Lieutenant Governor of Georgia

Lieutenant Governor
Georgia State Seal
Incumbent Geoff Duncan since January 14, 2019
Style	The Honorable[1] (formal)
Residence	No official residence
Appointer	Elected by popular vote
Term length	4-year term
Inaugural holder	Melvin E. Thompson
Formation	1945
Website	Government website

The lieutenant governor of Georgia is a constitutional officer of the State of Georgia, elected to a four-year term by popular vote. Unlike in some other U.S. states, the lieutenant governor is elected on a separate ticket from the Georgia Governor.

Constitutionally, the lieutenant governor's primary job is to serve as President of Georgia's Senate. In the case of incapacity of the governor, the lieutenant governor assumes the powers (but not the title) of the Governor. Should the governor die or otherwise leave office, the lieutenant governor becomes governor for the remainder of the term of office.

The office of Lieutenant Governor was created by a state constitutional revision in 1945. Prior to that time, Georgia did not have such an office. Elected in 1946 (for a term to begin in 1947) Georgia's first lieutenant governor, Melvin E. Thompson became involved in the Three Governors controversy.

The current lieutenant governor of Georgia is Republican Geoff Duncan.

Eligibility[]

Article V, Paragraph IV of the Georgia State Constitution details the qualifications for the office of Georgia's lieutenant governor. In order to be eligible for the office a person must have lived in the United States for 15 years and in Georgia for six years and be at least 30 years old.^[2] The Lieutenant Governor of Georgia has no restrictions on the number of times he or she can hold the office.^[3]

Role of the lieutenant governor[]

Duties[]

The lieutenant governor's formal duties are limited by the Georgia State Constitution to being President of the Senate and the successor of the Governor whenever the governor dies, resigns or is removed from office via impeachment. The lieutenant governor assumes the gubernatorial powers & duties as acting governor, whenever the governor is disabled^[3] Other, informal duties, were initiated by Lieutenant Governor Marvin Griffin during his tenure and include naming chairmen to senate committees and "taking an active role in the leadership of the senate."^[3] He also began the custom of asking the governor's approval of these appointments. These powers lasted until 2003, when Governor Sonny Perdue, a Republican, stripped the lieutenant governor at the time, Democrat Mark Taylor of those powers, giving them to the president pro tempore of the Senate.^[3] In November 2010, the Republican majority voted to change the senate rules, stripping the Lieutenant Governor's ability to appoint the membership of senate committees.^[4]

President of the Senate[]

As President of the Senate the lieutenant governor presides over debate in the Senate and casts a tie-breaking vote in that body if necessary. However, the lieutenant governor is barred from sponsoring legislation.^[5] The Rules of the Georgia State Senate assign the president of the Senate to appoint two senators to the Committee on Assignments and to serve as the Chair of the committee, but the Chair may only vote in case of a tie. Additionally, the president is a member of and appoints three other members to the Committee on Administrative Affairs. Under the supervision of the State Senate, the President "shall as a matter of course and without debate, report the reference of bills to the proper committee." Senate pages are supervised by the president who "shall establish a program of familiarization with state government, its procedures and those duties and responsibilities which will be required of pages."^[6]

List of lieutenant governors of Georgia[]

Parties

  Democratic (10)   Republican (2)

No.	Lt. Governor			Term in office	Party	Election	Governor
1			Melvin E. Thompson	January 14, 1947 – March 18, 1947	Democratic			Herman Talmadge
—	Vacant			March 18, 1947 – November 17, 1948	—			Melvin E. Thompson
2			Marvin Griffin	November 17, 1948 – January 11, 1955	Democratic	(special)		Herman Talmadge
3			Ernest Vandiver	January 11, 1955 – January 13, 1959	Democratic			Marvin Griffin
4			Garland T. Byrd	January 13, 1959 – January 15, 1963	Democratic			Ernest Vandiver
5			Peter Zack Geer	January 15, 1963 – January 11, 1967	Democratic			Carl Sanders
6			George T. Smith	January 11, 1967 – January 12, 1971	Democratic			Lester Maddox
7			Lester Maddox	January 12, 1971 – January 14, 1975	Democratic			Jimmy Carter
8			Zell Miller	January 14, 1975 – January 13, 1991	Democratic			George Busbee
								Joe Frank Harris
9			Pierre Howard	January 13, 1991 – January 11, 1999	Democratic			Zell Miller
10			Mark Taylor	January 11, 1999 – January 8, 2007	Democratic			Roy Barnes
								Sonny Perdue
11			Casey Cagle	January 8, 2007 – January 14, 2019	Republican
								Nathan Deal
12			Geoff Duncan	January 14, 2019 – present	Republican	2018		Brian Kemp

Living former lieutenant governors of Georgia[]

There are three former living lieutenant governors of Georgia, the oldest lieutenant governor of Georgia being Pierre Howard (served 1991–1999, born 1943). The most recent death of a former lieutenant governor of Georgia was that of Zell Miller (served 1975–1991, born 1932), who died on March 22, 2018.

See also[]

• Georgia Senate
• Georgia House of Representatives
• Georgia General Assembly

References[]

External links[]

• Official Website of the Lieutenant Governor of Georgia