Another voice/ New York government
Robin Schimminger: State must change rules on lieutenant governorship
Alittle over a year ago, the Rockefeller Institute of Government held a public policy forum on “Gubernatorial Succession and the Powers of the Lieutenant Governor.” We were then two months into the current vacancy in the lieutenant governor’s office created when then-Lt.Gov. David A. Paterson replaced Eliot L. Spitzer as governor.
The institute invited me to present on a constitutional amendment I have long proposed to provide a means of filling vacancies in the office of lieutenant governor. Then-President Pro Tempore and Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno also participated, blithely taking the opposing view that state government could function very well in the absence of a lieutenant governor.
A number of attending constitutional experts expressed concerns about the damage that could be done if a hypothetical even split were to occur in the 62-member State Senate without a lieutenant governor, the constitutionally provided statewide office holder authorized to cast tie-breaking votes.
Now, the June 8 coup in the Senate has given us an all-too-real lesson on the paralyzing legislative gridlock that can result.
Those of us who have been given the privilege of governing our state have a responsibility to provide for the efficiency and effectiveness of that governance. It should now be clear to all concerned that a constitutional amendment to provide a procedure for filling vacancies in the office of lieutenant governor is more than desirable—it is necessary— in order to guarantee under certain circumstances the Legislature’s ability to continue to conduct the legislative business of the people of our state.
Such an amendment is also needed to provide a next-in-line to the governor who is well equipped to take over on a moment’s notice by virtue of having been privy to the policy and workings of the governor’s office and the executive branch. He or she, not having been elected to office with the governor by statewide voters in the usual way, would at least be the nominee of the elected governor and enter the office with the confirmation of state legislators, who themselves have been elected to represent all the districts of the state.
My proposal would also eliminate the archaic provision in our constitution that our governor loses his powers when he is absent from the state. In addition, it would create a mechanism whereby the lieutenant governor could assume gubernatorial powers if the governor were to become incapacitated.
The goal of the proposed amendment is straightforward: ensuring that the people of New York have an orderly and rational framework of governance and succession built into their constitution, no matter who may hold what offices at the time this amendment is needed. Recent events strongly support the value of such constitutionally imposed clarity and structure, and we should put it in place before the next constitutional crisis occurs.
Robin Schimminger represents the 140th Assembly District.
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