exceeding twenty dollars ($20.00) or be imprisoned not exceeding thirty (30) |
27 | days. |
28 | SECTION 10. Sections 11-67.1-15 and 11-67.1-16 of the General Laws in Chapter 11-67.1 |
29 | entitled "Uniform Act on Prevention of and Remedies for Human Trafficking" are hereby repealed. |
30 | 11-67.1-15. Immunity of minor. |
31 | (a) An individual is not criminally liable or subject to a delinquency proceeding in the |
32 | family court for prostitution or solicitation to commit a sexual act if the individual was a minor at |
33 | the time of the offense and committed the offense as a direct result of being a victim. |
34 | (b) An individual who has engaged in commercial sexual activity is not criminally liable |
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1 | or subject to a delinquency proceeding in the family court for prostitution or solicitation to commit |
2 | a sexual act if the individual was a minor at the time of the offense. |
3 | (c) A minor who under subsection (a) or (b) of this section is not subject to criminal liability |
4 | or a delinquency proceeding in family court is presumed to be an abused and/or neglected child as |
5 | defined in § 40-11-2. |
6 | (d) This section does not apply in a prosecution or a delinquency proceeding for patronizing |
7 | a prostitute. |
8 | 11-67.1-16. Affirmative defense of victim. |
9 | An individual charged with prostitution or solicitation to commit a sexual act, committed |
10 | as a direct result of being a victim, may assert an affirmative defense that the individual is a victim. |
11 | SECTION 11. Sections 23-6.3-1 and 23-6.3-4 of the General Laws in Chapter 23-6.3 |
12 | entitled "Prevention and Suppression of Contagious Diseases — HIV/AIDS" are hereby amended |
13 | to read as follows: |
14 | 23-6.3-1. Purpose. |
15 | The purpose of this chapter is to reduce vulnerability to HIV/AIDS transmission, protect |
16 | persons who are infected with HIV from discrimination, ensure informed consent for testing, and |
17 | to provide consistent terms and standards within this title and as applicable to chapters 34.1 and 37 |
18 | of title 11, chapter 28 of title 21, and chapter 24 of title 40.1. |
19 | 23-6.3-4. Exceptions to consent requirements. |
20 | (a) A healthcare provider may test for the presence of HIV without obtaining consent from |
21 | the individual to be tested under the following conditions: |
22 | (1) When the individual to be tested is under one year of age; |
23 | (2) When a child between one and thirteen (13) years of age appears to be symptomatic for |
24 | HIV; |
25 | (3) When the individual to be tested is a minor under the care and authority of the |
26 | department of children, youth and families, and the director of that department certifies that an HIV |
27 | test is necessary to secure health or human services for that individual; |
28 | (4) In a licensed healthcare facility or healthcare setting, in the event that an occupational |
29 | health representative or physician, registered nurse practitioner, physician assistant, or nurse- |
30 | midwife, not directly involved in the exposure, determines that an employee or emergency service |
31 | worker, other than one in a supervisory position to the person making the determination, had a |
32 | significant exposure to the blood and/or body fluids of a patient and the patient or the patient’s |
33 | guardian refuses to grant consent for an HIV test to determine whether the patient has HIV, then, |
34 | if a sample of the patient’s blood is available, that blood shall be tested for HIV. |
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1 | (i) If a sample of the patient’s blood is not otherwise available and the patient refuses to |
2 | grant consent to draw blood, the employee or emergency service worker may petition the superior |
3 | court for a court order mandating that the test be performed. |
4 | (ii) Before a patient or a sample of the patient’s blood is required to undergo an HIV test, |
5 | the employee or emergency service worker must submit to a baseline HIV test within seventy-two |
6 | (72) hours of the exposure. |
7 | (iii) No person who determines that an employee or emergency service worker has |
8 | sustained a significant exposure and authorizes the HIV testing of a patient, nor any person or |
9 | healthcare facility who acts in good faith and recommends the test be performed, shall have any |
10 | liability as a result of their actions carried out under this chapter, unless those persons are proven |
11 | to have acted in bad faith. |
12 | (iv) For the purposes of this section, “emergency service worker” means a worker |
13 | responding on behalf of a licensed ambulance/rescue service, or a fire department or a law |
14 | enforcement agency, who, in the course of his/her professional duties, has been exposed to bodily |
15 | fluids in circumstances that present a significant risk of transmission of HIV, and has completed a |
