governor also commissions notaries public and appoints persons to fill vacancies in the offices of Attorney General and Comptroller (both of which are normally elected by the people) and also to fill vacant seats in the General Assembly. The governor can remove any appointed officer (except interim members of the General Assembly) for cause. The governor is commander-in-chief of the military forces of the State, the Maryland National Guard, except when such forces are called into the national service by the President of the United States, as well as the Maryland Defense Force. In times of public emergency the Governor has certain emergency powers as defined by law. Lieutenant Governor The Maryland Lieutenant Governor is elected on the same ticket as the state's Governor and is nominally the second highest-ranking official in the state. The position was first created by the short-lived Maryland Constitution of 1864 and functioned from 1865 to 1868 before being abolished by the state's present constitution, which was ratified in 1867. The position was re-established by Constitutional amendment in 1970, under which the Lieutenant Governor "shall have only the duties delegated to him by the Governor." The Maryland Lieutenant Governor, currently Aruna Miller, is therefore weaker than the office in most other states which have one (several states do not have one). For instance, in many states, including Texas, the Lieutenant Governor is the President of the State's Senate and in California the Lieutenant Governor assumes all of the governor's powers when the governor is out of the state. In both of those states, as in some others, the Lieutenant Governor is elected in his or her own right, independently of the state's Governor. In practice, Maryland's Lieutenant Governor attends cabinet meetings, chairs various task forces and commissions, represents the state at ceremonial functions and at events which the Governor cannot attend, and advises the Governor. If there is a vacancy in the office of the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor becomes the Governor. A vacancy in the Lieutenant Governorship is filled by a person nominated by the Governor and confirmed by a majority vote of the General Assembly voting in joint session. Attorney General The Attorney General is the chief legal officer of the State and is elected by the people every four years with no term limits. To run for the office a person must be a citizen of and qualified voter in Maryland and