For those of you following along with the politcal musical chairs following the death last week of Hawaii’s senior U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye, today Hawaii Governor Neil Abercrombie appointed his Lieutenant Governor, Brian Schatz, as the the temporary Senator to occupy the seat pending the selection by the voters in 2014 of a permanent replacement to serve out Senator Inouye’s term.
This leaves the office of Hawaii Lieutenant Governor vacant, so what’s next?
The Hawaii Constitution does not establish rules of succession, and provides only that “[w]hen the office of lieutenant governor isvacant … such powers and dutiesshall devolve upon such officers in such order of succession as may be providedby law.” See Haw. Const. art. V, § 4.
Section 26-2 of the Hawaii Revised Statutes sets out the order, and the next person in line is the President of the Hawaii Senate:
(a) When the office of lieutenantgovernor is vacant by reason of the lieutenant governor’s becoming governor, orthe lieutenant governor’s failure to qualify, or the lieutenant governor’sremoval from office, death, resignation, or otherwise, the powers and duties ofthe office of lieutenant governor shall devolve upon the president of thesenate; or, if there is none or upon the president’s failure to resign promptlyfrom all legislative offices held by the president, then upon the speaker ofthe house of representatives; or if there is none or upon the speaker’s failureto resign promptly from all legislative offices held by the speaker, then uponthe attorney general, the director of finance, the comptroller, the director oftaxation, and the director of human resources development in the order named;provided that any officer upon whom the powers and duties of the office oflieutenant governor devolve may decline the powers and duties without theofficer’s resignation from the office by virtue of the holding of which theofficer qualifies to act as lieutenant governor, in which event the powers andduties will devolve upon the next officer listed in the order of succession.
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 26-2. The appointment of the Lt. Governor to another office looks like an “or otherwise” situation, and it’s up to the current Hawaii Senate President to “resign promptly.” And so on.