16 | pre-hospital exposure form in accordance with § 23-4.1-19. |
17 | (5) In an emergency, where due to a grave medical or psychiatric condition, and it is |
18 | impossible to obtain consent from the patient or, if applicable under state law, the patient’s parent, |
19 | guardian, or agent. |
20 | (6) As permitted under § 23-1-38 entitled “HIV Antibody Testing-Sperm Collection or |
21 | Donation.” |
22 | (7) Any individual convicted of a violation of any provisions of chapter 34.1 of title 11 |
23 | entitled “Commercial Sexual Activity,” shall be required to be tested for HIV unless already |
24 | documented HIV positive. All individuals tested under this section shall be informed of their test |
25 | results. All individuals tested under this section who are determined to be injecting and/or intra- |
26 | nasal drug users shall be referred to appropriate substance abuse treatment as outlined in § 23-6.3- |
27 | 3(e). |
28 | (8) Any individual convicted of possession of any controlled substance as defined in |
29 | chapter 28 of title 21 entitled “Uniform Controlled Substances Act,” that has been administered |
30 | with a hypodermic instrument, retractable hypodermic syringe, needle, intra-nasally, or any similar |
31 | instrument adapted for the administration of drugs shall be required to be tested for HIV unless |
32 | already documented HIV positive. |
33 | (9) All individuals tested under this section shall be informed of their test results. |
34 | (10) In accordance with the provisions of chapter 37 of title 11, entitled, “Sexual Assault,” |
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1 | any individual who has admitted to or been convicted of or adjudicated wayward or delinquent by |
2 | reason of having committed any sexual offense involving penetration whether or not a sentence or |
3 | fine is imposed or probation granted, shall be ordered by the court upon petition of the victim, |
4 | immediate family members of the victim or legal guardian of the victim, to submit to a blood test |
5 | for the presence of a sexually transmitted disease including, but not limited to, HIV. All individuals |
6 | tested under this section shall be informed of their test results. |
7 | (11) In accordance with the provisions or § 42-56-37, entitled “HIV Testing,” every |
8 | individual who is committed to the adult correctional institutions to any criminal offense, after |
9 | conviction, is required to be tested for HIV. |
10 | (b) It is unlawful for any person to disclose to a third party the results of an individual’s |
11 | HIV test without the prior written consent of that individual, except in accordance with § 23-6.3-7. |
12 | SECTION 12. Section 40-11-2 of the General Laws in Chapter 40-11 entitled "Abused and |
13 | Neglected Children" is hereby amended to read as follows: |
14 | 40-11-2. Definitions. |
15 | When used in this chapter and unless the specific context indicates otherwise: |
16 | (1) “Abused or neglected child” means a child whose physical or mental health or welfare |
17 | is harmed, or threatened with harm, when his or her parent or other person responsible for his or |
18 | her welfare: |
19 | (i) Inflicts, or allows to be inflicted, upon the child physical or mental injury, including |
20 | excessive corporal punishment; or |
21 | (ii) Creates, or allows to be created, a substantial risk of physical or mental injury to the |
22 | child, including excessive corporal punishment; or |
23 | (iii) Commits, or allows to be committed, against the child an act of sexual abuse; or |
24 | (iv) Fails to supply the child with adequate food, clothing, shelter, or medical care, though |
25 | financially able to do so or offered financial or other reasonable means to do so; or |
26 | (v) Fails to provide the child with a minimum degree of care or proper supervision or |
27 | guardianship because of his or her unwillingness or inability to do so by situations or conditions |
28 | such as, but not limited to: social problems, mental incompetency, or the use of a drug, drugs, or |
29 | alcohol to the extent that the parent or other person responsible for the child’s welfare loses his or |
30 | her ability or is unwilling to properly care for the child; or |
31 | (vi) Abandons or deserts the child; or |
32 | (vii) Subjects or allows the child to be subjected to any of the human trafficking offenses |
33 | in §§ 11-67.1-3, 11-67.1-4, 11-67.1-5, 11-67.1-6, or 11-67.1-7 Sexually exploits the child in that |
34 | the person allows, permits, or encourages the child to engage in prostitution as defined by the |
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1 | provisions in § 11-34.1-1 et seq., entitled “Commercial Sexual Activity”; or |
2 | (viii) Sexually exploits the child in that the person allows, permits, encourages, or engages |
