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In the United States, the government of each of the 50 states is structured in accordance with its individual constitution. In turn, each state constitution must be grounded in republican principles. Article IV, Section 4, Clause 1 of the United States Constitution tasks the federal government with assuring that each state's government is so organized. [1]
All state governments are modeled after the federal government and consist of three branches (although the three-branch structure is not Constitutionally required): executive, legislative, and judicial. [2] [3] All state governments are also organized as presidential systems where the governor is both head of government and head of state (even though this too is not required). The government of each of the five permanently inhabited U.S. territories is modeled and organized in a like fashion.
Each state is itself a sovereign entity, and as such, reserves the right to organize in any way (within the above stated parameter) deemed appropriate by its people. As a result, while the governments of the various states share many similar features, they often vary greatly with regard to form and substance. No two state governments are identical. The following tables compare and contrast some of the features of U.S. state governments.
With the exception of Nebraska, all American state legislatures are bicameral, meaning there is one legislative body separated into two units. Nebraska eliminated its lower house with a referendum during the 1936 elections. Also, some systems, such as New York's, have two legislative bodies while never technically referring to them in the state constitution as a single body. These dual systems are generally considered bicameral.
While only 13 states have a filibuster, there are often restrictions on the majority a state needs to raise taxes.
Key | State | Notes |
---|---|---|
Alabama | The Alabama State Senate allows a filibuster, and has a general three-fifths requirement to enact cloture. A simple majority of 18 is acceptable when dealing with the budget and redistricting. [7] | |
Arkansas | Arkansas, along with Rhode Island, is one of the only states that requires a supermajority to pass a budget. A three-fourths majority is required for appropriations, except for education, highways, and paying down the state debt, which require a simple majority. [8] | |
California | From 1933-2011 there was a two-thirds requirement for general fund appropriations for purposes other than public schools (Const., Art. IV, Sec. 12). Because the Legislature typically passes one main budget bill, the requirement effectively applied to the whole budget bill. [8] There has been a two-thirds requirement for tax increases since Proposition 13 in 1978. In 2010, voters approved Proposition 25, eliminating the 2/3 requirement for the budget, but keeping it for tax increases. |
The Governor is the chief executive official in each state.
State | Governor term length | Governor term limit | Lieutenant Governor | First in line of succession |
---|---|---|---|---|
Alabama | Four years | Two consecutive terms | Yes | Lieutenant Governor |
Alaska | Four years | Two terms | Yes | Lieutenant Governor |
Arizona | Four years | Two consecutive terms [note 3] | No | Secretary of State |
Arkansas | Four years | Two terms | Yes | Lieutenant Governor |
California | Four years | Two terms | Yes | Lieutenant Governor |
Colorado | Four years | Two terms | Yes | Lieutenant Governor |
Connecticut | Four years | None | Yes | Lieutenant Governor |
Delaware | Four years | Two terms | Yes | Lieutenant Governor |
Florida | Four years | Two consecutive terms | Yes | Lieutenant Governor |
Georgia | Four years | Two terms | Yes | Lieutenant Governor |
Hawaii | Four years | Two terms | Yes | Lieutenant Governor |
Idaho | Four years | None | Yes | Lieutenant Governor |
Illinois | Four years | None | Yes | Lieutenant Governor |
Indiana | Four years | Two terms in a 12-year period [note 4] | Yes | Lieutenant Governor |
Iowa | Four years | None | Yes | Lieutenant Governor |
Kansas | Four years | There is no lifetime limit on the number, but one must be out of office for at least one election cycle after serving 2 consecutive terms before being eligible again. | Yes | Lieutenant Governor |
Kentucky | Four years | Two terms | Yes | Lieutenant Governor |
Louisiana | Four years | Two terms | Yes | Lieutenant Governor |
Maine | Four years | Two terms | No | President of the Senate |
Maryland | Four years | Two consecutive terms | Yes | Lieutenant Governor |
Massachusetts | Four years | None | Yes | Lieutenant Governor |
