Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky

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	Kentucky Lieutenant Governor
	; ;
	General information
Office Type:	Partisan
Office website:	Official Link
Term limits:	2 consecutive terms
	Structure
Length of term:	4 years
Authority:	Kentucky Constitution, Article 6, The Executive Department
Selection Method:	Elected
	Current Officeholder
	; ;
Name:	Jerry E. Abramson
Officeholder Party:	Democratic
Assumed office:	December 13, 2011
Compensation:	$113,615
	Elections
Next election:	November 2015
Last election:	November 8, 2011
	Other Kentucky Executive Offices
	Governor • Lieutenant Governor • Secretary of State • Attorney General • Treasurer • Auditor • Commissioner of Education • Agriculture Commissioner • Insurance Commissioner • Natural Resources Commissioner • Labor Cabinet Secretary • Public Service Commission

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The Lieutenant Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky is an elected Constitutional officer, the second ranking officer of the Executive branch, and the first officer in line to succeed the Governor of Kentucky. The Lieutenant Governor is popularly elected every four years by a plurality and is limited to two successive terms.

Current officeholder

See also: Current Lieutenant Governors

The 54th and current lieutenant governor is Jerry Abramson, a Democrat first elected in 2011.

Authority

The state Constitution addresses the office of the governor in Article 6, the Executive Department.

Under Article IV, Section 70:

The Governor and Lieutenant Governor shall be elected for the term of four years by the qualified voters of the State...

Qualifications

A candidate for lieutenant governor is required to be:

at least thirty years old
have resided in the state for at least six years preceding the general election

Elections

See also: Gubernatorial election cycles by state

See also: Election of lieutenant governors

Kentucky belongs to the handful of states that hold off-year elections, that is, elections in off-numbered years that are neither Presidential nor midterm years. In Kentucky's case, elections are held in the year after a midterm and before a Presidential; thus, 2007, 2011, 2015, and 2019 are all lieutenant gubernatorial election years. Legally, the inauguration is always held the fifth Tuesday after an election. Thus, December 13, 2011 and December 15, 2015 are inaugural days.

In the event of a tie, a joint session of the legislature shall cast ballots, as set out in § 90.

Vacancies

Details of vacancies are addressed under Article 6, Sections 85 and 87.

Anytime the office of the lieutenant governor is vacant, either because the Lieutenant Governor has become the Governor or because the Lieuteant Governor has died, resigned, or been removed, the President Pro Tem of the Senate is the first officer in the line of succession.

After the President Pro Tem, the office devolves onto the Attorney General and then the Auditor.

Should the Lieutenant Governor vacate her office without an available Senate President Pro Tem or while the General Assembly is in recess, the Attorney General is also responsible for convening the Senate for the purposes of choosing a new President, who can then becme the Acting Lieutenant Governor.

Duties

The lieutenant governor serves as governor of Kentucky under circumstances similar to the vice president of the United States assuming the powers of the presidency.

She has such other responsibilities and duties as the Governor shall assign or delegate, or as law may decree.

Compensation

See also: Comparison of lieutenant gubernatorial salaries and Compensation of state executive officers

In 2012, the Kentucky Lieutenant Governor was paid an estimated $113,615. This figure comes from the Council of State Governments.

The lieutenant governor's pay is set by law and may not be increased or diminished effective during the current term.

Recent news

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