Rhode Island General Laws Title 40. Human Services § 40-6-22. Disclosure of information--Penalty

(a) For purposes of this section, a “financial institution” means a bank, savings bank, national bank, trust company, building and loan association, loan and investment company, credit union, safe deposit company, any person or corporation registered to sell securities under the provisions of chapter 11 of title 7, or federal savings and loan institution authorized to do business under the laws of this state.

(b) A financial institution, upon written request or upon request made by computer file on magnetic tape, signed or submitted by an authorized employee of the department of human services, shall inform the department of the amount deposited in the financial institution to the credit of a person named in, or otherwise identified in, the request as an applicant for, or recipient of, public assistance under this chapter or chapter 8 of this title. Upon the request, the financial institution shall provide the requested deposit information, in writing or by computer file on magnetic tape, to the department of human services within sixty (60) days from the receipt of the request. The department shall not submit its information request by computer file on magnetic tape to a financial institution that does not maintain deposit information on computer files, and the financial institution shall not be required to provide deposit information by computer file on magnetic tape.

(c) A financial institution shall be subject to a penalty of one hundred dollars ($100) for each willful failure to provide the department with the requested information. The department may recover the penalty by civil action in any court of competent jurisdiction.

(d) The department of human services may disclose information obtained pursuant to this section to an agency or department of another state administering a public assistance program, provided that the department of human services has executed a reciprocal agreement with the agency or department for the reciprocal disclosure of deposit information.