PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - Rhode Island lawmakers introduced a bill that would create a new exemption in state criminal trespassing law.
A bill proposed in the House last month plans to bring a resolution to the issue surrounding where private rights end and public access begins on the Rhode Island coasts, the Providence Journal reported Sunday.
The proposal would make it so that people wouldn’t be arrested or charged if they were trying to exercise their constitutional privileges within 10 feet of the most recent high tide line on the sandy or rocky shore.
“We’re not shrinking anyone’s property,” said state Rep. Blake Filippi. “We’re just saying the state is not going to come in and criminally enforce things on that property. I think it’s a smart way of preserving our constitutional rights while respecting private property.”
Supporters of proposed legislation argue it would bring clarity to the long-standing issue of access to the state’s shores while avoiding costly lawsuits if they tried to take the property or declare it public.
Currently, state law marks the public-access boundary through an average measurement of high water heights taken over a nearly two-decade cycle. Residents who are knowingly standing on the landward side of the so-called high tide line could be arrested for trespassing.
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