The Massachusetts Governor's Council (also known as the Executive Council) is a governmental body that provides

advice and consent Advice and consent is an English phrase frequently used in enacting formulae of bills and in other legal or constitutional contexts. It describes either of two situations: where a weak executive branch of a government enacts something prev ...

in certain matterssuch as judicial nominations, pardons, and commutationsto the

Governor of Massachusetts The governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the chief executive officer of the government of Massachusetts. The governor is the head of the state cabinet and the commander-in-chief of the commonwealth's military forces. Massachuset ...

. Councillors are elected by the general public and their duties are set forth in the

Massachusetts Constitution The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the fundamental governing document of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, one of the 50 individual state governments that make up the United States of America. As a member of the Massachuset ...

. The Governor's Council has gone through many different formations throughout its history, at times being simply a legal counsel, also serving as provincial

magistrates The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...

and judges, sometimes acting as an executive in the absence of a Governor, to serving as an

upper house An upper house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house.''Bicameralism'' (1997) by George Tsebelis The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smalle ...

of the

Massachusetts General Court The Massachusetts General Court (formally styled the General Court of Massachusetts) is the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the Massachusetts, Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name "General Court" is a hold-over from th ...

. Whether going by the name of "Council of Assistants" or Governor's Council, the power of the council has ebbed and flowed, however it has remained a mainstay in

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

politics from the earliest colonial days of

Massachusetts Bay Massachusetts Bay is a bay on the Gulf of Maine that forms part of the central coastline of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Description The bay extends from Cape Ann on the north to Plymouth Harbor on the south, a distance of about . Its ...

History

The

Massachusetts Bay Colony The Massachusetts Bay Colony (1630–1691), more formally the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, was an English settlement on the east coast of North America around the Massachusetts Bay, the northernmost of the several colonies later reorganized as the ...

received its first royal charter in 1629, with the founding of

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, following the arrival in 1630 of Governor

John Winthrop John Winthrop (January 12, 1587/88 – March 26, 1649) was an English Puritan lawyer and one of the leading figures in founding the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the second major settlement in New England following Plymouth Colony. Winthrop led t ...

and a fleet of principally

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Catholic Church, Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become m ...

settlers. The colony's governance was based on this charter, which included the establishment of a "council of assistants." The assistants were a body of

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...

s who not only decided judicial cases, but also played a role in the colony's lawmaking. The assistants were elected by the colony's freemen. After the colony's original charter was revoked in 1684, there was the short-lived

Dominion of New England The Dominion of New England in America (1686–1689) was an administrative union of English colonies covering New England and the Mid-Atlantic Colonies (except for Delaware Colony and the Province of Pennsylvania). Its political structure rep ...

(1686-1689), which was succeeded in the territories of modern Massachusetts and

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

by the

Province of Massachusetts Bay The Province of Massachusetts Bay was a colony in British America which became one of the Thirteen Colonies, thirteen original states of the United States. It was chartered on October 7, 1691, by William III of England, William III and Mary II ...

. The charter for the province called for "eight and twenty assistants, or counsellors, to be advising and assisting to the governor" who were to be chosen annually by the

Great and General Court The Massachusetts General Court (formally styled the General Court of Massachusetts) is the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name "General Court" is a hold-over from the earliest days of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, w ...

. It further specified that the council was to assume the duties of the governor in the absence of both the royal governor and lieutenant governor (who were appointed by the crown), and enumerated some of the specific issues on which the council was to advise the governor. During the provincial period, the relationship between the governor and council was sometimes difficult, since the council represented colonial interests which diverged from the crown interests of the governor. The Council also had authority over approving and accepting officer's commissions in the

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

. Unlike with the previous charter for the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, the 1691

Massachusetts Charter The Massachusetts Charter of 1691 was a charter that formally established the Province of Massachusetts Bay. Issued by the government of William III and Mary II, the corulers of the Kingdom of England, the charter defined the government of the co ...

stripped the power of judicial ruling from the Council. The council would continue to "advise and consent" however they would no longer hear appeals. The appeals were to be administered by the local courts and any suit which was of significant sum, namely 300 Pounds sterling, would be moved to the King's Privy Council. Other appointments were taken from the Council as well and given to the authority of the General Court. During the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

, the state government operated under the

of 1691 but did so without a governor. The council acted as the

executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dir ...

Composition

The Council is composed of eight councillors 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 councillors are elected every two years, one for each of eight councillor districts; residency in the district is not a requirement. The council membership was originally nominated by the house of representatives and elected by the state senate. The state constitution upon the prompting of the American Party (Know Nothings) in 1854 was changed to make the council an elected position open to all state residents. The Governor's Council districts changed over time and are now specially composed. Each district consists of the entirety of five contiguous

Massachusetts Senate The Massachusetts Senate is the upper house of the Massachusetts General Court, the bicameral state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Senate comprises 40 elected members from 40 single-member senatorial districts in the st ...

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.

Duties

The Council generally meets at noon on Wednesdays in its State House Chamber, next to the Governor's Office. Pursuant to the Massachusetts Constitution, the Governor may, in general and at his discretion, ''from time to time'' assemble the Council ''for the ordering and directing the affairs of the commonwealth.'' In addition, the Governor must seek the advice and consent of the Council with respect to nominations of judicial officers, appointment and removal of notaries public and

justices of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

, issuance of

pardon A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the ju ...

s and commutations, and payment of monies from the treasury. Annual compensation in 2016 was $36,025. The outside conduct of some councillors has drawn public scrutiny in recent years. Felony assault charges were dismissed in July 2008 against one councillor, Marilyn Devaney. In the 2008 election, councillor Kelly A. Timilty falsified the endorsement of the governor and later was fined. The 2008 election generated higher than usual interest in Council seats, but all of the incumbents were reelected.

Role in gubernatorial succession

Originally, the Massachusetts Constitution placed the Governor's Council in the line of executive succession. If the offices of

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

and Lieutenant Governor were both vacant, the Council would act as chief executive. During the colonial period this occurred three times. Following statehood, it occurred only once. After the death of Governor

Increase Sumner Increase Sumner (November 27, 1746 – June 7, 1799) was an American lawyer, jurist, and politician from Massachusetts. He was the fifth governor of Massachusetts, serving from 1797 to 1799. Trained as a lawyer, he served in the provisional go ...

in 1799, Lieutenant Governor

Moses Gill Moses Gill (January 18, 1733 – May 20, 1800) was an American merchant and politician who served as the acting governor of Massachusetts from 1799 to 1800, when he died in office, the only acting governor to do so. A successful businessman, he ...

became Acting Governor, and following his death in 1800 the council chaired by

Thomas Dawes Thomas Dawes (August 5, 1731 – January 2, 1809) was a patriot who served as a Massachusetts militia colonel during the American Revolution and afterward assumed prominent positions in Massachusetts's government. His positions included membe ...

succeeded to the governorship. The constitutional line of succession was amended in 1918 to remove the Council and insert the "secretary, attorney-general, treasurer and receiver-general, and auditor," in that order.

References

* Frothingham, L.A. (1916). ''A Brief History of the Constitution and Government of Massachusetts''. The Lawbook Exchange.

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Massachusetts Governor's Council Colonial governors of Massachusetts

Governor's Council The governments of the Thirteen Colonies of British America developed in the 17th and 18th centuries under the influence of the British constitution. After the Thirteen Colonies had become the United States, the experience under colonial rule would ...