State Senator Brian Kelsey took the first practical step on Wednesday in dealing with his federal indictment on campaign finance charges, resigning — temporarily, he said — his chairmanship of the Senate Education Committee.
The senator did so in response to the fact that Senate rules require a suspension of a committee chairmanship within 10 days of an indictment unless the indictment is lifted beforehand.
Kelsey and his fellow indictee, Nashville club owner Joshua Smith, are scheduled to appear in federal court November 5th to answer the charges. If convicted, each could face up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each of the indictment’s five counts.