H 8384

2026 -- H 8384 SUBSTITUTE A
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LC006022/SUB A
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  STATE  OF        RHODE  ISLAND
  IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
  JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2026
  ____________
  AN ACT
   RELATING TO MOTOR AND OTHER VEHICLES -- MOTOR VEHICLE OFFENSES --
  CASEY'S LAW
  Introduced By: Representatives Corvese, Noret, Azzinaro, Kennedy, Casey, J. Brien,
  O'Brien, Craven, Solomon, and Phillips
  Date Introduced: April 01, 2026
  Referred To: House Judiciary
  (Governor)
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
1SECTION 1. Chapter 31-27 of the General Laws entitled "Motor Vehicle Offenses" is
2 hereby amended by adding thereto the following section:
331-27-26. Enhancement of an offense for road rage -- Casey's law.
4(a) For the purposes of this section, "road rage" means the operation or use of a motor
5 vehicle, or behavior on the part of the operator or passenger of a motor vehicle that is intentionally
6 aggressive, harassing, threatening, intimidating, or dangerous and that is directed toward another
7 motor vehicle operator or passenger upon any public highway, public roadway, or reasonable
8 extension of any public highway or roadway, to which the public has access.
9(b) Any person convicted of or entering a plea of guilty or nolo contendere for a violation
10 of any provisions of this chapter that constitute a misdemeanor or any other misdemeanor, and who
11 is further found to have committed such violation as a result of road rage may be subject to the
12 following in addition to any other penalty the court may impose for the underlying misdemeanor
13 violation:
14(1) A fine of up to one thousand dollars ($1,000); and/or
15(2) Suspension of the person's operator's license for up to one year.
16(c) Any person convicted of or entering a plea of guilty or nolo contendere for a violation
17 of any provisions of this chapter that constitute a felony or any other felony, and who is further
18 found to have committed such violation as a result of road rage may be subject to the following in
1 addition to any other penalty the court may impose for the underlying felony violation:
2(1) An additional term of imprisonment for not less than two (2) years and for not more
3 than fifteen (15) years;
4(2) A mandatory fine of no less than one thousand dollars ($1,000); and
5(3) Suspension of the person's operator's license for a period of not more than five (5) years
6 or revocation for a period up to two (2) years.
7(d) Whenever the attorney general or prosecutor seeks the enhanced sentence in this
8 section, the attorney general or prosecutor shall file a notice with the court and the defendant no
9 later than the first pretrial conference, or shall allege the enhancement in the complaint,
10 information, or indictment, specifying that the defendant, upon conviction, is subject to the
11 imposition of sentencing in accordance with this section.
12(e) Upon any plea of guilty or nolo contendere, or verdict or finding of guilty of the
13 defendant, the court shall conduct a sentencing hearing. At the hearing, the court shall permit the
14 attorney general or prosecutor and the defense to present additional evidence to the judge or jury
15 relevant to the determination of whether the defendant committed the underlying offense as a result
16 of road rage as defined in subsection (a) of this section. If the judge or jury at the hearing, or in the
17 case of a plea of guilty or nolo contendere, the court at sentencing, determines beyond a reasonable
18 doubt that the defendant's actions were so motivated, the defendant shall be sentenced as provided
19 in this section.
20(f) This section does not create a separate offense but provides an additional enhanced
21 sentence for the underlying offense.
22(g) The enhanced sentence regarding imprisonment provided in this section shall run
23 consecutively to the sentences provided for the underlying offenses.
24SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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  EXPLANATION
  BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
  OF
  AN ACT
  RELATING TO MOTOR AND OTHER VEHICLES -- MOTOR VEHICLE OFFENSES --
  CASEY'S LAW
  ***
1This act would create an enhanced penalty defined as "road rage" to be applied in addition
2 to penalties for convictions of certain misdemeanor and felony offenses where the behavior on the
3 part of the operator or passenger includes certain intentionally aggressive, harassing, intimidating
4 or dangerous behavior.
5This act would take effect upon passage.
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