2025 -- H 5445

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LC001285

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2025

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO STATUTES AND STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION -- EFFECT OF

GENERAL LAWS

     Introduced By: Representatives Place, Newberry, Santucci, and Perez

     Date Introduced: February 12, 2025

     Referred To: House Judiciary

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Section 43-4-18 of the General Laws in Chapter 43-4 entitled "Effect of

General Laws" is hereby amended to read as follows:

     43-4-18. Enactment of supplemental reenactments by the law revision director.

     (a) The office of law revision of the joint committee on legislative services is authorized to

annually reenact specific titles of the general laws which shall be amendatory to the general laws

of Rhode Island, 1956, as amended, for the purposes specified in § 22-11-3.4. Substantive changes

contained in the reenactment of these titles shall be annually brought to the attention of the general

assembly in a “Statutes and Statutory Construction” bill, prepared by the law revision office, for

general assembly approval or disapproval. The office of law revision shall also identify, on a yearly

basis, any United States Supreme Court decisions or rulings that would require amendments to any

state statutes or general laws, and shall so inform each chamber of those decisions or rulings.

     (b) The reenacted sections of the general laws shall be construed as continuations of

previously enacted public laws and all rights and remedies remain in effect as defined in this

chapter.

     (c) In case of any conflict between an act passed at an annual or special session of the

general assembly and an amendment adopted as a part of a reenactment or the “Statutes and

Statutory Construction” bill referred to in subsection (a) of this section, the former shall be

controlling regardless of respective dates of passage or approval.

     (d) The provisions in titles that have been amended and corrected as “reenactments” shall

take effect and go into operation on and after December 31 of the calendar year of their reenactment.

     (e) The enactment of this section and the repeal of sections in chapter 4 of title 43 adopted

prior to the date of enactment of this chapter of the public laws shall not act as a repeal of those

chapters of the public laws which have been adopted to reenact the general laws.

     (f) Any subsequent reenactments shall be recorded in the history of this section.

     (g) In any reenactment, the word “text” as used in the general laws does not include: (1)

printer’s reference lines appearing at the top or bottom of any galley proof; (2) title or chapter

heading (except the numbers of said titles and chapters); (3) tables of contents appearing at the

beginning of the titles and chapters; or (4) boldface captions appearing at the beginning of sections

(except the numbers of said sections), except insofar as the title or chapter headings or boldface

captions are necessary for clarification of any statutory text.

     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 STATUTES AND STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION -- EFFECT OF

GENERAL LAWS

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     This act would direct the office of law revision to identify, on a yearly basis, any decisions

or holding of the United States Supreme Court that would require amendments to any state statutes.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

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