NASHVILLE — Senators this morning sparred over a proposal to amend the Tennessee Constitution and let voters elect the lieutenant governor and secretary of state.

Efforts to exclude the secretary of state, who is now elected by the 132 members of the General Assembly, sparked the fiercest debate. Sen. Rosalind Kurita, D-Clarksville, said selections are now an “insider’s” game.

But Sen. Douglas Henry, D-Nashville, argued that because the secretary of state is a member of the State Funding Board, which makes budget revenue estimates for the governor and legislature, the state needs someone knowledgable about state finances and that person is best determined by lawmakers.

“If you elect the secretary of state through the population, every man Jack, woman Jill wants to come to Nashville and sit in that office could run,” Sen. Henry said. “And if they combed their hair, put on their shoes and put on a bright smile and go around shaking hands, lo and behold, they’d be sitting there.”

Sen. Henry’s proposal failed when it got only nine votes in support with 22 senators voting no. Sen. Kurita’s own amendment to the resolution, which originally sought to popularly elect all of the state’s constitutional officers, then passed on a 22-11 vote.

The resolution was then read for the first time. It must be read twice more before the Senate actually votes on it. It would require a majority for passage. Then it would go to the House where opposition to electing the secretary of state is strong.

If it passes there, the measure would have to pass the 106th General Assembly by a two thirds majority before it could go on the gubernatorial ballot in 2010.

The revised resolution came about when Gov. Phil Bredesen was temporarily incapacitated in 2006 as a result of a suspected tick bite and the state had no temporary succession provision. The resolution provides that an elected lieutenant governor would temporarily or permanently succeed the governor in times of illness.

Upon his nomination, the governor would name someone as his selection for lieutenant governor and both would run on the same ticket. Sen. Kurita argued that the secretary of state should be elected as well because he or she is second in succession.

For complete coverage see tomorrow’s Times Free Press.