Georgia Constitution of 1877

(as ratified by Georgia voters in December 1877)

ARTICLE V.

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT.

SECTION I.

Paragraph I. The officers of the Executive Department shall consist of a Governor, Secretary of State, Comptroller General, and Treasurer.

Par. II. The Executive power shall be vested in a Governor, who shall hold his office during the term of two years, and until his successor shall be chosen and qualified. He shall not be eligible to re-election, after the expiration of a second term, for the period of four years. He shall have a salary of three thousand dollars per annum, (until otherwise provided by a law passed by a two-thirds vote of both branches of the General Assembly) which shall not be increased or diminished during the period for which he shall have been elected; nor shall he receive, within that time, any other emolument from the United States, or either of them, or from any foreign power. But this reduction of salary shall not apply to the present term of the present Governor.

Par. III. The first election for Governor, under this Constitution, shall be held on the first Wednesday in October, 1880, and the Governor-elect shall be installed in office at the next session of the General Assembly. An election shall take place biennially thereafter, on said day, until another date be fixed by the General Assembly. Said election shall be held at the places of holding general elections in the several counties of this State, in the manner prescribed for the election of members of the General Assembly, and the electors shall be the same.

Par. IV. The returns for every election of Governor shall be sealed up by the managers, separately from other returns, and directed to the President of the Senate and Speaker of the House of Representatives, and transmitted to the Secretary of State, who shall, without opening said returns, cause the same to be laid before the Senate on the day after the two houses shall have been organized, and they shall be transmitted by the Senate to the House of Representatives.

Par. V. The members of each branch of the General Assembly shall convene in the Representative Hall, and the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, shall open and publish the returns in the presence and under the direction of the General Assembly; and the person having the majority of the whole number of votes, shall be declared duly elected Governor of this State; but, if no person shall have such majority, then from the two persons having the highest number of votes, who shall be in life, and shall not decline an election at the time appointed for the General Assembly to elect, the General Assembly shall, immediately, elect a Governor viva voce; and in all cases of election of a Governor by the General Assembly a majority of the members present shall be necessary to a choice.

Par. VI. Contested elections shall be determined by both Houses of the General Assembly, in such manner as shall be prescribed by law.

Par. VII. No person shall be eligible to the office of Governor who shall not have been a citizen of the United States fifteen years, and a citizen of the State six years, and who shall not have attained the age of thirty years.

Par VIII. In case of the death, resignation, or disability of the Governor, the, President, of the Senate shall exercise the executive powers of the government until such disability be removed, or a successor is elected and qualified. And in case of the death, resignation or disability of the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall exercise the executive powers of the government, until the removal of the disability, or the election and qualification of a Governor.

Par. IX. The General Assembly shall have power to provide by law, for filling unexpired terms by special election.

Par. X. The Governor shall, before he enters on the duties of his office, take the following oath or affirmation " I do solemnly swear (or affirm as the case may be) that I will faithfully execute the office of Governor of the State of Georgia, and will, to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution thereof, and the Constitution of the United States of America."

Par. XI. The Governor shall be commander-in-chief of the army and navy of this State, and of the militia thereof.

Par. XII. He shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons, to commute penalties, remove disabilities imposed by law, and to remit any part of a sentence for offenses against the State, after conviction, except in cases of treason and impeachment, subject to such regulations as may be provided by law relative to the manner of applying for pardons. Upon conviction for treason, he may suspend the execution of the sentence and report the case to the General Assembly at the next meeting thereof, when the General Assembly shall either pardon, commute the sentence, direct its execution, or grant a further reprieve. He shall, at each session of the General Assembly, communicate to that body each case of reprieve, pardon or commutation granted, stating the name of the convict, the offense of which he was convicted, the sentence and its date, the date of the reprieve, pardon or commutation, and the reasons for granting the same. He shall take care that the laws are faithfully executed, and shall be a conservator of the peace throughout the State.

Par. XIII. He shall issue writs of election to fill all vacancies that may happen in the Senate or House of Representatives, and shall give the General Assembly, from time to time, information of the state of the Commonwealth, and recommend to their consideration such measures as he may deem necessary or expedient. He shall have power to convoke the General Assembly on extraordinary occasions, but no law shall be enacted at called sessions of the General Assembly except such as shall relate to the object stated in his proclamation convening them.

