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sHB5219 / File No. 182 1
General Assembly File No. 182
February Session, 2026 Substitute House Bill No. 5219
House of Representatives, March 26, 2026
The Committee on Government Administration and Elections
reported through REP. BLUMENTHAL of the 147th Dist.,
Chairperson of the Committee on the part of the House, that the
substitute bill ought to pass.
AN ACT CONCERNING THE ORDER OF GUBERNATORIAL
SUCCESSION UNDER CERTAIN PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY
CIRCUMSTANCES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) ( Effective October 1, 2026 ) (a) In case of the death, 1
resignation, refusal to serve or removal from the office of Governor and: 2
(1) There is a vacancy in the office of Lieutenant Governor such that 3
no person is able to succeed to the office of Governor in accordance with 4
subsection a. of article twenty -second of the amendments to the 5
Constitution of the state, and there is a vacancy in the office of president 6
pro tempore of the Senate due to the Senate not electing one of its 7
members president pro tempore in accordance with section 19 or 20 of 8
article fourth of the Constitution of the state such that no person is able 9
to succeed to the office of Lieutenant Governor in accordance with 10
section 19 of article fourth of the Constitution of the state, the speaker of 11
the House of Representatives shall, upon taking the oath of office of 12
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Governor, be Governor of the state until another is chosen at the next 13
regular election for Governor and is duly qualified; 14
(2) In addition to the vacancies set forth in subdivision (1) of this 15
subsection, (A) there is a vacancy in the office of speaker of the House 16
of Representatives, (B) the speaker of the House of Representatives 17
refuses to take the oath of office of Governor or is unable to take such 18
oath due to absence from the state, or (C) the speaker of the House of 19
Representatives is ineligible for the office of Governor or otherwise 20
unable to serve in such capacity, the Treasurer shall, upon taking the 21
oath of office of Governor, be Governor of the state until another is 22
chosen at the next regular election for Governor and is duly qualified; 23
(3) In addition to the vacancies set forth in subdivisions (1) and (2) of 24
this subsection and any refusal or absence described in subdivision (2) 25
of this subsection, (A) there is a vacancy in the office of Treasurer, (B) 26
the Treasurer refuses to take the oath of office of Governor or is unable 27
to take such oath due to absence from the state, or (C) the Treasurer is 28
ineligible for the office of Governor or otherwise unable to serve in such 29
capacity, the Secretary of the State shall, upon taking the oath of office 30
of Governor, be Governor of the state until another is chosen at the next 31
regular election for Governor and is duly qualified; 32
(4) In addition to the vacancies set forth in subdivisions (1) to (3), 33
inclusive, of this subsection and any refusals or absences described in 34
subdivisions (2) and (3) of this subsection, (A) there is a vacancy in the 35
office of Secretary of the State, (B) the Secretary of the State refuses to 36
take the oath of office of Governor or is unable to take such oath due to 37
absence from the state, or (C) the Secretary of the State is ineligible for 38
the office of Governor or otherwise unable to serve in such capacity, the 39
Comptroller shall, upon taking the oath of office of Governor, be 40
Governor of the state until another is chosen at the next regular election 41
for Governor and is duly qualified; 42
(5) In addition to the vacancies set forth in subdivisions (1) to (4), 43
inclusive, of this subsection and any refusals or absences described in 44
subdivisions (2) to (4), inclusive, of this subsection, (A) there is a vacancy 45
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in the office of Comptroller, (B) the Comptroller refuses to take the oath 46
of office of Governor or is unable to take such oath due to absence from 47
the state, or (C) the Comptroller is ineligible for the office of Governor 48
or otherwise unable to serve in such capacity, the Attorney General 49
shall, upon taking the oath of office of Governor, be Governor of the 50
state until another is chosen at the next regular election for Governor 51
and is duly qualified; 52
(6) In addition to the vacancies set forth in subdivisions (1) to (5), 53
inclusive, of this subsection and any refusals or absences described in 54
subdivisions (2) to (5), inclusive, of this subsection, (A) there is a vacancy 55
in the office of Attorney General, (B) the Attorney General refuses to 56
take the oath of office of Governor or is unable to take such oath due to 57
absence from the state, or (C) the Attorney General is ineligible for the 58
office of Governor or otherwise unable to serve in such capacity, the 59
majority leader of the Senate shall, upon taking the oath of office of 60
Governor, be Governor of the state until another is chosen at the next 61
regular election for Governor and is duly qualified; and 62
(7) In addition to the vacancies set forth in subdivisions (1) to (6), 63
inclusive, of this subsection and any refusals or absences described in 64
subdivisions (2) to (6), inclusive, of this subsection (A) there is a vacancy 65
in the office of majority leader of the Senate, (B) the majority leader of 66
the Senate refuses to take the oath of office of Governor or is unable to 67
take such oath due to absence from the state, or (C) the majority leader 68
of the Senate is ineligible for the office of Governor or otherwise unable 69
to serve in such capacity, the majority leader of the House of 70
Representatives shall, upon taking the oath of office of Governor, be 71
Governor of the state until another is chosen at the next regular election 72
for Governor and is duly qualified. 73
(b) In case of the impeachment of the Governor or of the Governor's 74
absence from the state, and: 75
(1) There is a vacancy in the office of Lieutenant Governor such that 76
no person is able to act as Governor in accordance with subsection b. of 77
