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Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana

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Louisiana

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The Lieutenant Governor of the State of Louisiana is an elected Constitutional officer, the second ranking officer of the Executive branch, and the first officer in line to succeed the Governor of Louisiana. The Lieutenant Governor is popularly elected every four years by a plurality.

Current officeholder

See also: Current Lieutenant Governors

The 58th and current lieutenant governor is Jay Dardenne, a Republican elected in 2010.

Authority

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

Under Article IV, Section 5(A):

...The executive branch shall consist of the governor, lieutenant governor...

Qualifications

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Under Article IV, Section 2, a candidate for lieutenant governor is required to:

  • have attained the age of twenty-five years
  • be an elector
  • have been a citizen of the United States, and,
  • have been a citizen of Louisiana for at least the preceding five years

The term of office of the lieutenant governor of Louisiana is four years. During her tenure in office, a statewide elected official shall hold no other public office.

Elections

See also: Gubernatorial election cycles by state
See also: Election of lieutenant governors

Louisiana 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 Louisiana'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 second Monday in January after an election. Thus, January 14, 2008 and January 9, 2012 are inaugural days.

Term limits

There are no term limits on this office.

Vacancies

Details of vacancies are addressed under Article IV, Section 15.

Should a vacancy occur in the office of lieutenant governor, the governor shall nominate a lieutenant governor, who shall take office upon confirmation by a majority vote of the elected members of each house of the legislature. If the unexpired term exceeds one year, such person shall serve as lieutenant governor only until the office is filled as provided in Section 16(B) of this Article.

Duties

Louisiana

The lieutenant governor exercises powers delegated to him by the governor as provided by law. The lieutenant governor also serves as governor in the event of a vacancy in the office, if the governor is unable to act as governor, or is out of state.

Under the state constitution, the lieutenant governor no longer serves as ex-officio president of the Louisiana State Senate, but he is made an ex-officio member of each committee, board and commission on which the governor serves.

Additionally, the lieutenant governor serves as commissioner of the Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism, and has such other responsibilities and duties as the Governor shall assign.

Divisions

In 1986, the lieutenant governor was made commissioner of the Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism, with the power to appoint the secretary and other key positions, with senate approval. Previously the governor was in charge of these appointments. The transfer of power was the first time the lieutenant governor was given real functional responsibilities by law.[1]

The Office of Culture, Recreation and Tourism consists of the following divisions:

  • Office of Tourism
  • State Parks
  • State Museums
  • State Library
  • Cultural Development

Compensation

See also: Comparison of lieutenant gubernatorial salaries

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

As of 2010, the lieutenant governor is paid $115,000 a year, the 12th highest lieutenant gubernatorial salary in America.

Former officeholders

From 1853 to 2011, there have been 49 Lieutenant Governors of Louisiana.

Click "show" for former officeholders.

Contact information

Office of Lt. Governor Jay Dardenne
1051 N. 3rd Street
Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70802
Phone:225-342-7009
Fax:225-342-1949

See also

External links

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References

Portions of this article were adapted from Wikipedia.

  1. ↑ State of Louisiana, "Executive Branch," accessed August 20, 2011
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