Tucker v. State
Tucker v. State of Indiana, 218 Ind. 614, 35 NE2d 270, was a landmark decision case by the Indiana Supreme Court that ruled that the Governor of Indiana is the chief executive of the State of Indiana and that the Indiana General Assembly has no authority to delegate or regulate authority that was granted to that office by the Constitution of Indiana. Until the decision by the court, it was held by the General Assembly that it could delegate and revoke executive authority at will.
Background
The state of Indiana has historically had a weak executive branch and a strong legislature, from its original state constitution and the restrictions placed on the office by the anti-governor faction in the constitutional convention, which resented the powers of the territorial governors. The governorship remained a weak position until the American Civil War, when the governor suppressed the legislature and took on unconstitutional powers. In the years after the war, the legislature removed much of the authority and greatly weakened his position, by placing regulations on the office and removing its authority to appoint state officers and hire public employees.The situation continued until 1933, when the Democratic-controlled legislature passed the Executive Reorganization Act to grant to governor expansive powers over the burgeoning Great Depression government bureaucracy. When Republicans resumed power in 1941, they immediately repealed the act and put in place the State Administration Act of 1941 to return the governor to his pre-Depression level of power. The act reorganized the government into five departments, under the control of commissioners.