3 | in the obscene or pornographic photographing, filming, or depiction of the child in a setting that, |
4 | taken as a whole, suggests to the average person that the child is about to engage in, or has engaged |
5 | in, any sexual act, or that depicts any such child under eighteen (18) years of age performing |
6 | sodomy, oral copulation, sexual intercourse, masturbation, or bestiality; or |
7 | (ix) Commits, or allows to be committed, any sexual offense against the child as sexual |
8 | offenses are defined by the provisions of chapter 37 of title 11, entitled “Sexual Assault,” as |
9 | amended; or |
10 | (x) Commits, or allows to be committed, against any child an act involving sexual |
11 | penetration or sexual contact if the child is under fifteen (15) years of age; or if the child is fifteen |
12 | (15) years or older, and (1) Force or coercion is used by the perpetrator, or (2) The perpetrator |
13 | knows, or has reason to know, that the victim is a severely impaired person as defined by the |
14 | provisions of § 11-5-11, or physically helpless as defined by the provisions of § 11-37-1(6). |
15 | (2) “Child” means a person under the age of eighteen (18). |
16 | (3) “Child protective investigator” means an employee of the department charged with |
17 | responsibility for investigating complaints and referrals of child abuse and neglect and institutional |
18 | child abuse and neglect. |
19 | (4) “Children’s advocacy center (CAC)” means a community-based organization that is a |
20 | member of the Rhode Island chapter of children advocacy centers and an accredited member (or |
21 | working toward accreditation) of the National Children’s Alliance. |
22 | (5) “Department” means department of children, youth and families. |
23 | (6) “Educational program” means any public or private school, including boarding schools, |
24 | or any home-schooling program. |
25 | (7) “Healthcare provider” means any provider of healthcare services involved in the |
26 | delivery or care of infants or care of children. |
27 | (8) “Institution” means any private or public hospital or other facility providing medical or |
28 | psychiatric diagnosis, treatment, and care. |
29 | (9) “Institutional child abuse and neglect” means situations of known or suspected child |
30 | abuse or neglect where the person allegedly responsible for the abuse or neglect is a foster parent |
31 | or the employee of a public or private residential childcare institution or agency; or any staff person |
32 | providing out-of-home care or situations where the suspected abuse or neglect occurs as a result of |
33 | the institution’s practices, policies, or conditions. |
34 | (10) “Law enforcement agency” means the police department in any city or town or the |
| LC004487 - Page 15 of 19 |
1 | state police. |
2 | (11) “Mental injury” includes a state of substantially diminished psychological or |
3 | intellectual functioning in relation to, but not limited to, such factors as: failure to thrive; ability to |
4 | think or reason; control of aggressive or self-destructive impulses; acting-out or misbehavior, |
5 | including incorrigibility, ungovernability, or habitual truancy; provided, however, that the injury |
6 | must be clearly attributable to the unwillingness or inability of the parent or other person |
7 | responsible for the child’s welfare to exercise a minimum degree of care toward the child. |
8 | (12) “Person responsible for child’s welfare” means the child’s parent; guardian; any |
9 | individual, eighteen (18) years of age or older, who resides in the home of a parent or guardian and |
10 | has unsupervised access to a child; foster parent; an employee of a public or private residential |
11 | home or facility; or any staff person providing out-of-home care (out-of-home care means child |
12 | day care to include family day care, group day care, and center-based day care). Provided, further, |
13 | that an individual, eighteen (18) years of age or older, who resides in the home of a parent or |
14 | guardian and has unsupervised access to the child, shall not have the right to consent to the removal |
15 | and examination of the child for the purposes of § 40-11-6. |
16 | (13) “Physician” means any licensed doctor of medicine, licensed osteopathic physician, |
17 | and any physician, intern, or resident of an institution as defined in subsection (8). |
18 | (14) “Probable cause” means facts and circumstances based upon as accurate and reliable |
19 | information as possible that would justify a reasonable person to suspect that a child is abused or |
20 | neglected. The facts and circumstances may include evidence of an injury, or injuries, and the |
21 | statements of a person worthy of belief, even if there is no present evidence of injury. |
22 | (15) “Shaken-baby syndrome” means a form of abusive head trauma, characterized by a |
23 | constellation of symptoms caused by other than accidental traumatic injury resulting from the |
