The numbers immediately following the caption of each entry reference the section of the General Laws of Rhode Island. These numbers can be used to locate the state statute (or statutes) described in the entry.
There are three portions to a Rhode Island General Law number separated by hyphens. The first portion is the title number; the second is the chapter number; and the third is the section number. When appropriate, all three portions of the General Law number will follow the captions in this booklet. When listing more than one section of the same title and chapter, the numbers following the caption might look like this: "40.1-5.3-13 to 17." This refers to Sections 13 through 17 of Chapter 5.3, Title 40.1. If the entry highlights an entire chapter, the third portion of the number will be omitted. For example, the numbers "16-24" following a caption refers to all of Chapter 24 in Title 16.
A title in the General Laws refers to the broad topic under which a law falls. For example, Title 40.1 contains the laws that relate to mental health, retardation and hospitals. Chapter 24.5 of Title 40.1 is entitled "Community Residences" and section 5 of that chapter is entitled "Absolute rights of residents."
The statutes within General Laws of Rhode Island are arranged numerically. The easiest way to find a specific law is with the General Law number. The General Law number for the section mentioned above is 40.1-24.5-5. To find this section, first locate Title 40.1. The spine of each volume of the General Laws lists the titles are in that volume. It is important to note that Title 40.1 is between Title 40 and Title 41. Look within the portion devoted to Title 40.1 for Chapter 24.5. Chapter 24.5 will be found immediately after Chapter 24. Section 5 is located within Chapter 24.5
Continue to Chapter 1 (Civil Rights)
Click HERE to go back to the TABLE OF CONTENTS …