article twenty -second of the amendments to the Constitution of the 78
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state, and there is a vacancy in the office of president pro tempore of the 79
Senate due to the Senate not electing one of its members president pro 80
tempore in accordance with section 19 or 20 of article fourth of the 81
Constitution of the state such that no person is able to succeed to the 82
office of Lieutenant Governor in accordance with section 19 of article 83
fourth of the Constitution of the state, the speaker of the House of 84
Representatives shall exercise the powers and authority and perform the 85
duties appertaining to the office of Governor until, if the Governor has 86
been impeached, the Governor has been acquitted or, if absent, the 87
Governor has returned; 88
(2) In addition to the vacancies set forth in subdivision (1) of this 89
subsection, (A) there is a vacancy in the office of speaker of the House 90
of Representatives, (B) the speaker of the House of Representatives 91
refuses to exercise the powers and authority and perform the duties 92
appertaining to the office of Governor or is unable to so exercise and 93
perform due to absence from the state, or (C) the speaker of the House 94
of Representatives is ineligible for the office of Governor or otherwise 95
unable to serve in such capacity, the Treasurer shall exercise the powers 96
and authority and perform the duties appertaining to the office of 97
Governor until, if the Governor has been impeached, the Governor has 98
been acquitted or, if absent, the Governor has returned; 99
(3) In addition to the vacancies set forth in subdivisions (1) and (2) of 100
this subsection and any refusal or absence described in subdivision (2) 101
of this subsection, (A) there is a vacancy in the office of Treasurer, (B) 102
the Treasurer refuses to exercise the powers and authority and perform 103
the duties appertaining to the office of Governor or is unable to so 104
exercise and perform due to absence from the state, or (C) the Treasurer 105
is ineligible for the office of Governor or otherwise unable to serve in 106
such capacity, the Secretary of the State shall exercise the powers and 107
authority and perform the duties appertaining to the office of Governor 108
until, if the Governor has been impeached, the Governor has been 109
acquitted or, if absent, the Governor has returned; 110
(4) In addition to the vacancies set forth in subdivisions (1) to (3), 111
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inclusive, of this subsection and any refusals or absences described in 112
subdivisions (2) and (3) of this subsection, (A) there is a vacancy in the 113
office of Secretary of the State, (B) the Secretary of the State refuses to 114
exercise the powers and authority and perform the duties appertaining 115
to the office of Governor or is unable to so exercise and perform due to 116
absence from the state, or (C) the Secretary of the State is ineligible for 117
the office of Governor or otherwise unable to serve in such capacity, the 118
Comptroller shall exercise the powers and authority and perform the 119
duties appertaining to the office of Governor until, if the Governor has 120
been impeached, the Governor has been acquitted or, if absent, the 121
Governor has returned; 122
(5) In addition to the vacancies set forth in subdivisions (1) to (4), 123
inclusive, of this subsection and any refusals or absences described in 124
subdivisions (2) to (4), inclusive, of this subsection, (A) there is a vacancy 125
in the office of Comptroller, (B) the Comptroller refuses to exercise the 126
powers and authority and perform the duties appertaining to the office 127
of Governor or is unable to so exercise and perform due to absence from 128
the state, or (C) the Comptroller is ineligible for the office of Governor 129
or otherwise unable to serve in such capacity, the Attorney General shall 130
exercise the powers and authority and perform the duties appertaining 131
to the office of Governor until, if the Governor has been impeached, the 132
Governor has been acquitted or, if absent, the Governor has returned; 133
(6) In addition to the vacancies set forth in subdivisions (1) to (5), 134
inclusive, of this subsection and any refusals or absences described in 135
subdivisions (2) to (5), inclusive, of this subsection, (A) there is a vacancy 136
in the office of Attorney General, (B) the Attorney General refuses to 137
exercise the powers and authority and perform the duties appertaining 138
to the office of Governor or is unable to so exercise and perform due to 139
absence from the state, or (C) the Attorney General is ineligible for the 140
office of Governor or otherwise unable to serve in such capacity, the 141
majority leader of the Senate shall exercise the powers and authority and 142
perform the duties appertaining to the office of Governor until, if the 143
Governor has been impeached, the Governor has been acquitted or, if 144
absent, the Governor has returned; and 145
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(7) In addition to the vacancies set forth in subdivisions (1) to (6), 146
inclusive, of this subsection and any refusals or absences described in 147
subdivisions (2) to (6), inclusive, of this subsection, (A) there is a vacancy 148
in the office of majority leader of the Senate, (B) the majority leader of 149
the Senate refuses to exercise the powers and authority and perform the 150
duties appertaining to the office of Governor or is unable to so exercise 151
and perform due to absence from the state, or (C) the majority leader of 152
the Senate is ineligible for the office of Governor or otherwise unable to 153
serve in such capacity, the majority leader of the House of 154
Representatives shall exercise the powers and authority and perform the 155
duties appertaining to the office of Governor until, if the Governor has 156
been impeached, the Governor has been acquitted or, if absent, the 157
Governor has returned. 158
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2026 New section
Statement of Legislative Commissioners:
In Subsec. (a)(7), "of this subsection" was added before "(A) there is a
vacancy", for consistency with standard drafting conventions.
