Style Honorable Formation January 1971 | Inaugural holder Blair Lee III Website [1] | |
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Term length Four years, renewable once, but renewable again after a 4-year respite. | ||
The Lieutenant Governor of Maryland is the second highest-ranking official in the executive branch of the state government of Maryland in the United States. He or she is elected on the same ticket as the Governor of Maryland and must meet the same qualifications.
Contents
- History
- Duties and responsibilities
- List of lieutenant governors
- Lt Governors under the Maryland Constitution of 1867
- Living former US Lieutenant Governors of Maryland
- References
The current Lieutenant Governor is Boyd Rutherford.
History
The position was first created by the Maryland Constitution of 1864. Under that system of government, the lieutenant governor served as president of the Senate and would assume the office of governor if the incumbent should die, resign, be removed, or be disqualified.
The state's present constitution, adopted in 1867, abolished the lieutenant governorship. However, the position was re-established by a constitutional amendment ratified on November 3, 1970.
Duties and responsibilities
Under the 1970 amendment, the Lieutenant Governor "shall have only the duties delegated to him by the Governor." Maryland's lieutenant governorship is thus weaker than the office in several, but not all, other states that have one. For instance, in many states, including Texas, the lieutenant governor is the president of the state's Senate and in California the Lieutenant Governor assumes all of the Governor's powers when he or she is out of the state. In both of those states, as in some others, the lieutenant governor is elected in his or her own right, independently of the state's governor.
In practice, Maryland's lieutenant governor attends cabinet meetings, chairs various task forces and commissions, represents the state at ceremonial functions and at events with or without the governor, and advises the governor. If there is a vacancy in the office of the governor, the lieutenant governor becomes the governor. A vacancy in the lieutenant governorship is filled by a person nominated by the governor and confirmed by a majority vote of the General Assembly voting in joint session.
List of lieutenant governors
Unionist Democratic Republican
Lt. Governors under the Maryland Constitution of 1867
Constitution amended November 4, 1970 to create Lt. Governor position.
Living former U.S. Lieutenant Governors of Maryland
As of January 2017, there are six former U.S. lieutenant governors of Maryland who are currently living at this time, the oldest U.S. lieutenant governor of Maryland being J. Joseph Curran, Jr. (served 1983–1987, born 1931). The most recent death of a former U.S. lieutenant governor of Maryland was that of Blair Lee III (served 1971–1979, born 1916), on October 25, 1985.