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Proceedings and Debates of the 1967 Constitutional Convention
Volume 104, Volume 1, Debates 2069   View pdf image (33K)
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[Dec. 9] DEBATES 2069

State. But, the Committee in the recom-
mendation which you have before you says
that the attorney general shall be the chief
legal officer of the State and the Committee
was very hopeful in providing that that the
Attorney General will have strictly legal
functions and would not be given the power
to carry out so-called executive programs
so that what he would do would be giving
his legal advice and legal assistance to
others who are carrying out executive
programs.

THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Gleason, do
you have a further question?

DELEGATE GLEASON: Was there a
vote in the Committee on this recommenda-
tion, Chairman Morgan?

THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Morgan.

DELEGATE MORGAN: It was no for-
mal vote. It was just a unanimous agree-
ment.

THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Vecera.

DELEGATE VECERA: Delegate Mor-
gan, line 15 of your Committee Report, you
state when the office of the attorney gen-
eral is vacant that the governor shall with
the advice and consent of the Senate make
the appointment.

Now, sir, the comptroller, I understand is
similar. What was the difference between
filling the vacancy of the lieutenant gov-
ernor and the filling of the vacancy on
these two gentlemen who would also be
elected officials. Where was there a dif-
ference on how to fill that particular
vacancy?

THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Morgan.

DELEGATE MORGAN: Delegate Ve-
cera, I think it is the same to fill a vacancy
in the office of lieutenant governor. The
governor nominates an individual and the
General Assembly has to advise and con-
sent to the nomination. In the case of the
attorney general, just the Senate has to
advise and consent to the nomination. 1
think we just felt that the lieutenant gov-
ernor was a much more important office
and that the whole General Assembly should
advise and consent to that.

THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Vecera.

DELEGATE VECERA: Delegate Mor-
gan, these gentlemen are; elected officials
and I thought maybe there was a differen-
tiation to (ill a vacancy on an elected offi-
cial. This seems to me similar to an
appointive office.

THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Vecera, this
is not a time for debate. If you have a
question, you may put it.

DELEGATE VECERA: Yes, sir.

My question is why specifically was there
a differentiation between the attorney gen-
eral and comptroller on the one hand and
the lieutenant governor on the other hand.
I thought they were all elected officials and
that their vacancy would lie filled by a
similar kind of method.

THE CHAIRMAN: The lieutenant gov-
ernor is the man who succeeds to the gov-
ernorship in the event the office of the
governor becomes vacant. The attorney gen-
eral and the comptroller are not in the line
of succession. To fill a vacancy in the office
of the lieutenant governor, we thought it
essential to have the advice and consent of
the whole General Assembly.

DELEGATE BURDETTE: Mr. Chair-
man, I should like to ask the Chairman of
the Committee for an explanation of what
amounts to the first section but here un-
numbered, with respect to the method of
electing the attorney general. The language
used here is that he shall be elected in the
same manner as the governor. The manner
prescribed elsewhere in action already taken
by the Convention provide that the gov-
ernor and the lieutenant governor shall be
elected as a team. Now, I suspect that I
understand what the Committee has in
mind, but does the Committee intend that
the attorney general should be a third
member of that team?

THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Morgan.

DELEGATE MORGAN: The answer is
no.

THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Burdette.

DELEGATE BURDETTE: I want to be
sure to get that in the record. I must con-
fess that I am uncertain here as to what
the manner is. Does the Chairman think
that there perhaps needs to be more detail?

THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Morgan.

DELEGATE MORGAN: Well, the ex-
ecutive article on section 4-4.05 says, "The
Governor shall be elected by those voters
qualified to vote in state elections for a
term of four years until someone is quali-
fied — " and so forth.

It is just a method of referring back to
the provisions that provide for the election
of governor. There is no requirement that
he run on the same team.

THE CHAIRMAN: Could we state for
the benefit of the Committee on Style that



 

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Proceedings and Debates of the 1967 Constitutional Convention
Volume 104, Volume 1, Debates 2069   View pdf image (33K)
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