Massachusetts Lieutenant Governor
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The Constitution of Massachusetts provides that when a governor dies, resigns, or is removed from office, the office of governor remains vacant for the rest of the 4 year term. The lieutenant governor discharges powers and duties as "acting governor."
The constitution further states, whenever the chair of the governor is vacant, the lieutenant governor shall take over as acting governor. The first time this came into use was five years after the constitution's adoption in 1785, when Gov. John Hancock resigned his post five months before the inauguration of his successor, Gov. James Bowdoin. Most recently, Jane Swift became acting governor upon the resignation of Paul Cellucci. Under this system, the lieutenant governor retains his or her position and title as "Lieutenant Governor" and never becomes governor – only acting governor.
The lieutenant governor serves in place of the governor when he is outside the borders of Massachusetts. Historically also a one-year term, the office of lieutenant governor now carries a four-year term the same as that of the governor. Noted in the article above are religious, property, and residency requirements for both the office of governor and lieutenant governor, of which only the residency requirement remains in effect. To be eligible for either office, a candidate must have lived in Massachusetts for at least seven years immediately preceding his election, and originally also had to be a Christian owning at least £1,000 worth of real property.
The current officeholder is Tim Murray.
Contact information
Boston, MA Massachusetts State House
Office of the Lt. Governor
Room 280
Boston, MA 02133
Phone: 617.725.4005
Toll Free: 888.870.7770
Fax:617.727.9725
TTY:617.727.3666
See also
- Massachusetts Lieutenant Governor Tim Murray
- Massachusetts Governor
- Massachusetts Attorney General
- Massachusetts Secretary of State
External links
References
Portions of this article were adapted from Wikipedia.
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