Governor what is

Outsets and onsets! See also gubernatorial. The governor exhorted the prisoners not to riot. The governor was looking for a fall guy to take the blame for the corruption scandal.

The governor has denied making improper use of state money. The new state governor has promised to purge the police force of corruption. The headmistress agreed to recommend the teachers ' proposals to the school governors. Governors from most of the 50 states will meet in Omaha this weekend. The board of governors of the hospital meets every month. There will be changes to the way the BBC trains its new governors.

The governor will sign the finance bill into law tomorrow. Governor abbreviation Gov. Governor Patrick is seeking re-election in November. Gov Jim Doyle of Wisconsin. Examples of governor. Archives hold numerous complaints from provincial governors about the insufficiency of security forces under their authority and requests for additional mounted recruits.

From the Cambridge English Corpus. Because of their previous histories with royal governors, however, the new designs would represent real departures from their past practices. One type of such governors was a progressive governor. For presidents whose political survival was in question, heeding the demands of provincial governors for greater revenue shares could enhance their legitimacy to govern.

If the shortcomings of governors lead the public to scale down demands to match what political elites can supply, this creates a low-level equilibrium trap. Laws are necessary to control bureaucrats implementing decisions of governors, and to introduce predictability and thus rationality in the administration of government.

But even governors of central banks are ill-advised to take technical decisions about the operations of exchange markets.

Under colonial rule the administration of the whole territory was formalised since the governors put an end to all personalised positions and regulations.

Although not necessarily a ranking factor, the power to issue executive orders and take emergency actions is a significant gubernatorial responsibility that varies from state to state. States, commonwealths, and territories vary with respect to minimum age, U.

The minimum age requirement for governors ranges from no formal provision to age The requirement of U. State residency requirements range from no formal provision to 7 years. Gubernatorial terms are four years in every state, commonwealth, and territory but New Hampshire and Vermont, which have two year terms. In the remaining 5 states and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, officials designated to succeed the governor include the secretary of state and leader of the senate.

For more information on lieutenant governors and other executive branch officials, see the Appointment Power section below. All states except Oregon provide for the impeachment of governors. As in the case of the federal government, the impeachment process starts with the lower body of the legislature and the trial is conducted by the upper body in every state but Alaska—where the process is reversed, and Nebraska, which has a unicameral legislature charged with the full impeachment process.

In most cases, impeachment requires a majority of members, while conviction generally requires a two-thirds or other special majority. Should a governor be impeached, the lieutenant governor serves as acting governor in the vast majority of states. For more information on lieutenant governors, see the Appointment Power section below.

Governors play two broad roles in relation to state legislatures. First, they may be empowered to call special legislative sessions, provided in most cases that the purpose and agenda for the sessions are set in advance.

Second, and more familiarly, governors coordinate and work with state legislatures in:. Governors develop and submit annual or biennial budgets for review and approval by the legislature. These tools allow governors and their budget staff to play a strong role in establishing priorities for the use of state resources. Governors often use State of the State messages to outline their legislative platforms, and many governors prepare specific legislative proposals to be introduced on their behalf.

In addition, state departments and agencies may pursue legislative initiatives with gubernatorial approval. Executive branch officials often are called to testify on legislative proposals, and governors and other executive branch leaders will seek to mobilize public opinion and interest groups in favor of or opposition to specific legislative proposals.

Governors may use their role as party leaders to encourage support for legislative initiatives, and along with department heads and staff may seek to influence the progress of legislation through regular meetings with legislators and legislative officials.

All 50 state governors have the power to veto whole legislative measures. In a large majority of states a bill will become law unless it is vetoed by the governor within a specified number of days, which vary among states. In a smaller number of states, bills will die pocket veto unless they are formally signed by the governor, also within a specified number of days.

Legislatures may override vetoes, usually by a supermajority vote. Many gubernatorial appointments require legislative confirmation. Governors interact with their legislatures to help ensure that their priorities, goals, and accomplishments are accurately presented and positively received during oversight hearings and other legislative activities that address and evaluate executive branch implementation of legislatively mandated programs and services.

Frequently, these appointments are subject to confirmation by one or both houses of the state legislature. Last Name. Share this page. Follow Ballotpedia. Click here to follow election results! In the United States, the title governor refers to the chief executive of each state. The governor is not directly subordinate to the federal authorities but is the political and ceremonial head of the state. The governor may also assume additional roles, such as the commander-in-chief of the National Guard when the role is not federalized.

The governor may also have the ability to commute or pardon a criminal sentence. In all states, the governor is directly elected and, in most cases, has considerable practical powers. Notable exceptions with weak governorships include the office of the governor in Texas , though this may be moderated by the state legislature and, in some cases, by other elected executive officials.

Governors can veto state bills. The specific duties and powers vary widely between states. The chart below is a breakdown of the political parties pertaining to the state executive office of governor. For other state executive offices, click here. There are a total of 27 Republican governors and 23 Democratic governors. To view the compensation of a particular governor, hover your mouse over the state. According to figures for compiled by the Council of State Governments in the Book of the States , gubernatorial offices range in size from 9 staffers in Nebraska to staffers in Texas.

