R.I. Gen. Laws § 39-1-6
When the term of office of a commissioner shall expire, and he or she has participated in hearing all or a substantial part of the evidence in a proceeding pending before the commission, he or she shall remain a commissioner for the sole purpose of completing the hearing and deciding the pending matter and signing the findings, orders, and judgments therein. For such services, the commissioner shall be paid reasonable compensation and necessary expenses as fixed by the commission as composed following the expiration of his or her term of office. For this purpose, a proceeding shall be deemed completed when the commission enters its final order therein regardless of whether the order is or may be appealed to the supreme court and the case remanded to the commission for further proceedings.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 39-1-6