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S 3041Police & Prisons

State Affairs and Government - Law Enforcement Officers' Due Process, Accountability, and Transparency Act

Requires mutual agreement between the police agency and the accused officer to appoint legal counsel for a disciplinary hearing committee.

Held for study
Population
Affected
15
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Introduced Mar 5, 2026Committee Senate Judiciary

Plain-English Summary

This legislation amends the Rhode Island Law Enforcement Officers’ Due Process, Accountability, and Transparency Act. It modifies the procedure for appointing legal counsel to the hearing committee responsible for adjudicating police disciplinary matters. Previously, the committee chairperson could appoint counsel upon a majority vote of the committee. The new bill restricts this power, requiring a written application from both the law enforcement agency and the accused officer to appoint counsel. Furthermore, it stipulates that the agency and the officer must split the legal fees equally unless they agree to a different arrangement.

For younger readers

When a police officer breaks the rules, a special group called a committee holds a meeting to decide what to do. Sometimes, this committee needs a lawyer to help them understand the laws. This bill says the committee can only hire that lawyer if both the police department and the officer agree to it. If they don't both say yes, the committee can't get the lawyer. If they do agree, they have to split the cost of paying the lawyer.

Who & Where It Applies

Impacted groups
Law enforcement officersPolice departmentsMunicipal governmentsHearing committee membersJudges
Impacted communities
All

Constitutional & Fiscal Check

None Likely

Estimated cost
None
Estimated revenue
None

Bill Analysis

Both viewpoints
For Progressives
  • Ensures that legal fees are not imposed on any party without their explicit consent, preventing potential financial burdens on the accused or the public agency.
  • Promotes a consensus-based approach to procedural decisions, potentially reducing the adversarial nature of the preliminary stages of a hearing.
  • May reduce administrative costs for municipalities by limiting the frequency with which outside counsel is hired for disciplinary hearings.
  • Grants the accused police officer veto power over the oversight committee's ability to obtain independent legal counsel, potentially undermining accountability.
  • Weakens the ability of the hearing committee (which includes laypersons) to navigate complex legal procedures, potentially leading to unfair outcomes or errors.
  • Creates a potential power imbalance where a well-represented officer faces a hearing committee that has been blocked from receiving its own legal advice.
For Conservatives
  • Strengthens due process protections for police officers by ensuring they cannot be forced to pay for legal counsel they do not want or request.
  • Reduces government bureaucracy and spending by preventing the automatic or unilateral hiring of additional lawyers during administrative hearings.
  • Empowers the accused and the agency to manage the scope of the hearing, limiting the intervention of third-party legal actors.
  • Could lead to procedural errors in hearings if the committee lacks legal guidance, potentially resulting in the dismissal of valid disciplinary actions against officers.
  • Might hamper the efficiency of the disciplinary process if the committee gets stuck on legal technicalities without a lawyer to advise them.
  • Reduces the authority of the hearing committee chairperson (often a retired judge) to manage the proceedings as they see fit.

Votes

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Full Bill Text

Changes to existing Rhode Island law · 7 additions · 8 deletions

SECTION 1. Section 42-28.6-1 of the General Laws in Chapter 42-28.6 entitled "Law Enforcement Officers’ Due Process, Accountability, and Transparency Act" is hereby amended to read as follows: 42-28.6-1. Definitions — Payment of legal fees. As used in this chapter, the following words have the meanings indicated:

(1) “Course of training in police discipline” means a course or courses of instruction approved by the Rhode Island police officers commission on standards and training (“commission”) which shall be taught by instructors approved by the commission regarding the provisions of this chapter and the applicable procedure, evidence and rules that apply to police discipline as provided pursuant to § 42-28.6-1.2.

(2) “Hearing” means any meeting in the course of an investigatory proceeding, other than an interrogation at which no testimony is taken under oath, conducted by a hearing committee for the purpose of taking or adducing testimony or receiving evidence. (3)(i) “Hearing committee” means a committee acting as a deliberative body which is authorized to hold a hearing on a complaint against a law enforcement officer and which consists of five (5) members: one member appointed by the chief justice of the supreme court who shall be a retired justice or judge of the supreme, superior, or district court; one member appointed by the chief justice of the supreme court, who is a practicing attorney in good standing with the supreme court, in consultation with the court’s committee on racial and ethnic fairness and the Rhode Island Bar Association and its committee on diversity, equity, and inclusion; and three (3) active or retired qualified law enforcement officers employed by or retired from the state police or a municipal law enforcement agency from within the state of Rhode Island, who shall be selected at random by the Rhode Island police officers commission on standards and training from the certified officer pool established pursuant to § 42-28.6-1.1 at an open meeting pursuant to chapter 46 of this title. No law enforcement officer shall be selected that is employed by or retired from the same law enforcement agency that employs the accused law enforcement officer or who is employed by or retired from the charging law enforcement agency. The retired justice or judge appointed by the chief justice of the supreme court shall serve as chairperson of the hearing committee. Upon written application by a majority of the hearing committee, the chairperson, in their discretion, may also appoint legal counsel to assist the hearing committee.

(ii) The law enforcement agency and the accused law enforcement officer under investigation shall each be responsible to pay fifty percent (50%) of the legal fee of the appointed legal counsel for the hearing committee; provided, however, that on motion made by either party, the chair of the hearing committee shall have the authority to make a different disposition as to what each party is required to pay toward the appointed legal counsel’s legal fee. Upon written application by both the law enforcement agency and the accused law enforcement officer, the chairperson, in their discretion, may also appoint legal counsel to assist the hearing committee. In such cases, the law enforcement agency and the accused law enforcement officer shall each be responsible to pay fifty percent (50%) of the legal fee of the appointed legal counsel for the hearing committee, unless otherwise agreed upon.

(4) “Law enforcement officer” means any permanently employed city or town police officer, state police officer, permanent law enforcement officer of the department of environmental management, or those employees of the airport corporation of Rhode Island who have been granted the authority to arrest by the president and CEO of said corporation. However this shall not include the chief of police and/or the highest ranking sworn officer of any of the departments including the president and CEO of the airport corporation of Rhode Island.

(5) “Qualified law enforcement officer” means:

(i) A sworn law enforcement officer who:

(A) Has a minimum of five (5) years’ active service as a law enforcement officer with a law enforcement agency within the state;

(B) Has successfully completed a course(s) of training in police discipline pursuant to this chapter and has maintained a current certification of completed training; and

(C) Has not achieved the rank of chief, colonel, deputy chief, or lieutenant colonel;

(ii) A retired law enforcement officer who has qualified prior to retirement or during retirement and has met the criteria set out herein.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.