Although all governors have some involvement in the process of developing a state budget, the specific level of involvement differs from state to state. According to information published in the Book of the States , 23 governors share responsibility for developing a budget proposal, while nine governors have full responsibility for developing an initial budget proposal and the remaining 18 have full responsibility for developing a budget.

Most states impose some form of term limits on governors; of those that do, all but Virginia limit a governor to two four-year terms or to eight years in office. Although most states' term limit laws allow a governor who has served two terms to be elected once again after time has elapsed, some states impose a lifetime term limit like that on the presidency. Although Vermont and New Hampshire do not have term limit laws, they are the only states whose governors serve two-year terms rather than four-year terms.

The term line-item veto refers to the ability of a governor or other chief executive to veto specific parts of a bill while signing the rest of the bill into law. Currently, 44 states grant their governors line-item veto powers. In , the Democratic Party held a total of 37 governorships to the Republican Party 's Following the elections of , the Democratic lead in governorships narrowed to 27 to the Republican Party's The midterm elections also saw an increase in Republican governorships, bringing the party to 24 governorships compared to the Democrats' The Republican Party took the national lead in governorships following the midterm elections of ; in there were 30 Republican governors to 19 Democratic governors.

The Republican lead in governorships was maintained for just over a decade until the midterm elections of ; in there were 28 Democratic governors to the Republicans' However, the Republican Party regained its national majority in the midterm elections. Between and , the number of Republican governors continued to increase, reaching a high point of 34 following Gov.

Each state has some constitutionally prescribed method for filling vacancies in the office of governor. In the 44 states with a distinct lieutenant governor , that individual is the first in the line of succession, with the notable exception of Arkansas. Whether additional offices in the line of succession are named in the constitution or by statute varies among states. Among those states without a traditional lieutenant governor, the primary successor to the governor varies.

Officers first in line to succeed the governor in case of a vacancy are:. The officer serving in this dual role is first in the line of succession to the office of governor.

Unlike most states, the lieutenant governors of Tennessee and West Virginia are not elected by voters but instead selected by the Tennessee General Assembly and West Virginia House of Representatives , respectively. Overall, the constitutional rules for offices that are second in line for the governor's seat are more complex than rules for offices that are first in line. Common second-in-line offices include:. However, seven states leave the decision open-ended, and another seven states do not mention rules for second-in-line successors.

For more details regarding how gubernatorial vacancies are filled, click here. The office of the governor is a constitutionally mandated office in all states. It is additionally statewide, directly elected, and part of the Executive branch in all 50 states.

An individual who was elected governor but has not yet taken the oath of office is referred to as the governor-elect. Governors-elect do not yet have any of the powers or duties of the office, though they may be accorded some of the privileges and honors in anticipation of their taking office.

The office of governor is sometimes used as a springboard to the presidency. President Rutherford B. Hayes, former Republican Governor of Ohio , was the first sitting governor to be elected as President of the United States.

That year, , the Democrats also nominated a governor, Samuel Tilden of New York, to run for the office. Those 17 candidates come from only ten states. Four presidents have come from the gubernatorial office of New York, three from Virginia and two each from Ohio and Tennessee. Approximately twice as many presidents have been governors at some point than have been senators. This is substantial since there are only half as many governors as senators at any given time.

Twelve states held elections for governor in , including eleven regularly scheduled elections plus a special election in Oregon due to the February resignation of former Gov. John Kitzhaber D :. Three states held scheduled gubernatorial elections in the electoral cycle: Kentucky , Louisiana and Mississippi. Phil Bryant of Mississippi won re-election. In Louisiana and Kentucky , both governors were term-limited. Both elections led to a party switch. Two states held regularly scheduled gubernatorial elections in the electoral cycle: New Jersey and Virginia.

Heading into the November election, Democrats held eight of the seats and the Republicans held three seats. Six incumbents sought re-election, three retired and two were term-limited. Of the six who ran, four were Democrats and two were Republicans. The only party switch took place in North Carolina , where Lt.

As of December , the number of Democratic governors in the country was at its lowest since After the November election, there were 29 Republican governors and 20 Democratic, with one Independent. Three states, Kentucky , Louisiana and Mississippi , had regularly scheduled gubernatorial elections in the electoral cycle.

A fourth state, West Virginia , held a special election following a court order. Mississippi's Haley Barbour was prevented by term limits from running for re-election and his lieutenant governor , Republican Phil Bryant , won election as his successor.

Thirty-seven gubernatorial elections took place on November 2, That added up to the largest block of states to choose governors in a single election year. Four states that make up almost one-fourth of the entire U. In 15 of the seats up for election, the incumbent could not run again because of term limits , leaving 22 seats guaranteed to be open to non-incumbents. Of the incumbent but limited-out governors, eight were Democratic and seven Republican.

When incumbents did choose to run, the primaries were good to them.