Composition
The Council is composed of eight councilors and the governor or lieutenant governor, who presides over the Council. The Massachusetts Constitution specifies that "the governor, and in his absence the lieutenant governor, shall be president of the council, but shall have no vote in council: and the lieutenant governor shall always be a member of the council except when the chair of the governor shall be vacant."
The eight councilors are elected every two years, one each from eight councillor districts. The Governor's Council districts are specially composed. Each district consists of the entirety of five contiguous Massachusetts Senate districts.
There are provisions in the Massachusetts Constitution for filling unexpected vacancies. If a seat on the Council becomes vacant, the General Court may, by concurrent vote, select some person from the relevant councillor district to fill the opening. If the General Court is not in session, the Governor may select the new councillor, with the advice and consent of the existing Council.
Read more about this topic: Massachusetts Governor's Council
Famous quotes containing the word composition:
“Viewed freely, the English language is the accretion and growth of every dialect, race, and range of time, and is both the free and compacted composition of all.”
—Walt Whitman (1819–1892)
“Those Dutchmen had hardly any imagination or fantasy, but their good taste and their scientific knowledge of composition were enormous.”
—Vincent Van Gogh (1853–1890)
“The composition of a tragedy requires testicles.”
—Voltaire [François Marie Arouet] (1694–1778)