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H8086ACriminal Procedure

Criminal Procedure - Indictments, Informations and Complaints

This bill establishes the legal time limits for prosecuting various crimes, ranging from three years to no limit.

Introduced68 Yea4 Nay3 Not voting
Population
Affected
15
Email Legislator
Introduced Feb 27, 2026Committee House Judiciary

Plain-English Summary

This bill sets the time limits, known as statutes of limitations, for when the state can charge someone with a crime. It states that there is no time limit for severe crimes like murder, treason, and first-degree sexual assault. It sets a ten-year time limit for various theft, fraud, and financial crimes, including elder exploitation and mortgage fraud. The time limit is seven years for certain environmental violations and three years for most other criminal offenses. It also adjusts the start time for the time limit when the victim of a sexual assault is a minor.

For younger readers

When someone breaks the law, the police usually have a certain amount of time to charge them with a crime. This time limit is called a "statute of limitations." This bill sets those time limits. For very bad crimes, like murder, there is never a time limit. The police can charge the person at any time. For stealing or tricking people for money, the police have ten years. For crimes that hurt the environment, they have seven years. For most other crimes, the police have three years to charge the person.

Who & Where It Applies

Impacted groups
Criminal defendantsCrime victimsElderly individualsFinancial institutionsLaw enforcement agencies
Impacted communities
All

Constitutional & Fiscal Check

None Likely. Statutes of limitations are standard procedural components of criminal law and do not inherently violate due process, free speech, or protections against unreasonable searches and seizures, provided they are applied appropriately regarding ex post facto laws.

Estimated cost
None
Estimated revenue
None

Bill Analysis

Both viewpoints
For Progressives
  • Extends the time limit to ten years for prosecuting elder exploitation, providing greater protection and justice for a vulnerable population.
  • Allows a ten-year window to prosecute corporate and white-collar offenses like bank fraud and mortgage fraud, ensuring wealthy offenders can be held accountable.
  • Maintains a seven-year statute of limitations for environmental crimes like water pollution and hazardous waste violations, protecting community health and the environment from corporate negligence.
  • Eliminates the statute of limitations for all drug manufacturing and distribution offenses, which can disproportionately impact marginalized communities and expand mass incarceration.
  • Extends the threat of prosecution for a decade for non-violent offenses like unlawful appropriation, which could hinder the long-term rehabilitation and stability of lower-income individuals.
  • Treats property crimes like obtaining property by false pretenses with a lengthy ten-year statute of limitations, prioritizing financial and property rights over systemic criminal justice reform.
For Conservatives
  • Ensures there is no statute of limitations for severe violent crimes like murder, arson, and rape, strictly upholding the rule of law and prioritizing public safety.
  • Provides a ten-year statute of limitations for financial fraud, protecting banks and lending institutions from individuals who submit false financial statements.
  • Holds individuals accountable for property crimes like embezzlement and larceny for up to ten years, strongly protecting the private property rights of citizens and businesses.
  • Allows the government up to seven years to prosecute businesses for environmental violations, which could place a long-term regulatory and legal burden on corporations.
  • Gives the state a full decade to prosecute individuals for financial and mortgage fraud, potentially allowing the government to weaponize old charges against political or business targets.
  • The extended ten-year statute of limitations for antitrust violations could be used by the government to over-regulate and penalize free-market business operations.

Votes

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Full Bill Text

2 versions
Changes to existing Rhode Island law · 8 additions

It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

SECTION 1. Section 12-12-17 of the General Laws in Chapter 12-12 entitled "Indictments, Informations and Complaints" is hereby amended to read as follows: 12-12-17. Statute of limitations.

(a) There shall be no statute of limitations for the following offenses: treason against the state; any homicide, arson, first-degree arson, second-degree arson, third-degree arson, burglary, counterfeiting, forgery, robbery, rape, first-degree sexual assault, first-degree child molestation sexual assault, second-degree child molestation sexual assault, bigamy; manufacturing, selling, distribution, or possession with intent to manufacture, sell, or distribute, a controlled substance under the Uniform Controlled Substance Act, chapter 28 of title 21; or any other offense for which the maximum penalty provided is life imprisonment.

(b) The statute of limitations for the following offenses shall be ten (10) years: larceny under § 11-41-2 (receiving stolen goods), § 11-41-3 (embezzlement and fraudulent conversion), § 11-41-4 (obtaining property by false pretenses or personation), § 11-41-11 (embezzlement by bank officer or employee), § 11-41-12 (fraudulent conversion by agent or factor), and § 11-41-13 (obtaining signature by false pretenses), or any larceny that is punishable as a felony; any violation of chapter 7 of title 11 (bribery); any violation of § 11-18-1 (giving false document to agent, employee, or public official); perjury; any violation of chapter 42 of title 11 (threats and extortion); any violation of chapter 15 of title 7 (racketeer influenced and corrupt organizations); any violation of chapter 57 of title 11 (racketeer violence); any violation of chapter 36 of title 6 (antitrust law); any violation of § 11-68-2 (exploitation of an elder); any violation of § 11-41-11.1 (unlawful appropriation); any violation of § 11-18-6 (false financial statement to obtain loan or credit); any violation of § 19-9-28 (false statement to obtain a loan); any violation of § 19-9-29 (bank fraud); or any violation of § 11-18-34 (residential mortgage fraud). The statute of limitations for § 11-37- 4 (second degree sexual assault) shall be ten (10) years from the date of the offense, or, in the case of a victim who is under the age of eighteen (18) at the time of the offense, ten (10) years from the victim's eighteenth birthday, whichever is later.

(c) The statute of limitations for any other criminal offense shall be three (3) years, unless a longer statute of limitations is otherwise provided for in the general laws. In the case of a violation of § 11-37-6 (third degree sexual assault), the three (3) years shall be measured from the date of the victim's eighteenth birthday, not from the date of the offense.

(d) Any person who participates in any offense, either as a principal accessory or conspirator, shall be subject to the same statute of limitations as if the person had committed the substantive offense.

(e) The statute of limitations for any violation of chapter 18.9 of title 23 (refuse disposal), chapter 19 of title 23 (solid waste management corporation), chapter 19.1 of title 23 (hazardous waste management), chapter 12 of title 46 (water pollution), and chapter 13 of title 46 (public drinking water supply) shall be seven (7) years from the time that the facts constituting the offense or violation shall have become known to law enforcement authorities, unless a longer statute of limitations is otherwise provided for in the general laws.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.