Lawmakers Wade Into Shoreline Access Bill

Not to make waves, but the Rhode Island legislature is going to wade intoa bill which would establish where a person has a constitutional right when it comes to shoreline access.

House Bill 8055 would establish that the public has the right to be ten feet above the recognizable high-tide line on any sandy or rocky shoreline.

The bipartisan legislation is from Representatives Terri Cortvriend of Middletown and Blake Filippi of Block Island, who chaired a study commission on the issue.

A decision from the Rhode Island Supreme Court in 1982 determined the public access point was the mean high water line, but the bill claims it's impossible for people to know where that is.

The bill will be the subject of a future hearing in the House Judiciary Committee.

No date has been established yet for that hearing.

(Photo by Scott Eisen/Getty Images)

Photo: Getty Images


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