Long wait for new lieutenant governor

As if not knowing when he'll become governor wasn't making it difficult enough to plan for Lt. Gov. Gary Herbert's inauguration, there's also the question of when his No. 2 will take office.

The same new constitutional amendment that will force Herbert to run next year for the remainder of Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.'s term requires that Herbert's pick for lieutenant governor be confirmed by the state Senate.

That means it could be weeks after Huntsman resigns to become U.S. ambassador to China and Herbert is sworn in to replace him before the state officially has a new lieutenant governor.

"The sooner the better," said Joe Demma, Herbert's chief of staff, noting that in Utah, the lieutenant governor also fills the role of secretary of state. "We can't afford too big a delay."

Huntsman, who has already turned over his public duties to Herbert, has said he'll step down once the U.S. Senate confirms his nomination as ambassador to China. That could happen before Congress recesses in August.

Herbert is staying busy sorting through the many candidates for his lieutenant governor who have surfaced since President Barack Obama announced Huntsman's nomination in mid-May. It has not been decided when Herbert will make his pick public, Demma said.

And it's not clear when that person would take office, because of a new constitutional amendment on succession, passed by voters last year to clear up questions raised when former Gov. Mike Leavitt stepped down in 2003 to take a cabinet post under President George W. Bush.

Leavitt made his resignation official at the inauguration of his successor, Olene Walker. At the same ceremony, Gayle McKeachnie was sworn in as Walker's lieutenant governor.

Attorneys for the Legislature say Herbert can't nominate someone to take his place until he's been sworn in as governor. He would then have to call the state Senate into a special session to consider the nomination.

How long would it take the state Senate to act? That depends on whether senators hold a confirmation hearing on the nominee before they vote, as they do for judges and other gubernatorial appointments.

"The replacement for the lieutenant-governor slot needs to have some sort of process where this person is vetted. It won't have been through an election," said Sen. Steve Urquhart, R-St. George, who sponsored the constitutional amendment.

Senate Majority Leader Sheldon Killpack, R-Syracuse, said holding a confirmation hearing is important. "You're dealing with a pretty significant office. If anything were to happen to the governor, you'd be dealing with your next governor," he said.