S 2998

2026 -- S 2998
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LC005655
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  STATE  OF        RHODE  ISLAND
  IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
  JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2026
  ____________
  AN ACT
  RELATING TO HIGHWAYS -- CONSTRUCTION AND MAINTENANCE OF STATE
  ROADS
  Introduced By: Senators Dimitri, Famiglietti, Thompson, Patalano, Urso, Raptakis,
  Ciccone, Tikoian, LaMountain, and DiMario
  Date Introduced: March 04, 2026
  Referred To: Senate Special Legislation and Veterans Affairs
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
1SECTION 1. Chapter 24-8 of the General Laws entitled "Construction and Maintenance of
2 State Roads" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following section:
324-8-4.3. Traffic control – Use of crash truck - Cameras.
4(a) Effective January 1, 2027, all contractors performing work on any project for the Rhode
5 Island department of transportation (RIDOT), Rhode Island turnpike and bridge authority (RITBA)
6 or any other road or bridge work in this state, shall have in place a traffic monitoring plan, which
7 shall be filed with RIDOT and/or RITBA as part of any bid or contract relative to the contract or
8 work being performed. As part of the traffic control plan, a contractor shall have on site a crash
9 truck/attenuator truck as referred to in § 24-8-4.2 which shall include traffic monitoring cameras.
10 The crash truck/attenuator truck shall be in place and the camera operational during any time in
11 which construction of maintenance work is being undertaken on any state highway and/or interstate
12 connector.
13(b) The crash truck/attenuator truck shall be equipped with at least one camera facing
14 oncoming traffic if the work being performed is on a divided highway and, if not a divided highway,
15 a camera facing in both directions of any roadway on which the work is being performed.
16(c) In the event any motor vehicle accident occurs at the work site and any state employee
17 or construction worker is injured or killed while engaged in the road work, a copy of all videos
18 generated from the cameras shall be provided to the Rhode Island state police and the department
1 of attorney general for purposes of identifying the operator of the vehicle, determining the cause of
2 the accident and shall be used in the course of any investigation and the prosecution of any person
3 determined to be at fault, whether through negligence, recklessness or deliberate conduct.
4(d)(1) Every person/contractor convicted of a first violation of this section shall be guilty
5 of a misdemeanor and subject to imprisonment for not more than one year and/or a fine of not less
6 than five hundred dollars ($500) nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000);
7(2) Every person/contractor convicted of a second violation within a five (5) year period,
8 shall be guilty of a felony and subject to imprisonment for not more than two (2) years and/or a
9 fine of not less than one thousand dollars ($1,000);
10(3) Every person/contractor convicted of a third or subsequent violation within a five (5)
11 year period, shall be guilty of a felony and subject to imprisonment for not more than five (5) years
12 and/or a fine of two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500).
13(e) Every person/contractor who violates the provisions of this section may be barred from
14 contracting with the state and/or performing any construction or maintenance work on any RIDOT,
15 RITBA or other road or bridge work in this state for a period of up to five (5) years.
16(f) Nothing contained in subsections (c) or (d) of this section shall limit the civil liability
17 of any person or contractor for violations of this section.
18SECTION 2. This act shall take effect on January 1, 2027.
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  EXPLANATION
  BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
  OF
  AN ACT
   RELATING TO HIGHWAYS -- CONSTRUCTION AND MAINTENANCE OF STATE
  ROADS
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1This act would require that any contractor performing any construction or maintenance for
2 RIDOT, RITBA or any other construction on any state roads have in place an attenuator truck/crash
3 truck with an operational camera. Violators may be punished criminally and be barred from
4 performing work on any state project for up to 5 years.
5This act would take effect on January 1, 2027.
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