R.I. Gen. Laws ch. 23-24.6 § 23-24.6-23

(a) Except as provided in this chapter, the inspection, enforcement, and penalties for
violations of the provisions of this chapter shall be in accordance with the provisions
and procedures set forth in §§ 23-1-19 — 23-1-25. In addition to the provisions for enforcement of this section found elsewhere in
this chapter, there shall be the following powers of enforcement, which shall be in
addition to other provisions of the general laws pertaining to enforcement of the
laws of this state and shall not be deemed to limit or replace such other provisions.
The provisions of this section shall be liberally construed and shall be considered
an essential responsibility of the state to protect public health and welfare.


(b) The department shall establish a comprehensive integrated enforcement program, which
shall be designed: (1) to assure that enforcement is certain, predictable, and effective
as a means of reducing the incidence of childhood lead poisoning; (2) to direct enforcement
efforts to places, areas, and types of structures where there is a high incidence
of childhood lead poisoning; and (3) to identify and give priority to addresses where
there are multiple instances of childhood lead poisoning and to identify and as consistent
with law to provide for the prosecution of persons at whose properties there have
been multiple instances of childhood lead poisoning and lead hazards have not been
corrected. In order to effectuate the provisions of this subsection, the department
of health: (i) shall maintain a list as a public document of the addresses of properties
that are not lead safe and in which more than three (3) children lived at the time
their blood was tested for lead concentration and at least two (2) of these children
were lead poisoned, (ii) shall maintain a database with the names and addresses of
owners of rental housing at the time any child residing in the rental housing was
tested positive for lead poisoning for which a second notice of violation has been
issued and lead hazards have not been corrected as required pursuant to the provisions
of this chapter, which database shall be public and provided to government and nonprofit
agencies that are attempting to prevent lead poisoning or to enforce lead poisoning
regulations, and (iii) shall notify the attorney general of all second notices of
violation, issued pursuant to the provisions of § 23-24.6-17, to which there has not been a response meeting the requirements of law within thirty
(30) days after the notice.


(c) The attorney general shall maintain an office of lead advocate, which office shall
have, in addition to any other powers that the attorney general may assign to it,
the power:


(1) To investigate any alleged failures to comply with the lead hazard reduction, to initiate
either a civil or criminal cause of action, or both, to compel compliance via injunctive
relief and/or impose penalties and fines, as appropriate;


(2) To bring any actions that may be necessary or appropriate to secure the performance
by state agencies and political subdivisions the duties assigned to them by this section;


(3) To notify in writing on behalf of the attorney general any person, who has received
a second notice of violation issued by the department of health and has not responded
consistent with the requirements of law within thirty (30) days, of the person's obligations
under law and the potential penalties for continued violations; and


(4) To establish guidelines to prevent retaliatory actions by property owners against
tenants on the basis of complaints or notices of violations arising from this chapter
and chapter 128.1 of title 42, or based on the presence of a pregnant woman or child under age six (6) who in any
manner seeks to enforce their right to housing in which lead hazards have been corrected
in accordance with this chapter or chapter 128.1 of title 42. These guidelines shall define retaliatory actions, including, but not limited to,
arbitrary termination of tenancy or other form of constructive eviction, arbitrary
refusal to renew a lease, or arbitrary and unreasonable increase in rent or decrease
in services to which the tenant is entitled, for all tenants, whether or not they
have leases or are tenants at will. It shall be unlawful to take retaliatory actions
against tenants arising from enforcement of the provisions of this chapter or chapter 128.1 of title 42; this prohibition against retaliatory actions applies whether or not the tenant has
a lease. Damages and remedies for retaliatory actions under this paragraph shall be
as provided for in chapter 18 of title 34.


(5) No provision of this chapter shall derogate the common law or any statutory authority
of the attorney general, nor shall any provision be construed as a limitation on the
common law or statutory authority of the attorney general.


(d) Receivership of properties not meeting standards. Following the second notice of violation, issued by the department of health pursuant
to the provisions of § 45-24.3-17(e) for failure to meet the applicable lead hazard reduction for rental dwellings occupied
by a pregnant woman or a child under the age of six (6) years unless the violations
alleged to exist are corrected or a plan for correction has been approved by the department,
the unit may be considered abandoned and a public nuisance, which is a menace to public
health, as the term "abandon" or "abandonment" and "public nuisance" defined by § 34-44-2. In those instances the department of health, the attorney general, a nonprofit corporation
as provided for in § 34-44-3, or the city or town in which the unit is located shall have the specific power to
request the court to appoint a receiver for the property, the court in such instances
may specifically authorize the receiver to apply for loans, grants and other forms
of funding necessary to correct lead hazards and meet lead hazard mitigation standards,
and to hold the property for any period of time that the funding source may require
to assure that the purposes of the funding have been met.


(e) High risk premises and dwellings.(1) The department of health shall notify the property owner where both the following
conditions have been met: (i) there have been three (3) or more at risk children under
the age of six (6) years with at least environmental intervention blood levels and
(ii) fifty percent (50%) of children under the age of six (6) years from the premises
who have been tested have had at least environmental intervention blood lead levels,
that the premises present a high risk of lead poisoning.


(2) A property owner who receives notice that the premises are high risk: (i) shall have
thirty (30) days in which to conduct a comprehensive lead inspection that shows that
lead hazards have been corrected to the lead safe standard, or (ii) shall present
a compliance schedule to the department of health to meet the lead safe standard,
which compliance schedule shall be subject to approval by the department of health
and shall provide for achieving the lead hazard reduction within ninety (90) days.
The requirements of the compliance schedule shall be deemed to have been met if a
comprehensive lead inspection shows that the lead safe standard has been met at the
premises.


(3) A property owner who fails to meet the requirements of subdivision (2) of this subsection
shall be notified that the premises are declared unsafe for habitation by children
under six (6). A list of property owners so notified and of addresses of premises
for which the notice has been given shall be a public record.


(4) A copy of this notice shall be sent to the town clerk or recorder of deeds in the
city or town where the property is located, to be recorded pursuant to the provisions
of chapter 13 of title 34. The property owner, so notified, shall post and maintain a warning at the primary
entrance to the premises and to each dwelling unit therein declaring that the unit
is unsafe for children under six (6) years of age. If the property owner shall fail
to make or maintain the posting herein required, the department of health shall post
the premises as provided for in § 23-24.6-12(2).


(5) Any property owner who receives notice that a dwelling unit is high risk and who fails
to abate lead hazards in accordance with a compliance schedule as provided in subdivision
(2) of this subsection and there is a subsequent instance of an at risk occupant with
an environmental intervention blood lead level, which is attributable in whole or
in part to conditions in the dwelling unit, shall be deemed to have committed a criminal
offense and may be punished by imprisonment for not more than five (5) years and/or
by a fine of not more than twenty thousand dollars ($20,000).


(6) Any property owner who receives notice that a dwelling unit is high risk and who has
substantially completed the required remediation as determined by the department may
become reclassified from "high risk" to "abatement in progress" contingent upon adherence
to the approved compliance schedule for the remaining remediation efforts.




(f) Nothing in this section shall be deemed to limit or impair the existing rights of
parties to take action to compel property owners to improve or maintain property under
common law or pursuant to any of the general laws of the state of Rhode Island.