Section 42-17.5-5 - Powers and duties of commission(a) The commission shall have power to: (1) Conduct such hearings, examinations, and investigations as may be necessary and appropriate to the conduct of its operations and the fulfillment of its responsibilities;(2) Obtain access to public records and apply for the process of subpoena, if necessary, to produce books, papers, records, and other data;(3) Set policies for the disbursement and repayment of loans from the natural heritage preservation revolving fund;(4) Accept on behalf of the state, gifts, grants, or loans of funds, personal or real property, or services from any source, public or private, and comply, subject to the provisions of this chapter, with the terms and conditions thereof; and(5) Accept, from a federal agency, loans or grants for use in carrying out its purposes and enter into agreement with the agency respecting any such loans or grants.(b) The commission shall select from loan applicants those which meet all eligibility criteria and which the commission deems to be the most worthy of financing and shall make loans to such applicants.(c) The commission, consistent with the Administrative Procedures Act, chapter 35 of this title, shall:(1) Develop criteria necessary for defining eligibility for loans;(2) Prepare and adopt rules and regulating loan generation, disbursement, loan repayment, and mortgage covenants; and(3) Establish procedures consistent with the purposes of this chapter to insure the long term preservation of irreplaceable open land resources and their passive recreational use by the public.R.I. Gen. Laws § 42-17.5-5
P.L. 1984, ch. 155, art. III, § 1.