§ 1-2-1.1. Powers relating to vehicular traffic accessing airport facilities — Rhode Island T.F.
Green International Airport.
(a)(1) The Rhode Island airport corporation is authorized:
(i) To impose charges on customers of rental companies, as defined in § 31-34.1-1, who directly or indirectly use Warwick Station or the Rhode Island T.F. Green International
Airport, at the rates that the Rhode Island airport corporation may deem necessary
to provide adequate revenue to pay all costs of constructing, reconstructing, expanding,
reconfiguring, operating, and maintaining Warwick Station regardless of whether those
charges may have an anticompetitive effect; and
(ii) To regulate the access of vehicular traffic to airport properties including by excluding
one or more classes of vehicular traffic from accessing portions of airport roadways,
parking lots, curbsides, and other vehicular facilities.
(2) Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the authority of Rhode Island
airport corporation to impose other fees, charges, rates, or rentals including any
other fees, charges, rates, or rentals imposed on rental companies or to adopt other
regulations.
(b) All customer facility charges collected under the authority of subsection (a)(1)(i)
of this section and all customer facility charges collected by any rental company
from customers under color of those provisions, or pursuant to regulations adopted
by the airport corporation, constitute a trust fund for the airport corporation until
paid. That trust is enforceable against: (1) The rental company; (2) Any officer,
agent, servant, or employee of any rental company responsible for either the collection
or payment, or both, of the customer facility charge; (3) Any person receiving any
part of the fund without consideration, or knowing that the rental company or any
officer, agent, servant, or employee of any rental company is committing a breach
of trust; and (4) The estates, heirs, and representatives of persons or entities described
in subsections (b)(1) — (b)(3); provided, that a customer to whom a refund has been
properly made, or any person who receives payment of a lawful obligation of the rental
company from that fund, is presumed to have received that amount in good faith and
without any knowledge of the breach of trust.
(c) If the airport corporation or any officer of the corporation believes that the payment
to the airport corporation of the trust fund established under subsection (b) of this
section will be jeopardized by delay, neglect, or misappropriation, the airport corporation
or officer shall notify the rental company that the trust fund shall be segregated,
and kept separate and apart from all other funds and assets of the rental company
and shall not be commingled with any other funds or assets. The notice shall be given
by either hand delivery or by registered mail, return receipt requested. Within four
(4) days after the sending of the notice, all of the customer facility charges which
thereafter either become collectible or are collected shall be deposited daily in
any financial institution in the state as defined in title 19 and those customer facility
charges designated as a special fund in trust for the airport corporation and payable
to the airport corporation by the rental company as trustee of that fund.
(d) The penalty for misappropriations provided by § 44-19-37 shall apply as though that section referred to "customer facility chargeâ€� in each
place where it refers to "tax�.
(e) The provisions of subsections (b), (c), and (d) of this section are not exclusive,
and are in addition to all other remedies the airport corporation may employ in the
enforcement and collection of customer facility charges.