WPRO News

Legislation to expel Sen. Nicholas D. Kettle has been filed in the Rhode Island Senate and will be taken up by the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, February 27 at the Rise of the Senate, according to a press release from the Rhode Island State Senate released Wednesday.

The Resolution, 2018-S-2490, outlines the case for expulsion. As of noon Wednesday, a sheriff was in the process of serving Mr. Kettle and his attorney with notice of the hearing, at which he will have the opportunity to offer a defense.

The Resolution is sponsored by President of the Senate Dominick J. Ruggerio, Senate Minority Leader Dennis L. Algiere, Senate Majority Leader Michael J. McCaffrey, Senate Majority Whip Maryellen Goodwin, and Senate Judiciary Chairwoman Erin Lynch Prata.

“As President of the Senate, as a father, and as a grandfather, I am absolutely horrified and disgusted by these allegations. We in the Senate are deeply shaken,” said President Ruggerio upon learning of the nature of the allegations.

President Ruggerio also directed his chief legal counsel to conduct a review of all aspects of the Senate page program, including an examination of how similar programs are run in other states. The Senate’s legal counsel will make recommendations to the Senate President upon the conclusion of that review.

Article 6, Section 7 of the Rhode Island Constitution provides for the expulsion of a member of the Senate with the concurrence of two-thirds of the members.

The Rhode Island Chapter of the ACLU has expressed concern with the speed in which the Senate is acting to remove Kettle. Executive Director Steven Brown joined WPRO’s Dan Yorke Tuesday afternoon to discuss his organization’s concerns. Listen to that conversation below: