R.I. Gen. Laws § 4-12-4: Inspectors — Qualification.

Any person appointed by the director as an apiary inspector shall be a practical beekeeper who before being appointed shall furnish the director with satisfactory evidence that the appointee possesses a practical knowledge of beekeeping and is familiar with the diagnosis and treatment of honey bee diseases and honey bee pests and/or is a graduate of an agricultural college with qualifying training in apiculture. The state inspector, or appointed deputies and assistants, may not own more than fifty (50) colonies of honey bees.