(a)  Except as specifically provided in subsection (b) of this section, any corporation organized under this chapter may engage in rendering professional services of not more than one of the professions enumerated in § 7-5.1-2, provided that every officer, director, and shareholder of the corporation is an individual authorized to practice the profession and is employed by the corporation in that practice. No individual may be an officer, shareholder, director, or employee of any other corporation engaged in the practice of the same profession without the prior written approval of the applicable regulatory agency or agencies.

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Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 7-5.1-3

  • Authorized to practice: means duly licensed, certified, or registered by the proper regulatory agency. See Rhode Island General Laws 7-5.1-2
  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • Professional services: means the rendering of personal services by a person authorized to practice as one of the following professions as defined:

    (i)  Physicians;

    (ii)  Dentists;

    (iii)  Attorneys at law;

    (iv)  [Deleted by P. See Rhode Island General Laws 7-5.1-2

  • Regulatory agency: means :

    (i)  The professional licensing board contained within the department of health, as set forth in title 5 when referring to physicians, dentists, chiropractors, podiatrists, registered nurses, optometrists, physical therapists, opticians, physician assistants, or midwives or nurse-midwives;

    (ii)  The Supreme Court when referring to attorneys at law;

    (iii)  The boards of registration of professional engineers and land surveyors when referring to professional engineers or land surveyors;

    (iv)  The board of examination and registration of architects when referring to architects;

    (v)  The board of accountancy when referring to certified public accountants and licensed public accountants;

    (vi)  The board of veterinarians when referring to veterinarians;

    (vii)  The board of examiners of landscape architects when referring to landscape architects;

    (viii)  The board of psychology when referring to psychologists. See Rhode Island General Laws 7-5.1-2

(b)  Nothing in these provisions is to be construed to prohibit a corporation organized under this chapter from engaging in the practice of the following combination of professions:

(1)  Physicians, dentists, registered nurses, podiatrists, optometrists, physician assistants, chiropractic physicians, physical therapists, psychologists, midwives, or nurse-midwives;

(2)  Landscape architects, professional engineers, architects, and land surveyors; and

(3)  Certified public accountants and licensed public accountants.

History of Section.
P.L. 1964, ch. 185, § 1; P.L. 1972, ch. 100, § 3; P.L. 1981, ch. 245, § 1; P.L. 1989, ch. 537, § 1; P.L. 1992, ch. 281, § 1; P.L. 1998, ch. 232, § 1; P.L. 1998, ch. 345, § 1; P.L. 2000, ch. 328, § 1; P.L. 2000, ch. 513, § 1; P.L. 2002, ch. 242, § 1; P.L. 2012, ch. 101, § 1; P.L. 2012, ch. 106, § 1.