Michigan | Four years | Two terms | Yes | Lieutenant Governor |
Minnesota | Four years | None | Yes | Lieutenant Governor |
Mississippi | Four years | Two terms | Yes | Lieutenant Governor |
Missouri | Four years | Two terms | Yes | Lieutenant Governor |
Montana | Four years | Two terms | Yes | Lieutenant Governor |
Nebraska | Four years | Two terms | Yes | Lieutenant Governor |
Nevada | Four years | Two terms | Yes | Lieutenant Governor |
New Hampshire | Two years | None | No | President of the Senate |
New Jersey | Four years | Two terms | Yes [note 5] | Lieutenant Governor |
New Mexico | Four years | Two terms | Yes | Lieutenant Governor |
New York | Four years | None | Yes | Lieutenant Governor |
North Carolina | Four years | Two terms | Yes | Lieutenant Governor |
North Dakota | Four years | None | Yes | Lieutenant Governor |
Ohio | Four years | Two terms | Yes | Lieutenant Governor |
Oklahoma | Four years | Two terms | Yes | Lieutenant Governor |
Oregon | Four years | Two consecutive terms | No | Secretary of State |
Pennsylvania | Four years | Two consecutive terms [note 6] | Yes | Lieutenant Governor |
Rhode Island | Four years | Two terms | Yes | Lieutenant Governor |
South Carolina | Four years | Two terms | Yes | Lieutenant Governor |
South Dakota | Four years | Two terms | Yes | Lieutenant Governor |
Tennessee | Four years | Two terms | Yes [note 7] | President of the Senate |
Texas | Four years | None | Yes | Lieutenant Governor |
Utah | Four years | None | Yes | Lieutenant Governor |
Vermont | Two years | None | Yes | Lieutenant Governor |
Virginia | Four years | No limit on number, but terms cannot be consecutive | Yes | Lieutenant Governor |
Washington | Four years | None | Yes | Lieutenant Governor |
West Virginia | Four years | Two terms | Yes [note 8] | President of the Senate |
Wisconsin | Four years | None | Yes | Lieutenant Governor |
Wyoming | Four years | Two terms | No | Secretary of State |
Note: Table does not distinguish between consecutive term limits and total term limits, unless otherwise noted.
Note: Table does not distinguish between term lengths that result in a new election and term lengths that result in a retention vote but not a full election.
The government of the U.S. state of Missouri is organized into the state government and local government, including county government, and city and municipal government.
The Governor of Indiana is the head of state and head of government of the state of Indiana. The governor is elected to a four-year term and is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day management of the functions of many agencies of the Indiana state government. The governor also shares power with other statewide executive officers, who manage other state government agencies. The governor works out of the Indiana Statehouse and holds official functions at the Indiana Governor's Residence in the state capital of Indianapolis.
The Michigan Legislature is the legislature of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is organized as a bicameral body composed of an upper chamber, the Senate, and a lower chamber, the House of Representatives. Article IV of the Michigan Constitution, adopted in 1963, defines the role of the Legislature and how it is to be constituted. The chief purposes of the Legislature are to enact new laws and amend or repeal existing laws. The Legislature meets in the Capitol building in Lansing.
The Colorado General Assembly is the state legislature of the State of Colorado. It is a bicameral legislature that was created by the 1876 state constitution. Its statutes are codified in the Colorado Revised Statutes (C.R.S.). The session laws are published in the Session Laws of Colorado.
The New Jersey Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, as defined by the New Jersey Constitution of 1947, the Legislature consists of two houses: the General Assembly and the Senate. The Legislature meets in the New Jersey State House, in the state capital of Trenton. Democrats currently hold veto-proof supermajorities in both chambers of the legislature.
The Tennessee General Assembly (TNGA) is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is a part-time bicameral legislature consisting of a Senate and a House of Representatives. The Speaker of the Senate carries the additional title and office of Lieutenant Governor of Tennessee. In addition to passing a budget for state government plus other legislation, the General Assembly appoints three state officers specified by the state constitution. It is also the initiating body in any process to amend the state's constitution.
The Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico is the territorial legislature of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, responsible for the legislative branch of the government of Puerto Rico. The Assembly is a bicameral legislature consisting of an upper house, the Senate normally composed by 27 senators, and the lower house, the House of Representatives normally composed by 51 representatives. Eleven members of each house are elected at-large rather than from a specific legislative district with all members being elected for a four-year term without term limits.
The Supreme Court of Florida is the highest court in the U.S. state of Florida. It consists of seven members—the chief justice and six justices. Five members are chosen from five districts around the state to foster geographic diversity and two are selected at-large.
The government of Florida is established and operated according to the Constitution of Florida and is composed of three branches of government: the executive branch consisting of the governor of Florida and the other elected and appointed constitutional officers; the legislative branch, the Florida Legislature, consisting of the Senate and House; and the judicial branch consisting of the Supreme Court of Florida and lower courts. The state also allows direct participation of the electorate by initiative, referendum, and ratification.
The Nevada Legislature is a bicameral body, consisting of the lower house, the Assembly, with 42 members, and the upper house, the Senate, with 21. With a total of 63 seats, the Legislature is the third-smallest bicameral state legislature in the United States, after Alaska's and Delaware's (62). The Nevada State Legislature as of 2019 is the first majority female State Legislature in the history of the United States. The Democratic Party currently controls both houses of the Nevada State Legislature.
The Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is a bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana State Senate with 39 senators. Members of each house are elected from single-member districts of roughly equal populations.
The Oklahoma Senate is the upper house of the two houses of the Legislature of Oklahoma, the other being the Oklahoma House of Representatives. The total number of senators is set at 48 by the Oklahoma Constitution.
In the United States, term limits, also referred to as rotation in office, restrict the number of terms of office an officeholder may serve. At the federal level, the 22nd Amendment to the United States Constitution limits the president of the United States to two four-year terms. State government offices in some, but not all states, are term-limited, including for executive, legislative, and judicial office.
The government of the State of New Jersey is separated into three distinct branches: legislative, executive, and judicial. The powers of the State of New Jersey are vested by the Constitution of New Jersey, enacted in 1947, in a bicameral state legislature, the Governor, and the state courts, headed the New Jersey Supreme Court. The powers and duties of these branches are further defined by acts of the state legislature, including the creation of executive departments and courts inferior to the Supreme Court. Like most states, the state allows the incorporation of county, and other local municipal government.
A term of office is the length of time a person serves in a particular elected office. In many jurisdictions there is a defined limit on how long terms of office may be before the officeholder must be subject to re-election. Some jurisdictions exercise term limits, setting a maximum number of terms an individual may hold in a particular office.
The government of the U.S. state of Kansas, established by the Kansas Constitution, is a republican democracy modeled after the Federal Government of the United States. The state government has three branches: the executive, the legislative, and the judicial. Through a system of separation of powers, or "checks and balances," each of these branches has some authority to act on its own, and also some authority to regulate the other two branches, so that all three branches can limit and balance the others' authority.
Michigan has a republican form of government with three branches of government: the executive branch consisting of the Governor of Michigan and the other independently elected constitutional officers; the legislative branch consisting of the House of Representatives and Senate; and the judicial branch consisting of the one court of justice. The state also allows direct participation of the electorate by initiative, referendum, recall, and ratification.
The Government of West Virginia is modeled after the Government of the United States, with three branches: the executive, consisting of the Governor of West Virginia and the other elected constitutional officers; the legislative, consisting of the West Virginia Legislature which includes the Senate and the House of Delegates; and the judicial, consisting of the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals and lower courts.
The Arkansas General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The legislature is a bicameral body composed of the upper house Arkansas Senate with 35 members, and the lower Arkansas House of Representatives with 100 members. All 135 representatives and state senators represent an equal number of constituent districts. The General Assembly convenes on the second Monday of every other year. A session lasts for 60 days unless the legislature votes to extend it. The Governor of Arkansas can issue a "call" for a special session during the interims between regular sessions. The General Assembly meets at the Arkansas State Capitol in Little Rock.
Some type of election in Idaho occurs annually in each of the state’s cities and towns, the exact type of which is dependent on the year. Elections for federal and statewide offices occur in even-numbered years, while municipal elections occur in odd-numbered years.