RI 2026 H7605: Commercial Law - General Regulatory Provisions - Deceptive Trade Practices

Plain-English Summary

This legislation amends the state's Deceptive Trade Practices laws to protect consumers purchasing motor vehicles. It requires anyone selling, transporting, or transferring a vehicle to disclose in writing if the vehicle was previously used in a "crime of violence" or exposed to "biohazardous contamination." Biohazardous contamination includes exposure to blood, bodily fluids, or infectious diseases that require professional cleaning. Failure to provide this written notice to the buyer prior to the sale constitutes a deceptive trade practice.

For younger readers

This law is designed to protect people who are buying cars. Sometimes, a car might have been used by criminals to hurt someone, or it might be very dirty with blood or germs that could make a person sick. This bill says that the person selling the car must tell the buyer about these bad things in writing before the car is sold. This helps the buyer know if the car is safe and clean before they spend their money to buy it.

Who & Where It Applies

Impacted groups

Used Car DealersCar BuyersPrivate Vehicle SellersBiohazard Remediation ServicesAuto Auctions

Impacted communities

All

Constitutional & Fiscal Check

None Likely

Estimated cost

None

Estimated revenue

None

Bill Analysis

Both viewpoints

For Progressives

Protecting low-income consumers, who are more likely to purchase used vehicles, from being exploited by unscrupulous sellers offloading unsafe or stigmatized cars.
Enhancing public health and safety standards by ensuring vehicles with biohazards like blood or infectious materials are identified and not silently passed on to unsuspecting families.
Increasing corporate accountability by preventing dealerships and sellers from withholding critical information about a product's history for profit.
Potential to financially harm innocent family members of those who committed crimes, as they may struggle to sell a vehicle to pay for legal fees or living expenses due to the stigma attached.
The broad definition of biohazards, including "odors," could lead to subjective disputes that disproportionately affect casual, low-income private sellers who lack legal resources.
May encourage the scrapping of otherwise functional vehicles due to the difficulty of resale, contributing to environmental waste rather than sustainability.

For Conservatives

Promotes integrity in the free market by ensuring that buyers have accurate material information regarding the condition of the property they are purchasing.
Protects public safety and health by discouraging the circulation of contaminated vehicles without creating a new taxpayer-funded government program.
Upholds the rule of law by clearly defining fraud in this context, ensuring that bad actors cannot hide behind silence when selling damaged goods.
Imposes additional regulatory burdens and red tape on small business auto dealers and private citizens attempting to exercise their property rights.
Utilizes subjective language such as "odors... a reasonable person could easily identify," which opens the door for frivolous lawsuits against businesses.
Represents government overreach into private transactions between individuals, dictating strictly what must be disclosed beyond standard "as-is" sales practices.

Votes

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Full Bill Text

Changes to existing Rhode Island law · 14 additions · 2 deletions

It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

SECTION 1. Section 6-13.1-1 of the General Laws in Chapter 6-13.1 entitled "Deceptive Trade Practices" is hereby amended to read as follows: 6-13.1-1. Definitions. [Effective March 31, 2026.] As used in this chapter:

(1) “Documentary material” means the original or a copy of any book, record, report, memorandum, paper, communication, tabulation, map, chart, photograph, mechanical transcription, or other tangible document or recording wherever situated.

(2) “Examination” of documentary material includes the inspection, study, or copying of any documentary material, and the taking of testimony under oath or acknowledgment in respect of any documentary material or copy of any documentary material.

(3) “Person” means natural persons, corporations, trusts, partnerships, incorporated or unincorporated associations, and any other legal entity.

(4) “Rebate” means the return of a payment or a partial payment that serves as a discount or reduction in price.

(5) “Trade” and “commerce” mean the advertising, offering for sale, sale, or distribution of any services and any property, tangible or intangible, real, personal, or mixed, and any other article, commodity, or thing of value wherever situate, and include any trade or commerce directly or indirectly affecting the people of this state.

(6) “Unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices” means any one or more of the following:

(i) Passing off goods or services as those of another;

(ii) Causing likelihood of confusion or of misunderstanding as to the source, sponsorship, approval, or certification of goods or services;

(iii) Causing likelihood of confusion or of misunderstanding as to affiliation, connection, or association with, or certification by, another;

(iv) Using deceptive representations or designations of geographic origin in connection with goods or services;

(v) Representing that goods or services have sponsorship, approval, characteristics, ingredients, uses, benefits, or quantities that they do not have or that a person has a sponsorship, approval, status, affiliation, or connection that the person does not have;

(vi) Representing that goods are original or new if they are deteriorated, altered, reconditioned, reclaimed, used, or secondhand; and if household goods have been repaired or reconditioned, without conspicuously noting the defect that necessitated the repair on the tag that contains the cost to the consumer of the goods;

(vii) Representing that goods or services are of a particular standard, quality, or grade, or that goods are of a particular style or model, if they are of another;

(viii) Disparaging the goods, services, or business of another by false or misleading representation of fact;

(ix) Advertising goods or services with intent not to sell them as advertised;

(x) Advertising goods or services with intent not to supply reasonably expectable public demand, unless the advertisement discloses a limitation of quantity;

(xi) Making false or misleading statements of fact concerning the reasons for, existence of, or amounts of price reductions;

(xii) Engaging in any other conduct that similarly creates a likelihood of confusion or of misunderstanding;

(xiii) Engaging in any act or practice that is unfair or deceptive to the consumer;

(xiv) Using any other methods, acts, or practices that mislead or deceive members of the public in a material respect;

(xv) Advertising any brand name goods for sale and then selling substituted brand names in their place;

(xvi) Failure to include the brand name and/or manufacturer of goods in any advertisement of the goods for sale, and, if the goods are used or secondhand, failure to include the information in the advertisement;

(xvii) Advertising claims concerning safety, performance, and comparative price unless the advertiser, upon request by any person, the consumer council, or the attorney general, makes available documentation substantiating the validity of the claim;

(xviii) Representing that work has been performed on or parts replaced in goods when the work was not in fact performed or the parts not in fact replaced;

(xix) Failing to separately state the amount charged for labor and the amount charged for services when requested by the purchaser as provided for in § 44-18-12(b)(3);

(xx) Advertising for sale at a retail establishment the availability of a manufacturer’s rebate by displaying the net price of the advertised item (the price of the item after the rebate has been deducted from the item’s price) in the advertisement, unless the amount of the manufacturer’s rebate is provided to the consumer by the retailer at the time of the purchase of the advertised item. It shall be the retailer’s burden to redeem the rebate offered to the consumer by the manufacturer;

(xxi) Advertising, displaying, or offering a price for live-event tickets or short-term lodging in violation of 16 C.F.R. Part 464; or

(xxii) Engaging in any act or practice that is unfair or deceptive by a person advising or assisting any veteran filing a claim for disability benefits with the Department of Veterans Affairs.; or

(xxiii) Selling, offering for sale, transporting into this state with the intent to sell, or transferring any motor vehicle used in a crime of violence as defined in § 12-1.3-1, or which has been exposed to biohazardous contamination, without notifying the buyer in writing prior to sale, of the vehicle's use in or involvement with a crime of violence, or of exposure to biohazardous contamination. For purposes of this subsection, "biohazardous contamination" means contamination to any motor vehicle that has been exposed to blood, bodily fluids, human remains, infectious disease materials, or other biological contaminants arising from a crime scene, accident, natural disaster, or other incident, or a vehicle that has been exposed to, or contains observable matter or materials, odors or damage that a reasonable person could easily identify and recognize as a biohazard, such that professional biohazard remediation is required before the vehicle may be safely operated or resold.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.