Par. XIV. When any office shall become vacant, by death, resignation, or otherwise, the Governor shall have power to fill such vacancy, unless otherwise provided by law; and persons so appointed shall continue in office until successor is commissioned, agreeably to the mode pointed out by this Constitution, or by law in pursuance thereof.

Par. XV. A person once rejected by the Senate shall not be re-appointed by the Governor to the same office during the same session, or the recess thereafter.

Par. XVI. The Governor shall have the revision of all bills passed by the General Assembly, before the same shall become laws, but two-thirds of each House may pass a law, notwithstanding his dissent; and if any bill should not be returned by the Governor within five days (Sunday excepted) after it has been presented to him, the same shall be a law; unless the General Assembly, by their adjournment, shall prevent its return. He may approve any appropriation, and disapprove any other appropriation, in the same bill, and the latter shall not be effectual, unless passed by two-thirds of each House.

Par. XVII. Every vote, resolution, or order, to which the concurrence of both Houses may be necessary, except on a question of election, or adjournment, shall be presented to the Governor, and before it shall take effect be approved by him, or, being disapproved, shall be repassed by two-thirds of each House.

Par. XVIII. He may require information, in writing, from the officers in the Executive Department on any subject relating to the duties of their respective offices. It shall be the duty of the Governor, quarterly, and oftener if he deems it expedient, to examine, under oath, the Treasurer and Comptroller General of the State on all matters pertaining to their respective offices, and to inspect and review their books and accounts. The General Assembly shall have authority to provide by law for the suspension of either of said officers from the discharge of the duties of his office, and, also for the appointment of a suitable person to discharge the duties of the same.

Par. XIX. The Governor shall have power to appoint his own secretaries, not exceeding two in number, and to provide such other clerical force as may be required in his office, but the total cost for secretaries and clerical force in his office shall not exceed six thousand dollars per annum.

SECTION II.

Paragraph I. The Secretary of State, Comptroller General and Treasurer shall be elected by the persons qualified to vote for members of the General Assembly, at the same time and in the same manner as the Governor. The provisions of the Constitution as to the transmission of the returns of election, counting the votes, declaring the result, deciding when there is no election and when there is a contested election, applicable to the election of Governor, shall apply to the election of Secretary of State, Comptroller General and Treasurer; they shall be commissioned by the Governor and hold their offices for the same time as the Governor.

Par. II. The salary of the Treasurer shall not exceed two thousand dollars per annum. The clerical expenses of his Department shall not exceed sixteen hundred dollars per annum.

Par. III. The salary of the Secretary of State shall not exceed two thousand dollars per annum, and the clerical expenses of his Department shall not exceed one thousand dollars per annum.

Par. IV. The salary of the Comptroller General shall not exceed two thousand dollars per annum. The clerical expenses of his department, including the Insurance Department and Wild Land Clerk, shall not exceed four thousand dollars per annum and without said clerk it shall not exceed three thousand dollars per annum.

Par. V. The Treasurer shall not be allowed, directly or indirectly, to receive any fee, interest or reward from any person, bank or corporation, for the deposit or use, in any manner, of the public funds; and the General Assembly shall enforce this provision by suitable penalties.

Par. VI. No person shall be eligible to the office of Secretary of State, Comptroller General, or Treasurer, unless he shall have been a citizen of the United States for ten years, and shall have resided in this State for six years next preceding his election, and shall be twenty-five years of age when elected. All of said officers shall give bond and security, under regulations to be prescribed by law, for the faithful discharge of their duties.

Par. VII. The Secretary of State, the Comptroller General, and the Treasurer, shall not be allowed any fee, perquisite, or compensation, other than their salaries, as prescribed by law, except their necessary expenses, when absent from the seat of government on business for the State.

SECTION III.

Paragraph I. The Great Seal of the State, shall be deposited in the office of the Secretary of State, and shall not be affixed to any instrument of writing except by order of the Governor, or General Assembly, and that now in use shall be the Great Seal of the State until otherwise provided by law.

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