Comparison_of_U.S._state_and_territory_governments

Comparison of U.S. state and territory governments

Comparison of U.S. state and territory governments

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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]

Main article: State governments of the United States

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.

Legislative

See also: Political composition of state legislatures and Historical trend of state legislature political composition

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 the New York State Legislature, 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.

More information State legislative branch, Lower house ...

Supermajority requirements

While only 13 states have a filibuster, there are often restrictions on the majority a state needs to raise taxes.

Legend
  Effective supermajority system
  Majority rule (22)
  Mixed system
More information Key, State ...

Executive

See also: Gubernatorial term limits

The governor is the chief executive official in each state.

More information State, Governor term length ...

Note: Table does not distinguish between consecutive term limits and total term limits, unless otherwise noted.

Judicial

See also: State supreme court methods of composition
More information State, Highest court ...

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.

See also

Notes

  1. [N 1]
    The new limit was decided by referendum as Proposition 28, in June 2012. Between 1990 and that date, one could serve 3 terms in the House and 2 in the Senate, which means the new limit is globally earlier but roughly doubles in each body.
  2. [N 2]
    Two terms beginning with the 2024 elections.
  3. [N 3]
    State representatives were limited to three terms (6 years) until term limits were repealed by Oregon Ballot Measure 3 (1992).
  4. [N 4]
    State senators were limited to two terms (8 years) until term limits were repealed by Oregon Ballot Measure 3 (1992).
  5. [N 5]
    Governor may serve unlimited terms but only two in a row.
  6. [N 6]
    Office of lieutenant governor, created in 2022, will be implemented in 2026.
  7. [N 7]
    Governors of Indiana may serve an unlimited number of terms, but may only serve for eight years in any twelve-year period. (Constitution of Indiana Article 5)
  8. [N 8]
    Office created in 2005 and implemented in 2009
  9. [N 9]
    There are no limits on the number of terms a governor may serve in total as long as there is a four-year break after a second term.
  10. [N 10]
    The President of the Senate is also the Lieutenant Governor.
  11. [N 11]
    Uncompleted entries do not indicate the lack of a retirement age, only a lack of data in this article. States without a mandatory retirement age will indicate "None".
  12. [N 12]
    Retention election held after two years of service. Mandatory retirement at age 75.
  13. [N 13]
    The Indiana retirement age is the same regardless of the length of the Justice's remaining term.
  14. [N 14]
    Name officially changed from Maryland Court of Appeals in 2022.
  15. [N 15]
    While Michigan law stipulates that State Supreme Court judges be listed on the "non-partisan" section on the ballot, only candidates who have been nominated by political parties with ballot access at their respective state conventions are allowed to stand in the succeeding general election. Subsequently, each party is only allowed to nominate as many candidates as there are supreme court seats up for election in a given year.

References

  1. [1]
    Natelson, Robert G. "Essays on Article IV: Guarantee Clause". The Heritage Foundation.
  2. [2]
    "State & Local Government". whitehouse.gov. The White House.
  3. [3]
    "Frequently Asked Questions About the Minnesota Legislature". Minnesota State Legislature.
  4. [4]
    "Arizona Constitution, Art. 4, Part 2, Sec. 21". Archived from the original on May 4, 2019. Retrieved July 26, 2020.
  5. [5]
    Missouri Constitution, Art. III, Sec. 8
  6. [6]
    "Welcome to the Alabama State Legislature". Archived from the original on February 7, 2013. Retrieved June 26, 2013.
  7. [7]
    Fiscal Policy, State Budgets and Tax Actions | News and Information
  8. [8]
    Judgepedia.org, Connecticut Supreme Court, found here.
  9. [9]
    Refers to initial "probation" period. If the governor reappoints them (almost universally true) they then serve for life
  10. [10]
    Linda Greenhouse, "The Case for Term Limits on the Supreme Court with Linda Greenhouse", Yale Political Union, May 28, 2009,
  11. [11]
    Aaron Applegate, Mike Saewitz, "Bill seeks to raise mandatory retirement age for judges to 73", The Virginian-Pilot, February 4, 2010,

Sources
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