Article 5. - Executive.
Section 1. The executive power of the State shall be vested in a Governor. He shall hold his office during four years, and shall not be eligible more than eight years in any period of twelve years.
(History: As Amended November 7, 1972).
Section 2. There shall be a Lieutenant Governor, who shall hold his
office during four years.
Section 3. The Governor and Lieutenant Governor shall be elected
at the times and places of choosing members of the General Assembly.
Section 4. Each candidate for Lieutenant Governor shall run jointly
in the general election with a candidate for Governor, and his name
shall appear jointly on the ballot with the candidate for Governor. Each
vote cast for a candidate for Governor shall be considered cast for the
candidate for Lieutenant Governor as well. The candidate for
Lieutenant Governor whose name appears on the ballot jointly with that
of the successful candidate for Governor shall be elected Lieutenant
Governor.
(History: As Amended November 5, 1974).
Section 5. In the event of a tie vote, the Governor and Lieutenant
Governor shall be elected from the candidates having received the tie
vote by the affirmative vote in joint session of a majority of the
combined membership of both Houses as the first order of business
after their organization.
(History: As Amended November 5, 1974).
Section 6. Contested elections for Governor or Lieutenant Governor,
shall be determined by the General Assembly, in such manner as may
be prescribed by law.
Section 7. No person shall be eligible to the office of Governor or
Lieutenant Governor, who shall not have been five years a citizen of
the United States, and also a resident of the State of Indiana during the
five years next preceding his election; nor shall any person be eligible
to either of the said offices, who shall not have attained the age of thirty
years.
Section 8. No member of Congress, or person holding any office
under the United States or under this State, shall fill the office of
Governor or Lieutenant Governor.
Section 9. The official term of the Governor and Lieutenant
Governor shall commence on the second Monday of January, in the
year one thousand eight hundred and fifty-three; and on the same day
every fourth year thereafter.
Section 10. (a) In case the Governor-elect fails to assume office,
or in case of the death or resignation of the Governor or the
Governor's removal from office, the Lieutenant Governor shall
become Governor and hold office for the unexpired term of the
person whom the Lieutenant Governor succeeds. In case the
Governor is unable to discharge the powers and duties of the office,
the Lieutenant Governor shall discharge the powers and duties of the
office as Acting Governor.
(b) Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of Lieutenant
Governor, the Governor shall nominate a Lieutenant Governor who
shall take office upon confirmation by a majority vote in each house
of the General Assembly and hold office for the unexpired term of
the previous Lieutenant Governor. If the General Assembly is not in
session, the Governor shall call it into special session to receive and
act upon the Governor's nomination. In the event of the inability of
the Lieutenant Governor to discharge the powers and duties of the
office, the General Assembly may provide by law for the manner in
which a person shall be selected to act in the Lieutenant Governor's
place and declare which powers and duties of the office such person
shall discharge.
(c) Whenever the Governor transmits to the President pro tempore
of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives the
Governor's written declaration that the Governor is unable to
discharge the powers and duties of the office, and until the Governor
transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary, such powers
and duties shall be discharged by the Lieutenant Governor as Acting
Governor. Thereafter, when the Governor transmits to the President
pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of
Representatives the Governor's written declaration that no inability
exists, the Governor shall resume the powers and duties of the office.
(d) Whenever the President pro tempore of the Senate and the
Speaker of the House of Representatives file with the Supreme Court
a written statement suggesting that the Governor is unable to
discharge the powers and duties of the office, the Supreme Court
shall meet within forty-eight hours to decide the question and such
decision shall be final. Thereafter, whenever the Governor files with
the Supreme Court the Governor's written declaration that no
inability exists, the Supreme Court shall meet within forty-eight
hours to decide whether such be the case and such decision shall be
final. Upon a decision that no inability exists, the Governor shall
resume the powers and duties of the office.
(e) Whenever there is a vacancy in both the office of Governor
and Lieutenant Governor, the General Assembly shall convene in
joint session forty-eight hours after such occurrence and elect a
Governor from and of the same political party as the immediately
past Governor by a majority vote of each house. If either house of the
General Assembly is unable to assemble a quorum of its members
because of vacancies in the membership of that house, the General
Assembly shall convene not later than forty-eight hours after a
sufficient number of the vacancies are filled to provide a quorum of
members for that house.
(f) An individual holding one (1) of the following offices shall discharge the powers and duties of the governor if the office of governor and the office of lieutenant governor are both vacant, in the order listed:
(1) The speaker of the house of representatives.
(2) The president pro tempore of the senate, if the office described in subdivision (1) is vacant.
(3) The treasurer of state, if the offices described in subdivisions (1) and (2) are vacant.
(4) The auditor of state, if the offices described in subdivisions (1) through (3) are vacant.
(5) The secretary of state, if the offices described in subdivisions (1) through (4) are vacant.
(6) The state superintendent of public instruction, if the offices described in subdivisions (1) through (5) are vacant.
(g) An individual's authority to discharge the governor's powers and duties under subsection (f) ends when the general assembly fills the office of governor under this section.
(History: As Amended November 7, 1978; November 2, 2004).
Section 11. Whenever the Lieutenant Governor shall act as
Governor, or shall be unable to attend as President of the Senate, the
Senate shall elect one of its own members as President for the
occasion.
