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Thursday, August 04, 2005

Ind. Gov't. - Indiana governor's residency requirement, as contrasted with New York's

Remember the flap about the Indiana governor's residence? (If not, see this 2/11/05 entry titled "The Governor shall reside in the 'seat of government'" and this 2/12/05 follow-up.)

The short of it was that Governor Daniels had hoped to build and live in a "dream home in Carmel" within the next few years, but put plans on hold when reminded that the Indiana Constitution requires that the governor reside in the "seat of government."

Well, not so in the State of New York, if you read this story yesterday in the NY Times, headlined "Remember New York's Capital? Forget It." Some quotes:

ALBANY, Aug. 2 - The sign on the Thruway here says "Welcome to Albany, Capital of New York State." And, sure enough, Section 1-A of the Consolidated Laws of New York State spells it out in plain enough English: "The capital city of the state of New York is hereby designated to be the city of Albany."

But the casual observer could be forgiven for wondering whether Albany, where the halls of power are pretty empty these tranquil summer days, is really the state capital. Gov. George E. Pataki, after all, has left the Governor's Mansion here, preferring to live in his home in Garrison, a good hundred miles to the south. * * *

Sure, the State Legislature still convenes here, as it has since 1797. But the Legislature is still officially part time, and its session ended in June after 67 working days in Albany. * * *

Assemblyman John J. McEneny, a Democrat who represents Albany and was once its county historian, said that things began to change with the opening of the New York State Thruway in 1954. Before that, he said, travel took so long that people tended to stay in Albany for the whole legislative session. (Now, the legislative session ends most weeks on Wednesdays, which are known as "getaway days," when lawmakers tend to hit the Thruway or the airport to return to their districts.)

When Governor Pataki proposed moving several thousand state workers to old I.B.M. offices in the Hudson Valley early in his term, Assemblyman McEneny fought back with a 1797 law that stated that fiscal records must be kept in Albany. "It's important that you have a capital where people rub elbows all the time," he said.

But New York apparently does not have a "the governor shall reside in the seat of government" provision. Rather, it has, according to my review of the New York Constitution, a much less demanding provision at the end of Article 4, Sec. 3:
The governor shall receive for his or her services an annual salary to be fixed by joint resolution of the senate and assembly, and there shall be provided for his or her use a suitable and furnished executive residence.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on August 4, 2005 07:52 AM
Posted to Indiana Government