Senate Resolution No. 29

Introduced by Senators Knight, Anderson, and Vidak

February 26, 2014

Senate Resolution No. 29—Relative to the expulsion of Senator Roderick D. Wright.

WHEREAS, On January 28, 2014, by eight unanimous votes
of a jury of his peers, Senator Roderick D. Wright was found guilty
of eight felonies; and

WHEREAS, The felonies Senator Wright was found guilty of
included five counts of fraudulent voting, two counts of perjury,
and one count of filing a false declaration of candidacy; and

WHEREAS, Section 8 of Article VII of the California
Constitution provides as follows:

“(a) Every person shall be disqualified from holding any office
of profit in this State who shall have been convicted of having
given or offered a bribe to procure personal election or
appointment.

(b) Laws shall be made to exclude persons convicted of bribery,
perjury, forgery, malfeasance in office, or other high crimes from
office or serving on juries. The privilege of free suffrage shall be
supported by laws regulating elections and prohibiting, under
adequate penalties, all undue influence thereon from power,
bribery, tumult, or other improper practice”; and

WHEREAS, The oath of office that state Senators swear to
uphold upon taking office reads as follows: “I do solemnly swear
(or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the
United States and the Constitution of the State of California against
all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and
allegiance to the Constitution of the United States and the
Constitution of the State of California; that I take this obligation
freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and
that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties upon which I
am about to enter”; and

WHEREAS, Section 1021 of the Government Code provides
as follows: “A person is disqualified from holding any office upon
conviction of designated crimes as specified in the Constitution
and laws of the State”; and

WHEREAS, Subdivision (a) of Section 5 of Article IV of the
California Constitution provides as follows: “Each house shall
judge the qualifications and elections of its Members and, by
rollcall vote entered in the journal, two thirds of the membership
concurring, may expel a Member”; and

WHEREAS, The California State Senate convenes in a chamber
under a portrait of George Washington - a symbol of dedication
and integrity; and

WHEREAS, The practices, traditions, and standards of the
Senate in previous cases involving Senators convicted of felonies
have led to swift and decisive actions by Senate leaders of the
recent past; and

WHEREAS, Democratic Senator Joseph B. Montoya was
convicted on February 2, 1990, of committing seven felonies; and

WHEREAS, Soon thereafter Senator Montoya was given an
ultimatum by the Senate Committee on Rules to resign by February
9, 1990, or face expulsion by a vote of his colleagues; and

WHEREAS, Senator Montoya resigned from the Senate on
February 9, 1990; and

WHEREAS, Senate President pro Tempore David Roberti
(D-Los Angeles) thanked Senator Montoya for bowing out and
not forcing the Senate to expel a Member for the first time since
1905; and

WHEREAS, Senate President pro Tempore Roberti said at the
time, “Senator Montoya is helping us conduct the business of the
Senate without the rancor and disruption that a more radical process
would have caused. Senator Montoya could have held on to a bitter
conclusion. He chose not to. I thank him for that”; and

WHEREAS, Republican Senator Frank C. Hill was convicted
on June 16, 1994, of committing three felonies; and

WHEREAS, Senator Leroy Greene (D-Carmichael), chairperson
of the Senate Committee on Legislative Ethics, urged members of
the Senate Committee on Rules to put aside their personal affection
for Senator Hill and to vote to oust him as the ethically and morally
correct course of action; and

WHEREAS, Senator Greene told colleagues, “The people of
this state have a right to expect that we will judge convicted
criminals in this house by the same standards by which we judge
others”; and

WHEREAS, The Senate Committee on Rules voted on June 30,
1994, to expel Senator Hill; and

WHEREAS, The four members of the Senate Committee on
Rules who voted to expel Senator Hill were Senate President pro
Tempore Bill Lockyer (D-Hayward), Senator Ruben Ayala
(D-Chino), Senator Bill Craven (R-Oceanside), and Senator Bob
Beverly (R-Manhattan Beach); and

WHEREAS, Senator Hill resigned from the Senate on July 8,
1994; and

WHEREAS, Senator Wright has had, since being found guilty
on January 28, 2014, the option of resigning from the Senate but
has not done so; and

WHEREAS, The Senate leadership has had, since January 28,
2014, the option of requesting Senator Wright to resign from the
Senate but has not done so; and

WHEREAS, Under the power and authority conferred by the
California Constitution, the full Senate can, by a two-thirds vote
of the membership, expel a Senator found guilty of a felony; now,
therefore, be it

Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, two-thirds of
the membership concurring, That pursuant to the authority
conferred by Section 5 of Article IV of the California Constitution,
Senator Roderick D. Wright, representing the 35th Senate District,
is hereby expelled from the California State Senate for his eight
felony guilty verdicts, effective immediately.