The lieutenant governor of Maryland is the second highest-ranking official in the

executive branch The executive branch is the part of government which executes or enforces the law. Function The scope of executive power varies greatly depending on the political context in which it emerges, and it can change over time in a given country. In ...

of the

state government A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonom ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

in the United States. The officeholder is elected on the same ticket as the

governor of Maryland The governor of the State of Maryland is the head of government of Maryland, and is the commander-in-chief of the state's National Guard units. The governor is the highest-ranking official in the state and has a broad range of appointive powers ...

and must meet the same qualifications. The current lieutenant governor is Aruna Miller, who took office on January 18, 2023.

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 President of the Senate is a title often given to the presiding officer of a senate. It corresponds to the Speaker (politics), speaker in some other assemblies. The senate president often ranks high in a jurisdiction's Order of succession, succes ...

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 the governor is out of the state. In both of those states, as in some others, the lieutenant governor is elected 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 the governor dies, resigns or is removed from office (via

impeachment Impeachment is a process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In Eur ...

conviction), the lieutenant governor becomes 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

;Parties

Under the Maryland Constitution of 1864

:''Constitution was amended to abolish the office of Lieutenant Governor after Cox's tenure.''

Under the Maryland Constitution of 1867

:''Constitution amended November 4, 1970, to re-create the office of Lieutenant Governor.''

References