(Radio Iowa) – A proposed constitutional amendment on this year’s Iowa ballot would clarify the line of succession at the top of state government.
Seven years ago, Kim Reynolds became governor when Terry Branstad resigned, but Iowa’s attorney general at the time said his reading of the constitution indicated Reynolds was becoming acting governor and didn’t have the power to select a new lieutenant governor.
The proposed amendment says a lieutenant governor who takes over in the middle of an elected governor’s term has authority to appoint a new lieutenant governor. Some Democrats have raised concerns, arguing a new lieutenant governor who’s not been elected should be confirmed by a vote of the state legislature.
