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Concerning the Executive Department.
Section 1. The supreme executive power of the Commonwealth shall be vested in a chief magistrate, who shall be styled the Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
Section 2. The Governor shall be elected for the term of four years, by the qualified voters of the State, at the time when and places where they shall, respectively, vote for Representatives. The person having the highest number of votes shall be Governor; but if two or more shall be equal and highest in votes, the election shall be determined by lot, in such manner as the General Assembly may direct.
Section 3. The Governor shall be ineligible for the succeeding four years after the expiration of the term for which he shall have been elected.
Section 4. He shall be at least thirty-five years of age, and a citizen of the United States, and have been an inhabitant of this State at least six years next preceding his election.
Section 5. He shall commence the execution of the duties of his office on the fifth Tuesday succeeding the day of the general election on which he shall have been chosen, and shall continue in the execution thereof until his successor shall have taken the oaths or affirmations prescribed by this Constitution.
Section 6. No member of Congress, or person holding any office under the United States, or minister of any religious society, shall be eligible to the office of Governor.
Section 7. The Governor shall, at stated times, receive for his services a compensation, which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the term for which he was elected.
Section 8. He shall be commander-in-chief of the army and navy of this Commonwealth, and of the militia thereof, except when they shall be called into the service of the United States; but he shall not command personally in the field, unless advised so to do by a resolution of the General Assembly.
Section 9. He shall have power to fill vacancies that may occur, by granting commissions, which shall expire when such vacancies shall have been filled according to the provisions of this Constitution.
Section 10. He shall have power to remit fines and forfeitures, grant reprieves and pardons, except in cases of impeachment. In cases of treason, he shall have power to grant reprieves until the end of the next session of the General Assembly, in which the power of pardoning shall be vested; but lie shall have no power to remit the fees of the clerk, sheriff, or Commonwealth's Attorney, in penal or criminal cases.
Section 11. He may require information, in writing, from the officers in the executive department, upon any subject relating to the duties of their respective offices.
Section 12. He shall, from time to time, give to the General Assembly information of the state of the Commonwealth, and recommend to their consideration such measures as he may deem expedient.
Section 13. He may, on extraordinary occasions, convene the General Assembly at the Seat of Government, or at a different place, if that should have become, since their last adjournment, dangerous from an enemy or from contagious disorders; and in case of disagreement between the two Houses with respect to the time of adjournment; he may adjourn them to such time as he shall think proper, not exceeding four months.
Section 14. He shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed.
Section 15. A Lieutenant-Governor shall be chosen at every regular election for Governor, in the same manner, to continue in office for the same time, and possess the same qualifications as the Governor. In voting for Governor and Lieutenant-Governor, the electors shall state for whom they vote as Governor, and for whom as Lieutenant-Governor.
Section 16. He shall, by virtue of his office, be Speaker of the Senate; have a right, when in committee of the whole, to debate and vote on all subjects, and when the Senate are equally divided, to give the casting vote.
Section 17. Should the Governor be impeached, removed from office, die, refuse to qualify, resign, or be absent from the State, the Lieutenant-Governor shall exercise all the power and authority appertaining to the office of Governor, until another be duly elected and qualified, or the Governor absent or impeached shall return or be acquitted.
Section 18. Whenever the Government shall be administered by the Lieutenant-Governor, or he shall fail to attend as Speaker of the Senate, the Senators shall elect one of their own members as speaker for that occasion. Anal if, during the vacancy of the office of Governor, the Lieutenant-Governor shall be impeached, removed from office, refuse to qualify, resign, die, or be absent from the State, the Speaker of the Senate shall, in like manner, administer the Government
Provided, That whenever a vacancy shall occur in the office of Governor before the first two years of the term shall have expired, a new election for Governor shall take place to fill such vacancy.
Section 19. The Lieutenant-Governor, or Speaker pro tempore of the Senate, while he acts as Speaker of the Senate, shall receive for his services the same compensation which shall, for the same period, be allowed to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and no more; and during the time he administers the government as Governor, shall receive the same compensation which the Governor would have received had he been employed in the duties of his office.
Section 20. If the Lieutenant-Governor shall be called upon to administer the Government, and shall, while in such administration, resign, die, or be absent from the State during the recess of the General Assembly, it shall be the duty of the Secretary of State, for the time being, to convene the Senate for the purpose of choosing a Speaker.
Section 21. The Governor shall nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, appoint a Secretary of State, who shall be commissioned during the term for which the Governor was elected, if he shall so long behave himself well. He shall keep a fair register, and attest all the official acts of the Governor, and shall, when required, lay the same, and all papers, minutes, and vouchers relative thereto, before either House of the General Assembly, and shall perform such other duties as may be required of him by law.
Section 22. Every bill which shall have passed both Houses shall be presented to the Governor. If he approves, he shall sign it; but if not, he shall return it, with his objections to the House in which it originated, who shall enter the objections at large upon their journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If, after such reconsideration, a majority of all the members elected to that House shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent, with the objections, to the other House, by which it shall likewise be considered, and if approved by a majority of all the members elected to that House, it shall be a law, but in such cases, the votes of both Houses shall be determined by yeas and nays, and the names of the members voting for and against the bill, shall be entered upon the journals of each House respectively. If any bill shall not be returned by the Governor, within ten days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, it shall be a law in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the General Assembly, by their adjournment, prevent its return; in which case it shall be a law, unless sent back within three days after their next meeting.
Section 23. Every order, resolution, or vote, in which the concurrence of both Houses may be necessary, except on a question of adjournment, shall be presented to the Governor, and, before it shall take effect, be approved by him; or, being disapproved, shall be re-passed by a majority of all the members elected to both Houses, according to the rules and limitations prescribed in case of a bill.
Section 24. Contested elections for Governor and Lieutenant-Governor shall be determined by both Houses of the General Assembly, according to such regulations as may be established by law.
Section 25. A Treasurer shall be elected by the qualified voters of the State for the term of two years; and an Auditor of Public Accounts, Register of the Land Office, and Attorney General, for the term of four years. The duties and responsibilities of these officers shall be prescribed by law: Provided, That inferior State officers, not specially provided for in this Constitution, may be appointed or elected in such manner as shall be prescribed by law, for a term not exceeding four years.
Section 26. The first election under this Constitution for Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, Treasurer, Auditor of Public Accounts, Register of the Land Office, and Attorney-General, shall be held on the first Monday in August in the year 1851.
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