Senate changes rules following sexual misconduct scandal

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The Rhode Island Senate will require members to receive annual training after a senator was charged with extorting sex from a page earlier in the session.

The Senate has unanimously passed a resolution Tuesday amending its rules to mandate training and establish a process to expel a member.

Former Republican Sen. Nicholas Kettle was charged in February with extorting sex from a page. Pages are students who assist lawmakers.

The 27-year-old Kettle has denied the allegations and initially wouldn’t resign. When Senate leaders moved to expel him, Kettle resigned. The Senate didn’t have a process for investigating the allegations.

The new rules require Senate members and employees to receive training from the state’s human rights commission.

It forms an expulsion process through the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Kettle’s case is pending in state court.