Dominick J. Ruggerio

Dominick J. Ruggerio (born December 19, 1948) is a Democratic member of the Rhode Island Senate, representing the 4th District since 1985. He is currently President of the Rhode Island Senate. A member of the Senate since 1985, he was previously elected Majority Leader on November 10, 2010, having won election to his 14th term in the Senate on November 2, 2010. Ruggerio succeeded M. Teresa Paiva-Weed as Senate president after the latter resigned to take a private sector job.

Dominick Ruggerio
President of the Rhode Island Senate
Assumed office
March 24, 2017
Preceded byM. Teresa Paiva-Weed
Member of the Rhode Island Senate
from the 4th district
Assumed office
1984
Preceded by???
Personal details
Born (1948-12-19) December 19, 1948
Providence, Rhode Island, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
EducationBryant University
Providence College (BS)

Background

Dominick Rugerio graduated from La Salle Academy in 1966. Ruggerio then attended Bryant College and earned his Bachelor of Science degree in 1974 from Providence College. He is a retired Administrator for the New England Laborers Labor Management Coop Trust. He is a member of the Board of Directors for the Wanskuck Librarym the Sons of Italy, Loggia Vittoria, and the DaVinci Center Development Committee.[1]

Rhode Island Senate

As Senate President, Senator Ruggerio serves as an ex officio member of all standing Senate committees.

Senator Ruggerio served as Majority Whip from 2003 through 2010. He has previously served as a member and as Vice Chairman of the Senate Labor Committee, Chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Labor and Transportation, and as a member of the Senate Finance Committee, the Senate Rules Committee, the Senate Labor Committee, and the Joint Committee on Accounts and Claims. He also previously served as Deputy Majority Leader.

Senator Ruggerio is the “Dean” of the Rhode Island General Assembly, meaning he has served longer than any other member of the RI Senate or House of Representatives.

Prior to his tenure in the Senate, Senator Ruggerio was a member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives from 1981 through 1984, and was a member of the House Labor Committee and House Corporations Committee.

He served as a Policy Aide for the Office of the Lieutenant Governor from 1977 through 1981.

In January 2013, Senator Ruggerio was one of five senators to file legislation seeking a voter referendum to define marriage as being between solely a man and a woman in the Rhode Island Constitution.[1]

He has co-sponsored the Rhode Island Senate's initiatives aimed at easing the burdens placed on businesses in Rhode Island by reforming the income tax code, cutting red tape, improving access to capital and building the skills of the workforce. He co-sponsored the legislation to reform the state income tax by reducing the top marginal rate from 9.9 percent to 5.99 percent.

Other initiatives Senator Ruggerio has sponsored include the law, enacted in 2007, allowing automobile dealerships to open on Sundays.

Senator Ruggerio co-sponsored the law, enacted in 2010, establishing a fair and predictable formula for state aid to education in Rhode Island.

Senator Ruggerio has been an advocate for Catholic and parochial schools in Rhode Island, supporting issues such as a tax credit program enabling businesses to establish scholarships for students at these schools and a textbook sharing program.

He has also pushed legislation to preserve the environment, including new laws to institute a recycling program for mercury used in automobiles and improve collection and disposal rules for mercury thermostats.

Personal life

Senate President Ruggerio resides in North Providence and represents District 4, which includes portions of North Providence and Providence. He is the father of two children, Charles and Amanda.

Arrests

State senator Dominick J. Ruggerio, of Providence, was arrested in September 1990 for shoplifting condoms from a CVS drug store, in Cranston. Ruggerio was not prosecuted.[2]

In 2012, Ruggerio was arrested in Barrington and charged with DUI and refusal to submit to a breathalyzer.[3]

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References
  1. "Biography". Rhode Island Senate. Archived from the original on 27 May 2012. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
  2. "Rhode Island Century: Dubious Achievements". The Providence Journal. Archived from the original on 2011-06-28. Retrieved 2011-08-15.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link) (Archived by WebCite® at )
  3. White, Tim. "No. 2 senator Ruggerio arrested for DUI". WPRI Eyewitness news. Archived from the original on 30 March 2012. Retrieved 28 March 2012.
Political offices
Preceded by
M. Teresa Paiva-Weed		 President of the Rhode Island Senate
2017–present		 Incumbent
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