Legislation by State Sen. Sam Givhan (R-Huntsville) would change how some vacancies of the office of lieutenant governor would be filled.
The bill proposes an amendment to the Constitution of Alabama of 2022 to provide that, if the office of lieutenant governor becomes vacant more than 60 days before a presidential election, an election for lieutenant governor for the unexpired term would be held at the presidential election.
A vacancy can occur if the lieutenant governor dies, resigns, or is removed from office. It also occurs when the Lieutenant Governor is elevated to the governorship due to the governor's death, resignation, or removal from office.
Under the bill, the office of lieutenant governor would remain vacant for the remainder of his or her term if the vacancy happens after the presidential election.
Givhan told 1819 News the recently dismissed residency challenge of former Alabama Republican Party chairman and Lieutenant Governor candidate John Wahl was a partial factor in his looking into the change, but he said the issue was one he'd been thinking about for years prior.
"I thought when looking at what happens if the Governor and a Lieutenant Governor die, then I'm just like we just need to, because theoretically the Governor could die on the first day of office. The Lieutenant Governor could die on the first day. Any one of us can. None of us are going to live forever. I just kind of got to thinking about that: why not provide that the Lieutenant Governor, if that's open, that we have a special election just like we do if it's in the first two years," Givhan told 1819 News in a recent interview. "That's what really flowered it because we have had to go periods of time (without a Lieutenant Governor), and I've been told it's very difficult on the Pro-Tem just to basically do (both), and he can not handle all of the Lieutenant Governor's roles. Some of them are just undone because nobody can do them (besides the Lieutenant Governor)."
The bill has passed the Senate State Governmental Affairs Committee and awaits a vote in the Senate.
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