Arkansas Lieutenant Governor

The lieutenant governor of Arkansas is the second-highest constitutional and elected office in the U.S. state of Arkansas. The lieutenant governor is the first in the gubernatorial line of succession, assuming the governorship in cases of the governor's impeachment, removal from office, death or inability to discharge the office's duties. The lieutenant governor also serves as president of the Arkansas Senate, with a tie-breaking vote. The lieutenant governor is elected separately from the governor.

The position of lieutenant governor was created by the Sixth Amendment to the Arkansas Constitution in 1914, but was not filled until 1927. The amendment was approved by the electorate in 1914, with returns showing 45,567 in favor and 45,206 opposed. The speaker of the House declared the measure lost because it had not received a majority of the highest total vote, which was 135,517. In 1925, it was discovered that the Initiative and Referendum of 1910 had amended this majority requirement so that only a majority of those voting on a specific question was required. So, in 1926, the 1914 initiative was declared to be valid and Harvey Parnell was elected Arkansas' first lieutenant governor.

Two recent incumbents, Winthrop Paul Rockefeller and Mike Huckabee, began their respective tenures in the midst of regular term periods, due to the elevation of their predecessors to the governorship. Jim Guy Tucker succeeded Bill Clinton as governor in December 1992, upon Clinton's resignation days before assuming his office as President of the United States, creating the need for a special election to fill the lieutenant governor's office. When Tucker was convicted of conspiracy and mail fraud charges in 1996, Huckabee succeeded him as governor, paving the way for the November 1996 special election of Rockefeller as lieutenant governor.

The current lieutenant governor is Leslie Rutledge, since January 10, 2023.

History

The U.S. state of Arkansas had no office of lieutenant governor under its original constitution. Amidst the American Civil War in 1864, a new constitution was ratified and a pro-Union government was installed which included a lieutenant governor to be, like several other state officials, popularly elected to serve four-year terms. Calvin C. Bliss was the first person to hold the office. The position was preserved in the new constitution ratified by the state in 1868, but eliminated in the constitution of 1874.

In 1914, an amendment to the constitution to reestablish the office of lieutenant governor was subject to a popular referendum. While the item received more affirmative than negative votes, the Arkansas Supreme Court held that only a majority of the votes of all the citizens who had participated in that year's referendums could constitute a passing margin. In 1925, the court reversed its decision, ruling that the office be filled in the state elections occurring in 1926. Harvey Parnell was subsequently elected to the office.

Under Nathan Green Gordon's 20 year-tenure, the lieutenant governorship assumed great influence in the State Senate, with the officer able to set the body's calendar, assign members to committees, and refer bills to committees. Upon Gordon's succession by Republican Maurice Britt in 1967, the Democratic-dominated Senate removed much of the office's powers. The lieutenant governor held office for a term of two years until 1986, when the term was expanded to four years. The constitution was amended in 1992 to provide for term limits. From the office's recreation in 1926 until a constitutional amendment ratified in 2016, the lieutenant governor served as acting governor when the governor was traveling out of the state; the amendment allowed the governor to retain their powers while absent. The first woman to hold the office, Leslie Rutledge, was sworn in on January 10, 2023.

Powers, duties, and structure

The lieutenant governor is one of seven executive constitutional officers in the state of Arkansas. The main responsibilities of the lieutenant governor are to serve as the president of the Arkansas Senate and to succeed to the governorship should it become vacant. They are constitutionally restricted to serving a maximum of two terms.

The lieutenant governor keeps an office in the Arkansas State Capitol. They collect an annual salary of $48,105.

List of officeholders

Notes

References

Works cited

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{{Lists of lieutenant governors by U.S. state

Government of Arkansas
Lieutenant governors