PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Voters took away his storied eight-term perch at the State House in 2008.

But former Senate Finance Chairman Stephen Alves, D-West Warwick, was given a hero's welcome when he returned to the chamber Tuesday. His ex-colleagues passed a resolution that both honored -- and needled -- Alves.

"With an irrepressible sense of humor, the 'king of low-numbered license plates' had an uncanny ability to attract attention from the news media and ... passionately and persistently represented his constituents, but only once was the threat of Capitol Police intervention necessary."

The reference to Capitol Police intervention remains an inside joke. But Alves' famous reverence for a low-digit license plate -- and Senate Plate 9, in particular -- prompted the passage of legislation in 2005 to ensure he could swap both his district and plate number with another senator to secure Plate 9.

Alves returned to the State House along with former Senate President William V. Irons and his chief of staff, David Cruise, now a traffic court magistrate, for the dedication of a State House hearing room in the memory of the late Sen. Roger Badeau, D-Woonsocket.