Walker would be governor, not just acting governor, if Leavitt departs

Lt. Gov. Olene Walker will become governor — not just acting governor — if Gov. Mike Leavitt wins confirmation as Environmental Protection Agency chief.

That's according to a legal opinion issued Monday by Attorney General Mark Shurtleff, who said Walker as governor also could appoint someone to replace her as lieutenant governor — a political plus if the appointee has gubernatorial aspirations.

Shurtleff said the only difference between governor and acting governor is a governor can appoint a lieutenant governor. An acting governor cannot do that, but still would have all the other powers of the governor's office.

"It's really not much of a distinction at all," Shurtleff said of the two titles. He spoke at a news conference while Walker was out of the Capitol visiting state agency heads.

Shurtleff's five-page opinion also means Walker won't have to work two jobs at once, governor and lieutenant governor.

As governor, she could skip appointing someone as lieutenant governor, but is expected to fill the post. If she appoints one of the handful of GOP gubernatorial hopefuls, that person would gain an advantage in the race for the party's 2004 nomination.

The Republican Walker has not said whether she would seek her party's nomination in 2004.

Shurtleff said he offered to clarify the line of succession after Utah legislators asked him about it. Never before in Utah history has a lieutenant governor taken over as governor, he said.

Some legislators worried that a Gov. Walker would be able to appoint a lieutenant governor who never got elected to any office, and who might become governor if Walker, 72, had to leave the office before January 2004.

"When the office of governor becomes vacant, the lieutenant governor becomes governor, period — not just acting governor," said Shurtleff. His opinion isn't binding, but he doubted anyone would challenge it at the Utah Supreme Court.

Leavitt's third term expires at the end of 2004. He is expected to go before Senate confirmation hearings within a month as a candidate for EPA administrator.

Walker also asked Shurtleff for the legal opinion. On a tour of state agencies Monday, she wasn't available for a reaction. She had predicted, though, that Shurtleff would find that she gets the title of governor.