24 | violent shaking of or impact upon an infant or young child’s head. |
25 | SECTION 13. Section 42-56-20.3 of the General Laws in Chapter 42-56 entitled |
26 | "Corrections Department" is hereby amended to read as follows: |
27 | 42-56-20.3. Community correctional program for women offenders. |
28 | (a) Program established. In addition to the provisions of § 42-56-20.2, there shall be |
29 | established within the department of corrections a community correctional program for women |
30 | offenders. Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary, the department of corrections may |
31 | contract with private agencies to carry out the provisions of this section. The civil liability of these |
32 | agencies and their employees, acting within the scope of their employment, and carrying out the |
33 | provisions of this section, shall be limited in the same manner and dollar amount as if they were |
34 | agencies or employees of the state. |
| LC004487 - Page 16 of 19 |
1 | (b) Persons subject to this section. Every person who is either sentenced to imprisonment |
2 | in the women’s division of the adult correctional institutions for a term of two (2) years or less or |
3 | awaiting trial at the women’s division of the adult correctional institutions shall be eligible to serve |
4 | in the community confinement program for women offenders under the provisions of this section. |
5 | (c) Terms of community correctional program. |
6 | (1) The director, or his or her designee, shall refer persons eligible to serve in the |
7 | community correctional program to the program director of the community correctional program. |
8 | The program director shall be responsible for developing with each person an individualized plan, |
9 | which shall be designed toward providing her an opportunity for rehabilitation and restitution. Each |
10 | plan shall assess the need for, and provide for, employment, vocational or academic education, |
11 | housing, restitution, community service, or any other social service or counseling need appropriate |
12 | to the particular woman. Each plan shall be submitted to the director of the department of |
13 | corrections, or his or her designee, for approval. |
14 | (2) Upon approval by the director, or his or her designee, of the plan, the plan shall be |
15 | submitted to the sentencing judge for his or her approval. Upon the court’s approval, the person |
16 | shall be released from the adult correctional institutions for participation in the community |
17 | correctional program. The supervision of persons so released shall be conducted by the director, or |
18 | his or her designee. The director, or his or her designee, shall have the full power and authority set |
19 | forth in § 42-56-20.2. |
20 | (d) Violations. Any person serving in the community correctional program who is found |
21 | to be a violator of any of the terms and conditions imposed upon her according to her plan, this |
22 | section or any rules, regulations, or restrictions issued pursuant hereto shall serve the balance of |
23 | her sentence in a classification deemed appropriate by the director. |
24 | (e) Costs. |
25 | (1) Assessment of additional penalty for prostitution related offenses. There shall be |
26 | assessed as a penalty, in addition to those provided by law, against all defendants charged under § |
27 | 11-34.1-1 et seq., who plead nolo contendere or guilty, or who are found guilty of the commission |
28 | of those crimes as follows: |
29 | (i) Where the offense charged is a felony, the assessment shall be in the amount of five |
30 | hundred dollars ($500), or ten percent (10%) of any fine imposed on the defendant by the court, |
31 | whichever is greater; |
32 | (ii) Where the offense charged is a misdemeanor, the assessment shall be in the amount of |
33 | three hundred and fifty dollars ($350), or ten percent (10%) of any fine imposed on the defendant |
34 | by the court, whichever is greater; |
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1 | (iii) Costs shall be assessed whether or not the defendant is sentenced to prison. |
2 | (2) When there are multiple counts or multiple charges to be disposed of simultaneously, |
3 | the judge may, in his or her discretion, suspend the obligation of the defendant to pay on more than |
4 | three (3) counts or charges. |
5 | (3) The assessment shall be deposited as general revenues. |
6 | SECTION 14. This act shall take effect upon passage. |
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EXPLANATION | |
BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL | |
OF | |
A N A C T | |
RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES -- COMMERCIAL SEXUAL ACTIVITY | |
*** | |
1 | This act would decriminalize certain commercial sexual activity. |
2 | This act would take effect upon passage. |
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