GAE Joint Favorable Subst. -LCO
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The following Fiscal Impact Statement and Bill Analysis are prepared for the benefit of the members of
the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and explanation and do not
represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber thereof for any purpose. In general,
fiscal impacts are based upon a variety of informational sources, including the analyst’s professional
knowledge. Whenever applicable, agency data is consulted as part of the analysis, however final
products do not necessarily reflect an assessment from any specific department.
OFA Fiscal Note
State Impact: None
Municipal Impact: None
Explanation
The bill formalizes and expands the existing order of succession for
the Office of the Governor under certain conditions, resulting in no fiscal
impact to the state or municipalities.
The Out Years
State Impact: None
Municipal Impact: None
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OLR Bill Analysis
sHB 5219
AN ACT CONCERNING THE ORDER OF GUBERNATORIAL
SUCCESSION UNDER CERTAIN PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY
CIRCUMSTANCES.
SUMMARY
Under the state constitution, if the office of the governor is vacant, the
lieutenant governor, followed by the Senate president pro tempore,
exercises the governor’s power and duties. This bill establishes an
extended statutory line of gubernatorial succe ssion if the offices of
governor and lieutenant governor are vacant while there is a vacancy in
the office of the Senate president pro tempore because the Senate has
not elected a replacement as required by the constitution, leaving no one
to constitutiona lly ascend to the governor’s office (see
BACKGROUND).
Specifically, after the president pro tempore, the bill sets the
succession order as follows: (1) speaker of the House of Representatives,
(2) state treasurer, (3) secretary of the state, (4) state comptroller, (5)
attorney general, (6) Senate majority leader, and then (7) House majority
leader.
Under the bill, if all the offices earlier in the line of succession are
vacant, or in combination with earlier officers being passed over due to
an officer’s (1) refusal to take the oath of office; (2) absence from the
state; (3) ineligibility to serve as governor (for example, the person is not
yet 30 years old); or (4) other inability to serve, the next officer in line
becomes governor.
Additionally, if a vacancy occurs in the office of the governor due to
death, resignation, refusal to serve, or removal from office, as is the case
under the constitutional line of succession, upon taking the oath of
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office, the officer serves until a new governor is chosen at the next
regular election and duly qualified. Similarly, i n the case of
impeachment or the governor’s absence from the state, if the offices of
the lieutenant governor and Senate president pro tempore are vacant ,
the next officer in line, as described above, temporarily exercise s the
governor’s powers and duties until the governor has been acquitted or
has returned.
EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2026
BACKGROUND
Constitutional Line of Succession
Under the state constitution, if a permanent vacancy occurs in the
office of the governor (due to death, resignation, refusal to serve, or
removal from office), the lieutenant governor succeeds to the office,
followed by the Senate president pro tempore. In either case, the officer
serves as governor until a new governor is chosen at the next regular
election and duly qualified. When a governor is being impeached or is
absent from the state, these officers temporarily exercise the governor’s
powers and duti es, if and until the governor is acquitted of
impeachment, or until the governor returns from his or her absence.
If the president pro tempore is elevated to a higher office while the
Senate is in session, it must, within 15 days of the president pro
tempore’s taking his or her new oath of office, elect one of its members
as president pro tempore. If the General Assembly is not in session, the
secretary of the state must convene the Senate within 15 days of a
vacancy to elect a president pro tempore (Conn. Const. art. IV, §§ 18-20).
COMMITTEE ACTION
Government Administration and Elections Committee
Joint Favorable
Yea 16 Nay 3 (03/11/2026)