R.I. Gen. Laws § 42-21-4: New department as continuation of former department.

Any department or other administrative agency to which the functions, powers, and duties of a previously existing department or other agency were assigned and transferred by chapter 660 of the Public Laws of 1939 shall be deemed and held to constitute a continuation of the former department or agency as to matters within the jurisdiction of the former department or agency, and not a new authority, for the purpose of succession to all rights, powers, duties, and obligations of the former department or agency as constituted at the time of the assignment or transfer, except as otherwise provided by this title, with the same force and effect as if those functions, powers, and duties had not been assigned or transferred.