R.I. Gen. Laws § 37-12-3
The remedy on the bond shall be by a civil action brought in the superior court for the counties of Providence and Bristol and in any suit brought on the bond the rights of the state shall be prior to those of all creditors. These rights shall include penalties, assessed under § 37-13-14.1(b) for nonpayment or late payment of wages due. The rights of persons who shall have performed labor as aforesaid shall be prior to the rights of all other creditors, and there shall be no priorities among laborers or among other creditors under the bond. The state, either after having recovered a judgment against the contractor on the contract or without having recovered a judgment, may bring a suit on the bond against the contractor and surety on the bond, and may join as parties defendant in the suit any persons claiming to have rights under the bond as creditors; and, if it has not brought such a suit, it may at any time before a final and conclusive decree, intervene and become a party in any suit brought, as hereafter provided in this chapter, by any person claiming to be a creditor under the bond.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 37-12-3