Opinion ID: 1128517
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: effectiveness of appointments of interim trustees

Text: Once the terms of the prior trustees expired, the question arose whether the Governor's interim appointments were effective. In State ex rel. Little v. Foster, 130 Ala. 154, 30 So. 477 (1901), this Court dealt with a constitutional provision that addressed the filling of a vacancy created upon the expiration of the term of a University of Alabama trustee, and a statute [9] that addressed the filling of a vacancy created by a trustee's leaving office before the expiration of his term. The Foster Court held that the words of the constitutional provisionSaid trustees shall be appointed by the Governor, by and with the advice and consent of the senate, and shall hold office for a term of six years (see 130 Ala. at 158, 30 So. at 478) required both the Governor and the Senate to appoint a trustee upon the creation of a vacancy created by the expiration of a six-year term. Id. at 163, 30 So. at 480. In contrast, interim vacancies (i.e., those created during a term by death, resignation, or removal) could be filled by gubernatorial appointments, without Senate confirmation, under the statute. [10] Id. at 164, 30 So. at 480. The expiration vacancy provision of Amendment No. 161, at issue in this case, uses language virtually identical to that addressed in Foster: The trustees shall be appointed by the governor, by and with the advice and consent of the senate, and shall hold office for a term of twelve years.... Ala. Const. 1901, amend. 161. Under the holding in Foster, this clause, standing alone, requires both the Governor and the Senate to appoint replacement trustees to fill vacancies created by the expiration of the terms of the prior trustees. In addition to its expiration vacancy provision, Amendment No. 161 also allows the Governor alone to fill certain vacancies until the next meeting of the Legislature: Vacancies occurring in the office of trustees from death or resignation shall be filled by the governor, and such appointee shall hold office until the next meeting of the legislature. (Emphasis added.) Like the statute in Foster, this language applies to vacancies created by death or resignation, not to vacancies created by expiration of a specified term. [11] Thus, in my view, Foster compels the conclusion that Amendment No. 161 requires both the Governor's action and the Senate's action to appoint a trustee to fill a vacancy created by the expiration of a specified term. [12] While I concur in the majority's conclusion that the interim appointments were ineffective, I dissent from its conclusion that the prior trustees hold over. Amendment No. 161 and Foster compel the conclusion that the vacancies created by the expiration of the specified terms must remain unfilled until the Governor and the Senate reach political agreement as to who shall serve as Auburn's trustees. [13] HOOPER, C.J., concurs.