Papers Of Abraham Lincoln

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Sec.[Section] 1 Be it enacted by the people of the State of Illinois represented in the General assembly That whenever in the Opinion of the Governor the Attorny General of this State do not reside at the Seat of Government agreeable to the Law to which this is an amendment approved February 5^th 18332 he shall have the power to vacate the Office and Appoint a person to fill such vacancy according to Law This act to take effect from and after its passage

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27

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A Bill for
an act to amend an act entitled an act relative to the duties of the office of Attorney General of this State

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[01]/[29]/[1835]
2

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[01]/[29]/[1835]
sel com Gordon
Hughes
Whiteside

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[01]/31/[1835]
sel com Stuart
Lincoln
Harris

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[02]/[11]/[1835]
Prickett, David (Pricket)

to be engrossed
Clk. H. R.

1John D. Hughes from the Committee on Public Accounts and Expenditures introduced HB 186 in the House of Representatives on January 29, 1835. The House referred the bill to a select committee. The select committee reported back the bill on January 31 without amendment, recommending its rejection. The House referred the bill to a three-person select committee that included Abraham Lincoln. On February 11, John T. Stuart from the select committee reported back the bill with a substitute, in which the House concurred. On February 12, the House tabled the bill.
Illinois House Journal. 1835. 9th G. A., 1st sess., 430, 453, 526, 552.

2The referenced act amended “An Act relating to the Attorney General and State’s Attorneys,” passed on February 19, 1827. The 1827 act had no residency requirement; the referenced act required the attorney general to reside at the seat of government, but did not grant either the governor or the General Assembly the authority to enforce the residency requirement. HB 186 would have given removal power to the governor in a scenario where an attorney general did not reside at the seat of government.
“An Act to Amend an Act relative to the Duties of the Office of the Attorney General of this State,” 5 February 1833, Revised Laws of Illinois (1833), 99.