R.I. Gen. Laws § 39-2-18

No person, firm, corporation, or other business entity shall install in any home or business establishment any appliance that operates by the use of consumption of a combustible gas unless a shutoff device approved by the division of public utilities and carriers controlling the flow of gas into the appliances is also installed in the immediate area of the appliance; and, provided, further, that any person, firm, corporation, or other business entity that removes a valve or leaves a gas line without the shutoff device shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall be subject to a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars ($100).