Hodgson to File Ethics Amendments to Remove Legislator Immunity

Senator Dawson Hodgson has announced that he will file two floor amendments today when the Senate considers S-2824, a proposed Amendment to the State Constitution restoring the jurisdiction of the Ethics Commission over legislators.  

One amendment will remove the provision of the bill that grants immunity to legislators for conduct between 2009 and 2015.

The other amendment will limit the de novo appeal process inserted in a recent Substitute A to the bill to Speech and Debate issues pursuant to the Constitution. 

In a release, Hodgson said despite fighting for years to reestablish Ethics jurisdiction over legislators, good government groups such as Common Cause and Operation Clean Government, as well as the Providence Journal's Editorial Board have united in their call for the current version of S-2824 to be defeated.

"I understand the frustration of these organizations at seeing this critical government reform so diluted" Hodgson, (R-Dist. 35, Narragansett, East Greenwich, North Kingstown, South Kingstown), said. "Notwithstanding its flaws, we must fix this bill and seize such a rare opportunity to vote for ethics oversight of the Assembly. These amendments will close the loopholes and make this legislation an effective tool to begin rebuilding Rhode Islander's trust in government."