Chapter Six

State Governors

Chapter Outline

I. Rising expectations of governors

A. Effective governing

1. Leaders, such as former Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson, who devise new initiatives, realize increased savings, and inspire people

2. Performs symbolic and ceremonial functions and win respect in order to exercise fully the executive

functions of the office

B. Expectations of the governor

1. Chief policy maker of the state

2. Political party leader

3. Chief recruiter of the best available advisers and administrators

4. Renewer of confidence in state programs

5. State’s chief booster to attract business and tourism

6. Work with their legislatures to raise revenues

7. Crisis situation managers

II. Becoming and remaining governor

A. Traits of governors

1. Requirements vary by state; in most must be 30 years old, U.S. citizen, state resident for five years

2. Most governors are white male attorneys, 40-50 years old with previous elected office experience

3. All states (except New Hampshire and Vermont) have 4-year terms; all (except Virginia) allow

governors to run for a second term

B. Governors on the spot

1. Recent years have been a period of rising public aspirations and scarce resources

2. Recently many federal mandates were terminated and social programs were shifted to the states, increasing the governor’s workload

C. Reelection and raising taxes

1. A governor today is likely (75 percent) to be reelected

2. Election losses often are the result of making tough decisions and generating controversy

3. Circumstances often dictate what a governor can or cannot do—e.g., the health of a state’s economy,

and the public’s attitude toward the need for new programs and new revenues

4. Voters reward frugality and punish elected officials for tax increases, so most governors avoid having to raise taxes

III. A governor’s formal powers

A. Historically, with distrust of executive power, gubernatorial power was limited, so that governor was not the same as the president

1. Governors share executive power with other elected officials

2. Now, some states are strengthening the governor’s office; e.g., making lieutenant governor run with

governor as part of a team

3. Actual power of governor depends on ability to persuade

B. Appointive power

1. Governors recruit talented leaders and managers to head state departments, commissions, and

agencies; governors also appoint their cabinet of advisers and senior administrators

2. In most states, the governor is one executive among many, with only limited authority over elected

officials whom the governor can neither appoint nor dismiss

3. Governors have greater, yet still limited, power over appointed administrative officials

4. Governors face problems:

a. Salaries for state administrators are modest in many states, and it is often hard to get people to

leave better paying jobs in private industry

b. Legislative leaders may demand that their friends be appointed to top posts in the state’s executive

branch; may threaten to be uncooperative if the governor does not go along with their suggestions

c. Relatively high turnover in many state positions often hampers a governor’s efforts to carry out

programs

C. Fiscal and budgetary power

1. Purchasing, fiscal, and personnel matters are frequently centralized under the governor

2. In almost all states, the governor has responsibility for preparing the budget and presenting it to the

state legislature; budgets usually reflect the policy views of the governor and the governor’s budget

office

3. Most states spend at least 40 percent of their state’s budget on education

4. Taxpayer revolt (while wanting more services) and federal cuts create financial dilemma

D. Veto power

1. Governors have the power to veto, or reject legislation proposed by state legislatures

2. In all but eight states the governor has the item veto, allowing the rejection of individual items in an

appropriations bill and not affecting the remainder of the bill

3. In a few states the governor has the reduction veto to lower a particular appropriation

4. In about 19 states governors can exercise the amendatory veto, returning a bill to the state legislature with suggested changes, conditions, or amendments

5. To override a governor’s veto in most states, both chambers of the state legislature have to obtain a

two-thirds majority vote

6. Legislators in several states have established a veto session—a short session following

adjournment—to reconsider any measures vetoed by their governor

E. Executive orders

1. One long-standing power of governors is their authority to issue executive orders that have the force of law

2. Governors can issue executive orders as a result of specific constitutional grants, laws passed by their legislatures, or their implied powers as chief executive of the state

F. Commander in chief of the National Guard

1. A governor may use this force when local authorities are inadequate—in case of floods, riots, and

other catastrophes

2. Congress provides most of the money to operate the National Guard; this fact, along with the supremacy clause of the U.S. Constitution, gives Congress and the president the power to take charge of a state’s National Guard even against the wishes of a governor

G. Pardon power

1. In half the states, governors may pardon violators of state law; in the other states, they share this duty with a pardoning board

2. Usually this is a non-controversial power; exception of Tennessee’s Ray Blanton in the 1970’s

H. Policy-making influence

1. A governor’s actual ability to influence legislation varies widely

2. Balanced against a governor’s formal powers great obstacle, such as a hostile legislature or cutbacks in federal funding

3. The governor’s role as leader of his or her political party has an important impact on policy

4. Western governors have the problem of much of their states’ land and resources being controlled by out-of-state landlords or the federal government

5. Governors have the problem of balancing daily management problems with long-range planning and priorities

6. Planning and management issues are becoming even more important for governors now with the increased state role in social and economic problems

IV. Managing the state

A. Governors and their senior staffs perform a variety of functions

1. Provide strategic planning and vision

2. Restructure ineffective programs and agencies

3. Initiate policy

4. Maintain a policy or position under pressure

5. Settle disputes among different agencies

6. Promote the state

7. Recruit top state administrative and judicial officials

8. Propose budget priorities and new revenue strategies

9. Improve the quality of services rendered to the taxpayers

10.Negotiate disputes with the federal government and with nearby states

B. Who runs the state

1. The governor is an important managerial and policy-making influence on the agencies, but state

legislatures also have significant power

2. Some reformers have suggested that all agencies should be accountable to the governor all the time,

while others believe we should keep “politics” out of the day-to-day operations of a state agency

C. Modernizing state government

1. Group similar functions into a smaller number of large agencies

2. Lines of responsibility should be fixed and definite

3. Single executives are better than boards or commissions

4. Governors should have the power to appoint and remove subordinates

5. Governors should have control over and staffs to run budgeting, personnel, accounting, reporting, purchasing, and planning

6. Attempts to reorganize state governments have not received universal praise; critics oppose the basic principle of strengthening executive power and responsibility, which has dominated the reorganization movement

D. Effects of reorganization

1. The best-governed states seem to be those in which the administrative structure has been closely integrated under the governor

2. Effects in savings are difficult to measure

3. Still, vigorous gubernatorial direction is more the exception than the rule; governors are rarely as

influential and powerful as the public assumes

V. Other statewide elected officers

A. Lieutenant governor

1. In most states, becomes governor or acting governor in case of death, disability, or absence of the governor from the state

2. In over half of the states, is president of the state senate; in others has few statutory duties

3. Value of the office is debatable, as governor has his or her own chief of staff

B. Attorney general

1. The state’s chief lawyer gives advice to state officials, represents the state before the courts, and in

some states supervises local prosecutors

C. Secretary of state

1. Publishes the laws, supervises elections, and issues certificates of incorporations

D. Treasurer and auditor

1. The treasurer is the guardian of the state’s money; state treasurers are responsible for ensuring that cash is available to meet the obligations of the state, and that all available funds are invested to maximize interest return

2. The auditor in most states has two major jobs: to authorize payments from the state treasury and to make periodic audits of officials who handle state money

E. Other officials

1. Includes superintendent of public education, agriculture commissioner, public utilities commissioner, comptroller, and insurance commissioner

2. As part of the trend toward integrated administration, the duties of elected state officials have generally been limited to those specified in the state constitution

VI. The rewards of being a governor

A. Some governors succeed by meeting the people’s needs and staying in touch with the public

B. A combination of values is needed for success: courage, integrity, compassion, leadership, character