Governor-elect Jeff Landry and the other elected members of the Louisiana state government, including legislators and constitutional officers, will now take their oaths of office on Sunday. The threat of inclement weather forced state officials to make that change less than 72 hours before the ceremony was supposed to happen and less than 48 hours before the new inauguration time of 4:30 p.m. Sunday.
Does this change mean that Landry will become governor one day early and that the state’s other elected officials will begin their terms ahead of schedule? According to the Louisiana State Constitution, the answer is “no.”
Under the state constitution, the terms of the governor, the elected members of the executive branch, and state legislators begin at noon on the second Monday of January immediately following a regular election. That means Landry and the other incoming state elected leaders will officially take office one day after they’ve been inaugurated. It also means that Governor John Bel Edwards will remain in office for approximately 19 hours after Landry takes his oath.
Although the inauguration date has been changed, the governor’s inauguration ball is still scheduled for Monday night.
