TRAINING GROUND
The office of lieutenant governor pro-
vides valuable political experience and
background for men who may be going
on to higher office. Many lieutenant gov-
ernors succeed to the governorship, are
later elected governor in their own right,
or are elected to other statewide office
after their terms expire.
At present, there are eight United
States Senators and four Representatives
who served their states as lieutenant gov-
ernors.13 Former lieutenant governors are
often appointed to a state or national
office (e.g., as a justice of the state court
of appeals, or as a commissioner of the
Federal Power Commission ) .
EXECUTIVE RESPONSIBILITIES
The lieutenant governor can also serve
the state in an administrative capacity,
and in recent years, some states have
added new administrative duties to the
office of lieutenant governor. New execu-
tive responsibilities for the lieutenant gov-
ernor are supported by a Kentucky Court
of Appeals decision which defined the
lieutenant governor as an executive
officer performing some legislative duties
rather than as a purely legislative officer.
This opinion implies that the lieutenant
governor can legally be given these addi-
tional responsibilities.14
Many lieutenant governors serve on
administrative boards and commissions.
By statute, Colorado has made its lieuten-
13 Sen. Gordon Allott (R.-Colorado), Sen.
Bourke Hickenlooper (R.Iowa), Sen. Philip
Hart (D. Michigan), Sen. Joseph Montoya
(D.-New Mexico), Sen. John Pastore (D.-
Rhode Island), Sen. George Aiken (R.-Ver-
mont), Sen. Edward Long (D. Missouri),
Sen. Ernest Rollings (D.-South Carolina),
Rep. Barratt O'Hara (D.-Illinois), Rep.
Ancher Nelsen (R. Minnesota), Rep. Robert
Stafford (R.Vermont), and Rep. William
Tuck (D.-Virginia).
14 Nispel, supra note 2, at 54.
162
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ant governor a member of the Parole
Board. In Delaware, Louisiana, and
Pennsylvania, the lieutenant governor is
a member of the Pardons Board by con-
stitutional stipulation.15 In Indiana, the
lieutenant governor serves as state com-
missioner of agriculture. The lieutenant
governors of California, Connecticut,
New York, and North Carolina represent
their states on educational boards where
the state has a fiscal interest. In Michi-
gan, the lieutenant governor is a member
of the State Administrative Board which
has supervisory powers over all the ad-
ministrative departments and agencies.
This gives the lieutenant governor an
opportunity to learn about the State's
executive business, and was adopted after
the accession of a totally uninformed
lieutenant governor in 1939. The lieuten-
ant governor can also serve as the rep-
resentative of the governor on state
boards, agencies, and commissions which
in the past required the governor's per-
sonal presence and attention. As a liaison
for the governor with state agencies, the
lieutenant governor, at the same time,
increases his own knowledge of state
problems.
JOINT ELECTION AND SALARY
In order to strengthen political party
responsibility for administration, several
states require the governor and the lieu-
tenant governor to be elected jointly.16
Proposals for joint election have been
introduced recently in several other
states : Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Kan-
sas, Massachusetts, and Wisconsin. A
Massachusetts' constitutional amendment
for joint election has been approved by
two sessions of the Massachusetts General
Court and was submitted to the people
in November, 1966. It will become effec-
15 B. nispel, reform of the office of
lieutenant governor 9 (1958).
16 See Appendix.
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