Question of the Day
A reader asks…
Does the Governor, or more appropriatedly the next Governor, have any power, other than that of moral suasion, over the President Pro Tem in the Senate? Veto power is obvious but is there any other way a Governor can reign in a rogue Pro Tem?
Good question. I have no f’ing clue.
Dr. Liberal is being wined and dined by the Big Pharma right now – so yoos guys will have to come up with the answer on your own.
in other words…he has no f’ing clue. 🙂
Gracias.
de nada, amigo.
Jason, to answer your question, I’ve always believed the the SenatePro Tem is the most powerful individual in State goverment.
He controls all committees, but more importantly, appointments(i.e. judges, cabinet heads, other high ranking positions).
He can push for, or hold up anything he wants with no backlash. I know you already know all of this, but just weighing in with my opinion.
So anon,
The Governor’s race gets all the attention and most people are clueless who the Pro Tem even is, let alone how s/he gets elected.
That doesn’t seem right.
Thought Experiment: Suppose the Senate abolished the Pr o Tem office, kept the majority leader position, gave the Pro Tem powers to the Lt. Gov. Because the Lt. Gov. is an elected **statewide** position, there would be more public pressure to run the Senate in a more open and democratic manner..
Would that work better? Would it it be kosher legally? Does it violate any important principal of govt?
Makes sense. It also gives the Lt. Gov. and actual job.
It would give too much power to the executive office and conflict the constitutional division of power. I know that the Lt. Governor is sort of a limbo area (remember that Cheney gets his check cut by Congress) but no, I would not think it at all appropriate for the legislature’s power structure to subserve an executive officer.
Dana you may be on to something here. I wonder what would have to happen to make it so.
The Senate has all the power it needs to reign in a ‘rogue’ President Pro-Tem. Unlike the majority/minority leaders or whips, who are selected by the respective caucuses, the Pro-Tem, like the Speaker of the House, is elected by the entire body.
The Governor indeed could wield some influence over the body when it comes to who they select, but it’s clear that Gov. Minner preferred Adams to the alternative in 2004, when the leadership race was truly in doubt, and chose to not rock the boat.
My point is that neither the Governor nor the majority of the Senate consider Adams a rogue President Pro-Tem. In fact, he’s taking the heat for many of them while doing their bidding.
Steve, you are probably right, but if the ProTem is actually the most powerful job in the State I like Dana’s scenario better. The Pro Tem should be a statewide elected official. Depending on our Senators to do the right thing here isn’t working out so good.
Well, the same Senators who can’t be counted on to ‘do the right thing’ would have to vote in two successive General Assemblys to amend the State Constitution to take away their power to elect the President Pro-Tem.
Politicians voluntarily giving up power? I think not. Which is my point–positive change will have to come from within the legislative body, whether we like it or not.
There just aren’t any short cuts are there? Gotta go do the hard work to elect better Democrats.
“Suppose the Senate abolished the Pro Tem office, kept the majority leader position, gave the (presidential) powers to the Lt. Gov.”
Holy crap, that makes total sense, especially in a state where the Gov and LG run on separate tickets. Besides, as I remember from my old fraternity days, pro tempore means temporary, like a substitute teacher. It would seem to me that the LG is the de jure president of the Senate, but that the majority leader is by tradition the de facto president. I don’t know, I didn’t grow up in Delaware. Anyone have the answer to that?
The LG basically is the presiding officer of the Senate–when he/she presides, which is not always the case. It’s largely ceremonial with a dollop of Robert’s Rules tossed into the mix.
The Pro Tem makes all committee assignments, chairs the Executive Committee, which considers all nominations, and determines what goes on the agenda. The Pro Tem generally also serves as presiding officer in the absence of the LG.
The majority leader essentially runs the agenda, calling up items and making the requisite motions that they be considered, including moving to recognize the floor manager of a given bill. The majority leader is also generally the lead person who engages in partisan back-and-forth while the Pro Tem generally stays above the fray.
The lieutenant governor has control of the chair but not the chamber. The powers of the pro tem do not flow from the office or the presiding role, which are procedurally nominal in terms of parliamentary powers. They flow from the majority party which grants them, both by the rules they make and by how they back up that person’s decisions. The lieutenant governor can be overruled as presiding officer and only has a vote in a tie.
You can’t eliminate the position of pro tempore since it would require the Lt Gov to preside over the Senate at all times, literally all. It is not practical. Further, the majority can invest the same powers they give their pro tem in whomever they wish. If there is no pro tem you would simply have a powerful majority leader – as is the relative case in the U.S. Senate, in which the pro tem is a ceremonial position.
Bottom line : there is no end run or panacea to the misdeeds of the same people who use their majority power however they wish. But it was good question to pose.
go play the lottery you nerds. you have a better chance than this crazy talk you are engaging in
Thanks, Steve and Tyler, that’s what I thought.
The problem with the other scenario is that if you give all the powers of the Pro Tem to the Lt. Gov., it could play the other way and he might be forced him to pass everything Gov. Minner wants.
………with no checks and balances.
“You can’t eliminate the position of pro tempore since it would require the Lt Gov to preside over the Senate at all times, literally all. It is not practical.”
Right, the LG is too busy cutting ribbons on strip malls and speaking to the Ladies’ Auxiliary. Oh, and running for the head office. Did you know that the RAM doesn’t do any more public appearances? A friend of mine called and asked if she would address their group, and was told they can only get Carney from now on.
It would probably take a change to the State Constitution
Which if done might interfere with some sort of Seperation of powers clause
as ANON pointed out
I don’t think the Senate would be empowered to grant the legislative powers to the LT GOV over an above the power to preside over the session as President of the Senate
Anon, re: comment #19, yes, but you could conceivably have a Gov and LG from different parties, since they don’t run on a combined ticket.
ageed, G Rex
We’ve had situations where the LG is from a different party than the Governor, most recently Mike Castle & SB Woo.
Oh, well, another thought experiment that failed. 🙂
Remember the Independent Inspector General! Would have eliminated the do nothing LT. Gov. and used that salary for the new Inspector General. The Inspector General written by independents, republican and democrat citizens was far to superior to the one that was swiped by the democrats, and bastardized to the point of a blank piece of paper….however, since the Lt. Gov is a real do nothing job…does that mean that John Carney has been sitting on his hands these last years..waiting his turn at the Gov?
He may have been sitting on ONE hand while giving us all the finger.
Mr. Adams has been a road block to many good things in Delaware and needs to move on.
Sad to say the GOP leadership in the Senate supported Adams as the leader. There has been no move to go through or around him.
Yes, the next Governor needs to make it very clear the Senate Pro Tem is not the most powerful office in the state. For now, the state senators need to stand up and be counted.