A proposal: How to fix the LG hole (if there is one)
With speculation rife that Gov. Spitzer may step down, Assemblyman George Latimer wanted to bring to our attention this bill he submitted about what happens when there is a lieutenant governor vacancy (note added: as a commenter notes, it’s a proposal, not law):
BILL NUMBER:A7167
TITLE OF BILL: CONCURRENT RESOLUTION OF THE SENATE AND ASSEMBLY
proposing an amendment to section 6 of article 4 of the constitution,
in relation to the appointment of lieutenant-governor
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL: The proposed amendment would allow
the Governor of New York State to appoint a new Lieutenant Governor
with the approval of the Senate, in the case of a permanent vacancy in
the office of the Lieutenant Governor.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS: Section 1 of the resolution would
amend Article 4 Section 6 of the New York State Constitution to allow
the Governor to appoint a new Lieutenant Governor in the case of a
permanent vacancy in the office of Lieutenant Governor, subject to the
confirmation of the State Senate.
JUSTIFICATION: There is nothing in the Constitution that applies to a
permanent vacancy. In past situations, a vacancy in the Lieutenant
Governor`s office went unfilled (most recently, the 1984 resignation
of Lieutenant Governor Alfred DelBello), opening a potential
succession to the Governor`s position to legislative leaders not
elected statewide. New Jersey – which does not have a Lieutenant
Governor, twice had gubernatorial resignations over the past 10 years
(Christie Todd Whitman, Jim McGreevy) with acting gubernatorial
authority devolving to State Senate leadership.
Since the Lieutenant Governor is elected on the same general election
ballot as the Governor; and is generally approved of the gubernatorial
candidate during the electoral process, it makes proper sense to allow
the Governor to appoint a successor Lieutenant Governor when a vacancy
occurs, to complete the term until the next gubernatorial election.
State Senate confirmation is provided as the standard
check-and-balance, similar to the process used to select a U. S. Vice
President when a vacancy occurs.
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Latimer’s “bill”, so far as I know, never passed. There will be no Lt. Governor. Joe Bruno will, in effect, fill that roll without the title.
Yeah, until Joe Bruno’s indicted, too.
And that, too, would be only fitting.
By the way, Latimer’s bill isn’t “partisan” – it’s simply a vanilla bill that looks just like the way the Feds fill a V-P vacancy. A partisan bill would have been to have the Senate AND Assembly confirm the new LG – so the Dems would have some leverage in case Gov. Bloomberg someday has to replace an LG.
Sometimes, we’re looking for sneaky motives when they don’t exist(by-the-way, he’s my Assemblyman and I called him on it. He sounded very normal in explaining it).
I see it as partisan because, simply, it blocks Bruno from succession should something happen to say, Paterson, and it would make sure that a Democrat filled that empty post and moved up. Nothing sneaky about it. Just politics.