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ROW Record

State record · RI · 2026-09-01 · Not yet retrieved

Rhode Island

Not yet retrieved. Occupancy is listed. An ALPR-named highway form is not. Empty is honest. Do not fill it in from another state.

Not yet retrieved
Open the workbenchThe method
Highway system
Primary
R.I. Gen. Laws § 24-8-1.2 establishes a Rhode Island highway system of state roads and municipal roads, designated by functional classification as set by the state planning council. § 24-8-1.3(g): “State roads” means all public roads classified as arterials and major collectors, except urban minor arterials in Central Falls, Cranston, East Providence, Newport, Pawtucket, Providence, Warwick, and Woonsocket. § 24-8-1.3(c): municipal roads are public roads not designated as state roads. This is not Florida’s State Highway System.
Owner
Primary
Rhode Island Department of Transportation for state roads (RIDOT’s own pages on state-maintained roads and on permits for work in RIDOT right-of-way). Municipal roads are not RIDOT’s.
Right-of-way
Secondary
290-RICR-20-00-4.3 (RIDOT regulation, not a statute). 290-RICR-20-00-4.3: “State highway right-of-way (R.O.W.)” means land and space acquired for, or dedicated to, State Highway use. “Alteration” means any change of existing conditions within the State Highway Right-of-Way. That is the Physical Alteration Permit geography, not a packed statutory width. A General Laws width definition was not retrieved. Do not substitute Florida § 334.03(21).

Text from LII Cornell reprint of Title 290. Official SOS host did not yield extractable text on retrieval day.

Public records
Primary
Access to Public Records Act (R.I. Gen. Laws § 38-2-3 (ch. 38-2)). Who may request: Every person or entity shall have the right to inspect and/or copy those records at such reasonable time as may be determined by the custodian (§ 38-2-3(a)). No public records shall be withheld based on the purpose for which the records are sought.
Open meetings
Primary
Open Meetings Act (R.I. Gen. Laws ch. 42-46; open meetings § 42-46-3)

§ 42-46-3: every meeting of all public bodies shall be open to the public unless closed pursuant to §§ 42-46-4 and 42-46-5.

ALPR statute
None found
No Rhode Island general-law chapter or section expressly regulating governmental ALPR use or plate-data retention was retrieved. Title 12 (Criminal Procedure) has no chapter 12-5.3 (INDEX.htm 404). NCSL’s February 2022 ALPR-statute table does not list Rhode Island. 2025 H 5659, 2025 S 1013, and 2026 H 8077 are bills that would add ch. 12-5.3 — they are not packed as law. R.I. Gen. Laws ch. 31-41.2 (Automated Traffic Violation Monitoring Systems) authorizes traffic-control-signal cameras, not ALPR, and is not this field. Governor McKee’s 18 August 2026 60-day pause on new State Police ALPR installs is an executive press action, not a statute, and is not packed as alprStatute. Empty beats wrong.
ROW permit
Primary
Physical Alteration Permit; Utility Permit if the installation is treated as a utility in RIDOT right-of-way — not an ALPR-named instrument. Who may apply: Physical Alteration Permit Applications and Utility Permit Applications are processed through RIDOT e-permitting (RIDOT Business & Property Owners page; Doing Business #permit lists PAPA Online Application, PAPA Manual, PAP Bond Form, and Utility Permit). Property owners looking to alter the current State Highway Right-of-Way use PAPA (RIDOT Need Help page). A utility permit is required to place utilities within or upon the RIDOT right-of-way (RIDOT Utility Permits page). ALPR-specific permit type not listed.. Instrument names are from RIDOT’s own pages, 1 Sept 2026. 290-RICR-20-00-4.2 lists PAP circumstances as curbs, sidewalks, highway/bridge access, stormwater, construction in ROW, traffic signals, and signage — not ALPR. No ALPR-named RIDOT permit. Generic occupancy is not enough for live. Do not import Florida General Use, Minnesota OLPA, or Utah Special Use.

Instrument names are from RIDOT’s own pages, 1 Sept 2026. 290-RICR-20-00-4.2 lists PAP circumstances as curbs, sidewalks, highway/bridge access, stormwater, construction in ROW, traffic signals, and signage — not ALPR. No ALPR-named RIDOT permit. Generic occupancy is not enough for live. Do not import Florida General Use, Minnesota OLPA, or Utah Special Use.

https://www.dot.ri.gov/business/buisandpropowners.php

Install process in this state

There is no packed Rhode Island ALPR statute and no ALPR-named RIDOT instrument. Steps are the generic RIDOT instruments plus APRA. Unpublished.

