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 Majority Leader of the Rhode Island Senate. A member of the Senate since 1985, he was elected Majority Leader on November 10, 2010, having won election to his 14th term in the Senate on November 2, 2010.

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 an 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 Majority Leader, 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”, or most senior member, of the Senate.

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] http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText13/SenateText13/S0096.pdf

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

Majority Leader 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]

References

External links

• Rhode Island Senate - Senator Dominick J. Ruggerio official RI Senate website
• Project Vote Smart - Senator Dominick J. Ruggerio (RI) profile
• Follow the Money - Dominick J. Ruggerio
  • 2006 2004 2002 2000 1998 1996 1994 campaign contributions
• TransparencyRI.com