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S 2276Cities & Towns

Criminal Offenses - Unreasonable Noise Levels

This bill removes statewide noise laws and grants all cities and towns the power to enforce local noise ordinances.

Held for study
Population
Affected
45
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Introduced Jan 23, 2026Committee Senate Housing & Municipal Government

Plain-English Summary

This legislation repeals existing statewide criminal statutes regarding unreasonable noise levels, specifically those targeting amplified sound from vehicles. Instead, it amends the general powers of cities and towns, authorizing every municipality in Rhode Island to adopt its own noise control ordinances. The bill mandates that these local ordinances must use objective standards, specifically requiring the use of sound level meters (decibel readers) to measure violations. It establishes guidelines for these ordinances, including variance procedures, exemptions for emergency vehicles, and enforcement through municipal courts.

For younger readers

Right now, there is a big rule for the whole state about how loud music or noises can be. This bill gets rid of that big rule. Instead, it lets every town make its own rules about noise. It says that towns have to use special machines to measure exactly how loud the noise is before they can get someone in trouble. This means if someone is playing music too loud, the town police will handle it based on the town's specific rules, not a state rule.

Who & Where It Applies

Impacted groups
DriversProperty OwnersPolice DepartmentsMunicipal GovernmentsEvent Organizers
Impacted communities
All

Constitutional & Fiscal Check

None Likely

Estimated cost
Amount unknown
Estimated revenue
Amount unknown

Bill Analysis

Both viewpoints
For Progressives
  • Eliminates subjective statewide "annoyance" standards for noise, replacing them with requirements for objective decibel metering, which reduces the potential for biased policing and profiling.
  • Decriminalizes noise violations at the state level, shifting jurisdiction to municipal courts and potentially reducing criminal records for minor quality-of-life offenses.
  • Empowers local communities to define their own environmental standards, allowing for democratic input on what constitutes acceptable noise levels in specific neighborhoods.
  • Could lead to a patchwork of exclusionary ordinances where wealthier towns enact strict noise laws to target specific demographics or cultures associated with louder gatherings or vehicles.
  • Shifting enforcement to municipal courts may disadvantage low-income residents, as these courts often have fewer legal protections and public defense resources than state courts.
  • Fines and penalties for noise violations generally impact the poor disproportionately, and this bill allows every town to set its own penalty structures.
For Conservatives
  • Strengthens the principle of home rule by devolving power from the state government to local municipalities, allowing towns to manage their own affairs.
  • Protects property owners from nuisance noise by establishing clear legal frameworks for abatement and enforcement at the local level.
  • Repeals a broad state statute, reducing the size of the state criminal code and eliminating a "one size fits all" government mandate.
  • Expands the regulatory power of local governments, potentially leading to overreach by town councils that wish to micromanage citizens' behavior.
  • Creates a complex regulatory environment for drivers and businesses, who may face different noise rules and standards every time they cross a town line.
  • Mandates the use of specific technology (sound meters) and adherence to specific ANSI standards, creating bureaucratic red tape and costs for taxpayers.

Votes

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Full Bill Text

Changes to existing Rhode Island law · 17 additions · 28 deletions

SECTION 1. Sections 11-45.1-1, 11-45.1-2 and 11-45.1-3 of the General Laws in Chapter 11-45.1 entitled "Unreasonable Noise Levels" are hereby repealed. 11-45.1-1. Declaration of policy. It is hereby declared to be the policy of the state to prohibit unreasonable, excessive and annoying noise levels from all sources subject to its police power. At certain levels, low frequency sound (between 100-20 cps) when substantially amplified, often referred to as sub-woofer frequency, can be extremely penetrating, disturbing and poses a danger to the health and safety of the individual using equipment creating the sound, and to other individuals in the immediate area from which the sound is being generated. The noise being generated may originate from radios, CD players, DVD players, tape players, televisions and other audio-producing equipment. 11-45.1-2. Violations of acceptable noise levels. It shall be unlawful for any person to operate any equipment as set forth in § 11-45.1-1 from which the sound created by this equipment is capable of penetrating a closed vehicle from twenty (20) feet away from the location at which the sound is being generated, or heard from one hundred (100) feet away by a person outside from which the sound is originating. This section shall include, but not be limited to, sound electronically generated by autos, trucks, motor homes, mobile homes, houses, apartment buildings, condominiums, commercial buildings, or from any type of portable sound producing equipment that can be carried or placed outdoors which through its operation exceeds the provision of this chapter. All state and municipal vehicles shall be exempt from the provisions of this chapter, nor any person firm, corporation or other legal entity which holds a valid state or municipal entertainment license to sponsor a parade, carnival or other similar special event. 11-45.1-3. Penalties. Any person who violates the provisions of this chapter shall, upon conviction, be subject to a fine in the amount of one hundred dollars ($100) for a first offense, two hundred dollars ($200) for a second offense, and three hundred dollars ($300) for the third and any subsequent offense.

SECTION 2. Section 45-2-57 of the General Laws in Chapter 45-2 entitled "General Powers" is hereby amended to read as follows: 45-2-57. Town of Richmond — Noise pollution Noise levels.

(a) For the purpose of promoting the public health, safety and general welfare, the town council of the town of Richmond Notwithstanding any provision of the general or public laws to the contrary, cities and towns shall have the power in accordance with the provisions of this section to establish by ordinance standards for the control of noise originating within the limits of the city or town. Without limiting the generality of the aforementioned, such ordinance shall:

(1) Establish standards for the control of noise originating within the limits of the city or town by setting maximum permissible sound levels for various activities and noise sources in order to protect the public health, safety and general welfare, provided that the regulation of noise from any particular source has not been preempted by state or federal law or regulation;

(2) Regulate noise pollution based on factors including but not limited to the volume of the noise, the intensity of the noise, whether the nature of the noise is usual or unusual, whether the origin of the noise is natural or unnatural, the volume and intensity of the background noise, if any, the proximity of the noise to residential dwellings, the location from which the noise emanates, the density of inhabitation of the area within which the noise emanates, the time of day or night the noise occurs, the duration of the noise, whether the noise is recurrent, intermittent or constant, and whether the noise is produced by a commercial or noncommercial activity;

(3) Establish use districts for regulation of noise, establish maximum permissible sound levels according to receiving land use, and provide that measurement of sound or noise shall be made with a sound level meter and octave band analyzer meeting the standards prescribed by the American Standards Association;

(4) Include definitions of words, terms and phrases necessary for the enforcement of the ordinance, and provide that definitions of technical terms not defined in the ordinance shall be obtained from publications of acoustical terminology issued by American National Standards Institute or its successor body;

(5) Provide that limitations shall not apply to sound from certain sources, including, but not limited to, emergency vehicles and snow removal equipment;

(6) Provide for enforcement by police department and/or by the city or town solicitor, who may institute an action for injunctive relief together with an action for penalties in the case of continuing violations;

(7) Provide the city or town council with the authority to grant sound variances after a public hearing, establish criteria for the granting of such variances and providing the city or town council with the authority to impose conditions on such variances; and

(8) Establish penalties for violation consistent with those established by state law for violation of municipal ordinances, provide the police department with the authority to issue warnings and cease and desist orders, and provide that each day of noise disturbance shall be considered a separate offense.

(b) Original jurisdiction for enforcement of this section shall be within the municipal court of the city or town issuing the violation; provided, however, that in the event a city or town does not maintain a municipal court, original jurisdiction shall be within the Rhode Island traffic tribunal.

SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage.