R.I. Gen. Laws § 44-7-9 — Delegated authority

(a) Pursuant to an agreement made under § 44-7-8, the administrator of the division of motor vehicles may delegate to a tax collector
or finance director of any city and/or town, the authority to issue motor vehicle
registrations, to collect motor vehicle registration fees, to retain a portion of
the fee for administrative expenses, and/or to withhold the issuance of a motor vehicle
registration until either the delinquent excise tax and interest on the tax has been
paid in full to the tax collector, or the appropriate pro rata quarterly excise tax
has been paid in full to the tax collector.
(b) Any tax collector or finance director may delegate to the administrator of the division
of motor vehicles the authority to collect its excise taxes on motor vehicles at the
time of registration and may reimburse the administrator a reasonable percentage of
the tax collected for the cost of collection.