  1. This is a Rhode Island state road under R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 24-8-1.2 and 24-8-1.3, or a municipal road. RIDOT instruments apply to RIDOT right-of-way, not to city/town streets.
  2. No packed Rhode Island statute sets ALPR retention, sharing, or who may operate a reader. Do not import Maine’s 21-day cap, New Hampshire’s 3-minute purge, Vermont’s 18 months, Connecticut’s Public Act 26-14, or Florida’s § 316.0777. Do not treat ch. 31-41.2 traffic-signal cameras as ALPR.
  3. Work that alters RIDOT right-of-way needs a Physical Alteration Permit. Placing a facility RIDOT treats as a utility needs a Utility Permit. Both go through RIDOT e-permitting. RIDOT’s pages do not list an ALPR permit type.
  4. Contracts, permits, and minutes are public records under the Access to Public Records Act (R.I. Gen. Laws § 38-2-3) unless a statutory exemption applies. There is no packed ALPR confidentiality statute.
  5. Governor McKee’s 18 August 2026 pause is an executive press action, not a statute and not a RIDOT install spec. Do not copy FDOT, MnDOT OLPA, UDOT, or Johnson City, TN steps into Rhode Island.

Primary

Where to ask

  • City/town clerk

    Minutes and votes of the public body (Open Meetings Act, § 42-46-3 / ch. 42-46)

  • Purchasing / finance

    Contracts, amendments, invoices as public records under § 38-2-3

  • Police records

    Any ALPR policy or vendor file that is a public record; no packed statewide ALPR desk

  • RIDOT Maintenance / e-permitting

    Physical Alteration Permit and Utility Permit files for RIDOT right-of-way — not an ALPR-named file

SupportedEvidence
RIDOT processes Physical Alteration Permit Applications and Utility Permit Applications for work in RIDOT right-of-way.

ri-dot-papa · ri-dot-utility

SupportedEvidence
Rhode Island has no general-law section that expressly regulates governmental ALPR use or plate-data retention.

none_found on 1 Sept 2026. A later enactment, or treating the Governor’s pause or ch. 31-41.2 as if it were an ALPR statute, would be wrong.

ri-alpr-hunt · ri-alpr-bills

UnprovenAssumption
RIDOT issues a named ALPR right-of-way permit.

Retrieved RIDOT pages name Physical Alteration and Utility permits, not an ALPR instrument.

ri-dot-papa

DisputedInference
Governor McKee’s 18 August 2026 ALPR pause is an enacted Rhode Island statute or a RIDOT ALPR install specification.

Official governor.ri.gov press release retrieved. It is an executive direction and a call for municipal pause during a 60-day DPS review. No EO number. No RIDOT permit. Not packed as alprStatute.

ri-gov-pause

Sources in this pack

What was checked

  1. 2026-09-01

    https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE12/INDEX.htm and https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE12/12-5.3/INDEX.htm

    Title 12 has no chapter 12-5.3 (404). No enacted Criminal Procedure ALPR chapter. Packed alprStatute none_found.

  2. 2026-09-01

    https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText25/HouseText25/H5659.htm ; https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Billtext25/SenateText25/S1013.pdf ; https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText26/HouseText26/H8077.htm

    Bills that would add ch. 12-5.3. H 5659 (26 Feb 2025, House Judiciary); S 1013 (2 May 2025, Senate Judiciary); H 8077 (27 Feb 2026, House Judiciary, effective date in the bill 1 Jan 2027). Not packed as law.

  3. 2026-09-01

    https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE31/31-41.2/INDEX.htm and § 31-41.2-3

    Ch. 31-41.2 is Automated Traffic Violation Monitoring Systems — traffic-control-signal cameras. Not ALPR. Not packed as alprStatute.

  4. 2026-09-01

    https://www.ncsl.org/technology-and-communication/automated-license-plate-readers-state-statutes

    NCSL table updated 3 Feb 2022. Rhode Island not listed. Lead only.

  5. 2026-09-01

    https://www.dot.ri.gov/business/buisandpropowners.php ; https://www.dot.ri.gov/business/index.php#permit ; https://www.dot.ri.gov/about/help.php

    Primary: RIDOT names Physical Alteration Permit Applications (PAPA) and Utility Permit Applications, e-permitting. No ALPR permit type.

  6. 2026-09-01

    https://www.dot.ri.gov/business/utilitypermits/

    Primary: utility permit required to place utilities in RIDOT right-of-way. Examples include electric, fiber, police/fire signal systems. No ALPR.

  7. 2026-09-01

    site:dot.ri.gov ALPR OR “license plate reader” OR LPR permit

    No RIDOT-owned ALPR/LPR permit page. Keep PAP/utility generic.

  8. 2026-09-01

    https://governor.ri.gov/press-releases/governor-mckee-takes-action-automated-license-plate-readers-calls-pause-new

    Official Governor’s Office press release, 18 Aug 2026: 60-day review; State Police will not install or activate additional ALPR cameras during the review; municipalities urged to pause; Governor will work with lawmakers to codify standards. No EO number. No RIDOT mention. Packed as unofficial hunt-log lead only — not alprStatute, not a RIDOT install spec.

  9. 2026-09-01

    https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE24/24-8/24-8-1.2.htm and 24-8-1.3.htm ; https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE38/38-2/38-2-3.htm ; https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE42/42-46/INDEX.htm

    Primary: Rhode Island highway system; APRA § 38-2-3; Open Meetings ch. 42-46 / § 42-46-3.

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