Governor Sure Lungren Will Eventually Get Treasurer Post

Gov. George Deukmejian said Saturday that he considers Rep. Daniel E. Lungren as good as confirmed as the next state treasurer despite a vote by the state Senate rejecting him.

But Deukmejian, speaking for the first time since Lungren’s confirmation was rejected by the upper house Thursday on a 19-21 vote, said during his weekly radio address that he is not ready to swear the congressman in because of legal questions about the appointment.

Deukmejian, a lawyer, said he based his position on his own reading of the state Constitution and a 43-32 vote in the Assembly to confirm the Long Beach Republican.

Conflicts With Other Opinions

His position conflicts with legal opinions issued by state Atty. Gen. John K. Van de Kamp and the Legislature’s lawyer. They say that the Senate’s rejection of Lungren is enough to block the appointment.

Lungren would replace Jesse M. Unruh, a Democrat who died in August.

During the radio speech, Republican Deukmejian again angrily accused Senate President Pro Tem David A. Roberti (D-Los Angeles) of following “a secret written script” showing that he was “against Dan Lungren all along” and pressured other Democrats to vote against the congressman.

The governor said Lungren was exposed to “some of the most malicious and insulting attacks I have witnessed in my 25 years in Sacramento.”

In outlining his legal position, Deukmejian insisted that Lungren “could lay claim” to the treasurer’s office after the deadline for confirmation passes Monday. But the governor said he and Lungren were reviewing their legal options because of threats by Democrats that they will try to block Deukmejian in court if he swears Lungren in.

1976 Amendment Cited

Deukmejian said he based his legal position on a 1976 state constitutional amendment. Although even Lungren has said the Constitution contains “a certain amount of ambiguity,” the governor argued that the law, as it applies to Lungren’s nomination, “is crystal clear.”

The governor quoted only part of the constitutional provision, a paragraph saying: “In the event that the nominee is neither confirmed nor refused confirmation by both the Senate and the Assembly within 90 days of the submission of the nomination, the nominee shall take office as if he or she had been confirmed by a majority of the Senate and the Assembly.”

Deukmejian emphasized that the key word is “both.”

“Dan Lungren was confirmed by the Assembly by a vote of 43 to 32. So, obviously, he wasn’t denied confirmation by both houses of the Legislature,” Deukmejian said. “Therefore, according to the Constitution, once the 90-day period has elapsed, Dan Lungren could lay claim to the office of state treasurer.”

The part of the provision left out by Deukmejian has been cited in the opinions written by the attorney general and Legislative Counsel Bion M. Gregory. It preceeds the paragraph quoted by the governor and says that the nominee “shall take office upon confirmation by a majority of the membership of the Senate and a majority of the membership of the Assembly.” This has been interpreted as establishing a two-house confirmation process, leading to the legal argument that refusal by one house is enough to block the appointment.

Never Tested in Court

The language has never been tested in court.

Lungren is under pressure to act by March 11, the deadline for filing for reelection to the House of Representatives. The congressman is spending the weekend in Washington, talking to family members and legal advisers, according to Deukmejian press secretary Kevin Brett.

The governor said he believes Lungren will eventually be sworn in as treasurer.

“I am confident that he will have the opportunity to serve the people with great distinction in this post,” Deukmejian said.