President of the Rhode Island Senate

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President of the Senate of Rhode Island
Incumbent
Dominick J. Ruggerio
since March 24, 2017
StyleThe Honorable
Term lengthTwo years, renewable
Inaugural holderJoseph A. Montalbano, 2003
FormationConstitution of Rhode Island

The President of the Rhode Island Senate is the presiding officer of the Rhode Island Senate. Unlike most other states, the Lieutenant Governor of Rhode Island does not preside of the state senate. Instead, the lieutenant governor has roles in "emergency preparedness and homeland security".[1]

The role of president was established in 2003. Rhode Island Constitution provides that the lieutenant governor would no longer preside over the Senate in 2003, and power would be transferred to a president elected by senators.[2] The first elected president was Joseph A. Montalbano, a Democrat from North Providence.

List[edit]

# Name Party Term
1 Joseph A. Montalbano Democratic 2003 – January 5, 2009
2 M. Teresa Paiva-Weed Democratic January 6, 2009 – March 24, 2017
3 Dominick J. Ruggerio Democratic March 24, 2017 – Incumbent

References[edit]

  1. ^ Hurst, Julia (2011-07-01). "The Constant Evolution of the Office of Lieutenant Governor" (PDF). National Lieutenant Governors Association. Retrieved 2024-02-11.
  2. ^ "Constitution of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations". State of Rhode Island General Assembly. Retrieved 2017-08-21.