Governor Parson wants the legislature to pass a law allowing lieutenant governors who ascend to the governorship to appoint a new lite gov.  Sounds simple.  But maybe it isn’t. Then again, maybe it is.

“It needs to be done. I don’t like the state of Missouri being without a lieutenant governor,” he said after being sworn in. The feeling at the capitol is that he’ll call a special legislative session to clear up any doubt that he could make an appointment.  He thinks a lieutenant governor is important in the transition from the Greitens administration to his administration.  He does have a transition committee working with him.

He has not indicated if he’ll summon lawmakers into special session soon or wait until the regular September veto session and have a special session that runs concurrently with it—a more economical move.

Governor Parson did not mention the issue in his speech to the joint legislative session yesterday, which for all intents and purposes had more the flavor of an inaugural address than his remarks after his swearing in ten days ago.

The Missouri Constitution allows the governor to “fill all vacancies in public offices unless otherwise provided by law.”  State law, however, does not allow the appointment of a new lieutenant governor, state senator or representative, sheriff or recorder of deeds in the city of St. Louis. The Constitution also has a provision that, “If any state officer other than the lieutenant governor is acting as governor, his regular elective office shall not be deemed vacant and all duties of that office shall be performed by his chief administrative assistant.”  The provision is a delegation of authority of an elective official to a bureaucrat while the elected official is running the state. It’s not a particularly bad idea. The chief administrative assistant is likely to know the duties and operations of the office and by virtue of the position should be able to go to meetings, attend conferences, and make administrative decisions.

But it’s not a good idea for the lieutenant governor because it would lead to an unelected bureaucrat becoming governor if a vacancy occurs in that office a second time within a four-year term. In all honesty, and with absolutely no offense intended to present company, there probably are bureaucrats who could do the governor’s job and do it well.  But the highest elective office in the state should stay in the hands of somebody of a higher level than a bureaucrat.  Or at least, that’s what some people are likely to think, maybe most people.

And for bureaucrats who read this note, don’t get your feathers ruffled. The author appreciates bureaucrats.  He’d better.  He married one.

Governor Nixon vetoed a proposal a few years ago that would have applied the same standard of bureaucrat-in-charge to the office of lieutenant governor, saying that wouldn’t be appropriate.

Well, then, what should the new law say?  That’s for the professionals to decide.  But there is room for amateur comment.

The limits on filling legislative or certain local offices make sense because those are decisions left to community or district voters to make to begin with.  The lieutenant governorship is or should be in these circumstances a statewide decision.

It would appear, then, the question is whether to give the governor the appointment power or to give the governor the authority to call a special statewide election.

This is where things can get complicated.

Should the process of filling of the vacancy be different if it occurs because a lieutenant governor moves into the governorship versus a vacancy that occurs because a lieutenant governor dies or otherwise vacates the office?

Example: Governor Bates died in 1825. There was no lieutenant governor because Benjamin Reeves had resigned to survey the Santa Fe Trail. The Senate President Pro Tem became acting governor but the lieutenant governor’s office remained vacant.

In what way should consideration of filling the lieutenant governor vacancy alter the present line of succession for the governor’s office?  Now it’s governor, lieutenant governor, Senate Pro Tem, House Speaker. An appointed lieutenant governor would render the current succession provisions irrelevant, wouldn’t it?

What if the governor whose departure created the vacancy was of a different party from the lieutenant governor who rises to the governorship?  If the voters created the difference, should not their wishes be honored in the appointment process?  For instance:  Had Eric Greitens been the Democrat he once was and Mike Parson be the Republican he always has been, should a Governor Parson with appointment authority be required to appoint a Democrat lieutenant governor to maintain the different party governor-lieutenant governor relationship established by the voters?

The key question is whether the system should allow a governor to, in effect, appoint his or her successor or potential successor?

The issue becomes even more acute if the vacancy occurs in a campaign year.  Should a governor give a candidate for the lieutenant governorship a leg up in a primary or general election by appointing that person to that position?  The question holds whether the vacancy occurs before or after the filing window for candidates.

Suppose 2018 was an election year for lieutenant governor and the Greitens resignation had taken place before or during the filing period.  Would it be proper for Governor Parson to look at the list of potential primary candidates from his party and pick someone to fill the vacancy, thus presumably giving that person greater visibility, name identification, and possible fund-raising advantages over others who are interested in the job?

A proposal that briefly floated around in the recent regular legislative session called for senate confirmation of a nominated lieutenant governor.  We’re not sure that makes a lot of sense, especially if the vacancy occurs—as it has now—in May and the legislature is not mandated to be back until September.  Calling a special session just to confirm a new lieutenant governor will quickly draw criticism from those who suggest money is being wasted. And if a governor during a campaign year picks a state representative to fill the vacancy that a state senator wants to file for as a candidate, is confirmation by the senate less likely?  A deadlock on the confirmation process will serve nobody at a time when the obligations of the office need someone to meet them.

Calling a special election will be even more costly and such a proposition is likely to be criticized if it does not include a primary to allow any hopefuls to have their chance, a process that is likely to leave the office vacant for an unacceptable amount of time.

Of course, it’s entirely possible the legislature will not spend a lot of time kicking these and other ideas around and will just pass a bill saying the governor can appoint a lieutenant governor whenever there is a vacancy in that office and let the system play itself out, knowing that some people will have fits no matter what direction the bill debate takes or what form the bill finally has.

Some other miscellaneous observations as long as we’re chatting about this stuff:

The Constitution eliminates any uncertainty about whether somebody who would not be qualified to be governor could be appointed lieutenant governor—a 22-year old political phenom, for instance.  The constitution says the lieutenant governor shall have the same qualifications as the governor—at least thirty years old, a citizen of the United States for at least fifteen years and a resident of the state for at least ten years before the election.

The issue of replacement of the lieutenant governor is something we have been looking at since the Roger Wilson-Joe Maxwell days and as is the case with many things in politics, identifying a problem is far easier than identifying a solution.

But it’s about time the issue was addressed and it’s good to see that it is.

And then there’s this twist: The constitution says no governor can be elected to more than two terms EXCEPT in cases such as that which has befallen Mike Parson.  Section Seventeen says, “No person who has held the office of governor or treasurer, or acted as governor or treasurer, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected to the office of governor or treasurer shall be elected to the office of governor or treasurer more than once.”  So Governor Parson, by taking over for more than half of the Greitens term faces a shorter term limit than governors elected without having filled out someone else’s term.

Why are those two offices singled out? Because they are the offices of greatest power.  The administrator of all of state government and the person who has his or her hands on the state’s money.  And that’s where term limits really should be focused—not on length of service but on limits to power.   Unfortunately, Missouri voters fell a long time ago for the faulty idea that service is more dangerous than power and in doing so gave away their right to continue electing representatives and senators that they trust to write the laws under which all Missourians are supposed to live.

But that’s another rant and a distraction from today’s issue.

What do we do with the increasingly busy office of lieutenant governor when there’s no lieutenant governor to conduct all that business?

It’s time to decide.