President of the Rhode Island Senate

President of the Senate of Rhode Island
Seal of Rhode Island
Incumbent Valarie Lawson since April 29, 2025
Style	The Honorable
Term length	Two years, renewable
Inaugural holder	Joseph A. Montalbano, 2003
Formation	Constitution 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 over 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

#	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 – April 21, 2025
4	Valarie Lawson	Democratic	April 29, 2025 – present

References

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.