Section 12. The Governor shall be commander-in-chief of the
armed forces, and may call out such forces, to execute the laws, or
to suppress insurrection, or to repel invasion.
(History: As Amended November 6, 1984).
Section 13. The Governor shall, from time to time, give to the
General Assembly information touching the condition of the State,
and recommend such measures as he shall judge to be expedient.
(History: As Amended November 6, 1984).
Section 14. (a) Every bill which shall have passed the General
Assembly shall be presented to the Governor. The Governor shall
have seven days after the day of presentment to act upon such bill as
follows:
(1) He may sign it, in which event it shall become a law.
(2) He may veto it:
(A) In the event of a veto while the General Assembly is in
session, he shall return such bill, with his objections, within
seven days of presentment, to the House in which it originated.
If the Governor does not return the bill within seven days of
presentment, the bill becomes a law notwithstanding the veto.
(B) If the Governor returns the bill under clause (A), the House
in which the bill originated shall enter the Governor's objections
at large upon its journals and proceed to reconsider and vote
upon whether to approve the bill. The bill must be reconsidered
and voted upon within the time set out in clause (C). If, after
such reconsideration and vote, a majority of all the members
elected to that House shall approve the bill, it shall be sent, with
the Governor's objections, to the other House, by which it shall
likewise be reconsidered and voted upon, and, if approved by
a majority of all the members elected to that House, it shall be
a law.
(C) If the Governor returns the bill under clause (A), the
General Assembly shall reconsider and vote upon the approval
of the bill before the final adjournment of the next regular
session of the General Assembly that follows the regular or
special session in which the bill was originally passed. If the
House in which the bill originated does not approve the bill
under clause (B), the other House is not required to reconsider
and vote upon the approval of the bill. If, after voting, either
House fails to approve the bill within this time, the veto is
sustained.
(D) In the event of a veto after final adjournment of a session of
the General Assembly, such bill shall be returned by the
Governor to the House in which it originated on the first day
that the General Assembly is in session after such adjournment,
which House shall proceed in the same manner as with a bill
vetoed before adjournment. The bill must be reconsidered and
voted upon within the time set out in clause (C). If such bill is
not so returned, it shall be a law notwithstanding such veto.
(3) He may refuse to sign or veto such bill in which event it shall
become a law without his signature on the eighth day after
presentment to the Governor.
(b) Every bill presented to the Governor which is signed by him
or on which he fails to act within said seven days after presentment
shall be filed with the Secretary of State within ten days of
presentment. The failure to so file shall not prevent such a bill from
becoming a law.
(c) In the event a bill is passed over the Governor's veto, such bill
shall be filed with the Secretary of State without further presentment
to the Governor, provided that, in the event of such passage over the
Governor's veto in the next succeeding General Assembly, the
passage shall be deemed to have been the action of the General
Assembly which initially passed such bill.
(History: As Amended November 7, 1972; November 6, 1990).
Section 15. The Governor shall transact all necessary business
with the officers of government, and may require information in
writing from the officers of the administrative department, upon any
subject relating to the duties of their respective offices.
Section 16. The Governor shall take care that the laws are
faithfully executed.
(History: As Amended November 6, 1984).
Section 17. The Governor may grant reprieves, commutations, and pardons, after conviction, for all offenses except treason and cases of impeachment, subject to such regulations as may be provided by law. Upon conviction for treason, the Governor may suspend the execution of the sentence, until the case has been reported to the General Assembly, at its next meeting, when the General Assembly shall either grant a pardon, commute the sentence, direct the execution of the sentence, or grant a further reprieve. The Governor may remit fines and forfeitures, under such regulations as may be provided by law; and shall report to the General Assembly, at its next meeting, each case of reprieve, commutation, or pardon granted, and also the names of all persons in whose favor remission of fines and forfeitures were made, and the several amounts remitted; provided, however, the General Assembly may, by law, constitute a council composed of officers of State, without whose advice and consent the Governor may not grant pardons, in any case, except those left to his sole power by law.
(History: As Amended November 6, 1984).
Section 18. When, during a recess of the General Assembly, a
vacancy shall happen in any office, the appointment to which is
vested in the General Assembly; or when, at any time, a vacancy
shall have occurred in any other State office, or in the office of Judge
of any Court; the Governor shall fill such vacancy, by appointment,
which shall expire, when a successor shall have been elected and
qualified.
Section 19.
(Repealed November 6, 1984).
Section 20. Should the seat of government become dangerous
from disease or a common enemy, the Governor may convene the
General Assembly at any other place.
(History: As Amended November 6, 1984).
Section 21. The Lieutenant Governor shall, by virtue of his office,
be President of the Senate; have a right, when in committee of the
whole, to join in debate, and to vote on all subjects; and, whenever
the Senate shall be equally divided, he shall give the casting vote.
Section 22. The Governor shall, at stated times, receive for his
services a compensation, which shall neither be increased nor
diminished, during the term for which he shall have been elected.
Section 23. The Lieutenant Governor, while he shall act as
President of the Senate, shall receive, for his services, the same
compensation as the Speaker of the House of Representatives; and
any person, acting as Governor, shall receive the compensation
attached to the office of Governor.
Section 24. Neither the Governor nor Lieutenant Governor shall be eligible to any other office, during the term for which he shall have been elected.
