Rhode Island § 42-158-6 - Freedom From Prone Restraint Act

§ 42-158-6. Study commission.

(a) A joint legislative study commission is hereby created to study the restraint reporting requirements and training approaches of each of the covered facilities and make recommendations to ensure that reporting is as uniform as possible and appropriate data is collected to inform practice and policy decisions.

(b) The study commission will be comprised of twenty (20) members: one member of the house of representatives, to be appointed by the speaker of the house; one member of the senate, to be appointed by the president of the senate; two (2) of whom shall be individuals restrained by a covered facility or knowledgeable about restraint, one of whom to be appointed by the speaker of the house and one of whom to be appointed by the president of the senate; two (2) of whom shall be family members of individuals restrained by a covered facility or knowledgeable about restraint, one of whom to be appointed by the speaker of the house and one of whom to be appointed by the president of the senate; one of whom shall be the director of the department of children, youth and families, or designee; one of whom shall be the commissioner of the department of elementary and secondary education, or designee; one of whom shall be the director of the department of behavioral healthcare, developmental disabilities and hospitals, or designee; one of whom shall be the director of the Paul V. Sherlock center on disabilities, or designee; one of whom shall be the director of the Rhode Island developmental disabilities council, or designee; one of whom shall be the Rhode Island child advocate, or designee; one of whom shall be the Rhode Island mental health advocate, or designee; one of whom shall be the director of the Disability Law Center, or designee; one of whom shall be the director of Bradley Hospital, or designee; one of whom shall be the director of the Hospital Association of Rhode Island, or designee; one of whom shall be the director of Butler Hospital, or designee; one of whom shall be the director of the Groden Center, or designee; one of whom shall be the director of the Community Provider Network of Rhode Island; and one of whom shall be a director of a provider of mental health services.

In lieu of any appointment of a member of the legislature to a permanent advisory commission, a legislative study commission, or any commission created by an act of the general assembly, the appointing authority may appoint a member of the general public to serve in lieu of a legislator; provided that the majority leader or the minority leader of the political party which is entitled to the appointment consents to the appointment of the member of the general public. Vacancies in said commission shall be filled in like manner as the original appointment.

(c) Upon passage of this act, the members of the commission shall meet at the call of the speaker of the house and president of the senate and organize and shall select, from among the legislators, a chairperson.

(d) The members of said commission shall receive no compensation for their services.

(e) All departments and agencies of the state shall furnish such advice and information, documentary, and otherwise, to said commission and its agents as is deemed necessary or desirable by the commission to facilitate the purposes of this act.

(f) The joint commission on legislative services is hereby authorized and directed to provide suitable quarters for said commission.

(g) The commission shall report its findings and recommendations to the general assembly no later than February 1, 2017, and said commission shall expire on June 30, 2017.