See main article: State governments of the United States. 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.
See also: List of United States state legislatures and United States state legislatures' partisan trend.
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.
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.[10] | ||
| 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.[11] | ||
| California | From 1933 to 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. 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 (years) | Governor term limit | First in line of succession | Lieutenant Governor method of election | Secretary of State | Attorney General | Treasurer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 4 | Two consecutive terms | Lieutenant Governor | Separate election | ||||
| Alaska | 4 | Two terms | Lieutenant Governor | Same ticket in general election, separate election in primary | ||||
| Arizona | 4 | Two consecutive terms[12] | Secretary of State[13] | |||||
| Arkansas | 4 | Two terms | Lieutenant Governor | Separate election | ||||
| California | 4 | Two terms | Lieutenant Governor | Separate election | ||||
| Colorado | 4 | Two terms | Lieutenant Governor | Same ticket | ||||
| Connecticut | 4 | None | Lieutenant Governor | Same ticket in general election, separate election in primary | ||||
| Delaware | 4 | Two terms | Lieutenant Governor | Separate election | ||||
| Florida | 4 | Two consecutive terms | Lieutenant Governor | Same ticket | ||||
| Georgia | 4 | Two terms | Lieutenant Governor | Separate election | ||||
| Hawaii | 4 | Two terms | Lieutenant Governor | Same ticket in general election, separate election in primary | ||||
| Idaho | 4 | None | Lieutenant Governor | Separate election | ||||
| Illinois | 4 | None | Lieutenant Governor | Same ticket | ||||
| Indiana | 4 | Two terms in a 12-year period[14] | Lieutenant Governor | Same ticket | ||||
| Iowa | 4 | None | Lieutenant Governor | Same ticket | ||||
| Kansas | 4 | 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. | Lieutenant Governor | Same ticket | ||||
| Kentucky | 4 | Two terms | Lieutenant Governor | Same ticket | ||||
| Louisiana | 4 | Two terms | Lieutenant Governor | Separate election | ||||
| Maine | 4 | Two consecutive terms | President of the Senate | |||||
| Maryland | 4 | Two consecutive terms | Lieutenant Governor | Same ticket | ||||
| Massachusetts | 4 | None | Lieutenant Governor | Same ticket in general election, separate election in primary | ||||
| Michigan | 4 | Two terms | Lieutenant Governor | Same ticket | ||||
| Minnesota | 4 | None | Lieutenant Governor | Same ticket | ||||
| Mississippi | 4 | Two terms | Lieutenant Governor | Separate election | ||||
| Missouri | 4 | Two terms | Lieutenant Governor | Separate election | ||||
| Montana | 4 | Two terms | Lieutenant Governor | Same ticket | ||||
| Nebraska | 4 | Two terms | Lieutenant Governor | Same ticket | ||||
| Nevada | 4 | Two terms | Lieutenant Governor | Separate election | ||||
| New Hampshire | 2 | None | President of the Senate | |||||
| New Jersey | 4 | Two terms | Lieutenant Governor | Same ticket | ||||
| New Mexico | 4 | Two terms | Lieutenant Governor | Same ticket in general election, separate election in primary | ||||
| New York | 4 | None | Lieutenant Governor | Same ticket in general election, separate election in primary | ||||
| North Carolina | 4 | Two consecutive terms | Lieutenant Governor | Separate election | ||||
| North Dakota | 4 | None | Lieutenant Governor | Same ticket | ||||
| Ohio | 4 | Two terms | Lieutenant Governor | Same ticket | ||||
| Oklahoma | 4 | Two terms | Lieutenant Governor | Separate election | ||||
| Oregon | 4 | Two consecutive terms | Secretary of State | |||||
| Pennsylvania | 4 | Two consecutive terms[15] | Lieutenant Governor | Same ticket in general election, separate election in primary | ||||
| Rhode Island | 4 | Two terms | Lieutenant Governor | Separate election | ||||
| South Carolina | 4 | Two terms | Lieutenant Governor | Same ticket | ||||
| South Dakota | 4 | Two terms | Lieutenant Governor | Same ticket | ||||
| Tennessee | 4 | Two terms | Speaker of the Senate | Title given to Speaker of the Senate | ||||
| Texas | 4 | None | Lieutenant Governor | Separate election | ||||
| Utah | 4 | None | Lieutenant Governor | Same ticket | ||||
| Vermont | 2 | None | Lieutenant Governor | Separate election | ||||
| Virginia | 4 | No limit on number, but terms cannot be consecutive | Lieutenant Governor | Separate election | ||||
| Washington | 4 | None | Lieutenant Governor | Separate election | ||||
| West Virginia | 4 | Two terms | Lieutenant Governor | Title given to President of the Senate | ||||
| Wisconsin | 4 | None | Lieutenant Governor | Same ticket in general election, separate election in primary | ||||
| Wyoming | 4 | Two terms | 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.