The Rhode Island Statute Consolidated Commission was created by chapter 2768 of the 1951 public laws (formerly S-273, approved April 23, 1951) and was also known as the Digest Commission. Its purpose was to consolidate the general and public laws of the state as published in the 1938 Statutes and to include laws passed up to and including those of 1956 and annotations including all decisions up to January 1, 1957.
Members of the commission included the chief justices of the Supreme and Superior Courts (Edmund W. Flynn and Charles A. Walsh), the Secretary of State (Armand H. Cote), the State Librarian (Dr. Grace M. Sherwood), the assistant in charge of Law Revision (Maurice W. Hendel - also part of the Secretary of State's Office), the Supreme Court Reporter (Charles H. Drummey), and three active members of the Rhode Island Bar Association to be appointed by the Governor. The Commission issued a report at the end of this process which outlined specifications and recommendations for consideration in the publication of the 1956 enactment.
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Copyright is in the public domain unless otherwise specified. We reserve the right to restrict reproduction of materials due to preservation concerns.
Rhode Island Statute Consolidated Commission records, 1997-89, Rhode Island State Archives.
The Rhode Island Statute Consolidated Commission records consist of a series of correspondence which illustrates the process of compiling and annotating a complete revision of the 1938 General Statutes. The bulk of the correspondence is to and from Maurice Hendel, the assistant in charge of Law Revision, Recipients include various publishers (notably Miche and Bobbs-Merrill), other Departments of State regarding their revisions, and other members of the Commission. Also includes a small amount of meeting minutes, a list of publishers, proposals and specifications, a contract and final report.
The Rhode Island Statute Consolidated Commission Records are arranged into the following series:
Accession records are not available.
Records of this Commission were copies of those kept by Maurice W. Hendel.
1880-1881 R. I. Commission to Revise and Digest Public Laws - Minutes
1893-1895 R. I. Commission on the Revision of the Statutes - Reports
1909 R. I. Commission to Arrange and Consolidate the Statutes - Report
1923 General Laws of Rhode Island
1938 General Laws of Rhode Island
1956 General Laws of Rhode Island - galley sheets. Accession number: 000579
Series includes correspondence which illustrates the process of compiling and annotating a complete revision of the 1938 General Statutes. The bulk of the correspondence is to and from Maurice Hendel, the assistant in charge of Law Revision, Recipients include various publishers (notably Miche and Bobbs-Merrill), other Departments of State regarding their revisions, and other members of the Commission.