Government in the United States, National, State and Local

Power over State Officers.– He generally has a certain power of oversight over the other principal state officers, but little power of control over them. There is a tendency, however, to enlarge his power in this respect.14 Several constitutions, for example, empower him to require reports from the principal officers, and in some states he is given the right to examine into the condition of the treasurer's and comptroller's offices and under certain conditions to remove the incumbent from office. In a very few states, also, the governor may remove sheriffs or mayors for negligence or abuse of power in the enforcement of the state laws.

Power of Appointment.– The governor's principal executive power consists of the right to appoint certain officers and boards, and sometimes to remove them, subject to certain restrictions. In the early days of our history, many of the state officers were chosen by the legislature, but with the growth of the democratic spirit the selection of these officials was taken from the legislature and they were made elective by the people. In a very few states the legislature still retains a considerable power of appointment. In most states, however, the governor appoints all officers not elected by the people. In a few states he appoints the judges; in half a dozen or more he appoints several of the principal state officers, such as the secretary of state and the attorney-general, and in most of them he appoints some of the important administrative officers and the members of various boards and commissions. In New York, for example, he appoints the superintendent of insurance and banking, the members of the two public service commissions, the superintendent of public works, the commissioner of agriculture, the commissioner of health, and other important officials. In some states he appoints the railroad commissioners, the trustees of public institutions, members of the state board of health, the members of various examining boards, pure food commissioners, factory inspectors, game commissioners, mining inspectors, and so on. As compared with the President of the United States, his power of appointment, however, is very small. Moreover, his power to appoint is usually limited by the condition that his nominations must be approved by the senate or the executive council where there is such a body.

Power of Removal.– The governor can usually remove the officials whom he appoints, but rarely any others. But the power of removal must exist somewhere, because it would be intolerable to have to retain in the public service men who are dishonest, incapable, or otherwise unfit. The other methods of removal provided are impeachment, removal by resolution of the legislature, and occasionally removal by the courts. Removal by impeachment takes place by the preferment of a charge by the lower house of the legislature and trial by the upper house. This method, however, is cumbersome and is rarely resorted to – never in the case of minor officials. Removal by resolution of the legislature is sometimes employed for getting rid of unfit or corrupt judges. In several states, the method of recall has been instituted, by which, on petition of 25 per cent of the voters, the officer must submit his case to the voters, and if a majority of them pronounce in favor of his recall, he must retire.

The Military Powers of the Governor.– In every state the governor is commander in chief of the military forces of the state and also of the naval forces where there are any – a power which means little in times of peace. Whenever there are riots or serious disturbances, however, this power becomes important. When the disturbance is too great to be suppressed by the local authorities, the governor may order out a portion of the militia and may, if he elects, take charge of it himself. There are few states where the governor has not at some time or another been compelled to make use of this power. Mobs sometimes break into jails and take out prisoners and lynch them; and sometimes strike riots occur in mining or manufacturing communities, in which cases the governor may be called upon to send troops to the scene of the disturbance and keep them there until quiet and order have been restored.

Power to Suspend the Writ of Habeas Corpus.– A usual part of the governor's military power is the right to suspend the writ of habeas corpus in communities where great disorders prevail, that is, to suspend the power of the courts to release prisoners charged with violations of the law, thus leaving unhampered the power of the military authorities to restrain persons they may imprison. This power, however, is one which might be grossly abused; therefore many state constitutions forbid the suspension of the writ except under extraordinary conditions, and a few, indeed, permit it to be suspended only by the legislature.

The Military Forces of the State consist usually of a number of regiments of citizen soldiers, who are organized, uniformed, and officered after the manner of the regular army of the United States, who attend an annual encampment for purposes of drill and practice, and who must always be ready to respond to the call of the governor. At the head of the state militia is an officer called the adjutant general, through whom the military orders of the government are issued and carried out. The governor also has a military staff which accompanies him on occasions of ceremony such as the inauguration of the President of the United States, grand army reviews, and the like.

The Pardoning Power.– In every state the governor is vested with the power of pardoning offenders against the laws of the state, but in most states the exercise of the power is subject to restrictions. The purpose of vesting this power in the governor is to make it possible to correct the errors of courts and juries, as where subsequent to the conviction evidence is brought to light showing that the person convicted is innocent, and has been wrongfully convicted, or where it becomes evident before the full penalty has been paid that the offender has been sufficiently punished and should be released.

In many states boards of pardon have been provided for sharing with the governor the responsibility for the exercise of this important prerogative.15 These boards are of two kinds: first, those whose powers are limited to the hearing of applications for pardons and the making of recommendations to the governor, who is not bound by their advice; and second, those whose approval is necessary for the validity of any pardon granted by him. Convictions for treason and in impeachment cases are frequently excepted from the list of cases in which the governor may grant pardons, though in the case of treason he is sometimes given the power to suspend the execution of the sentence to await the action of the legislature. In a number of states notice of an application for a pardon must be published in the community where the applicant was convicted, in order that the people of the community who have been injured by his crime may have an opportunity to protest against the granting of a pardon to him. Sometimes also the approval of the presiding judge of the court in which the criminal was convicted is necessary before a pardon may be granted. It is usual to require the governor to make a report to the legislature at each session of all pardons granted, and at the same time give the reason in each case why a pardon was issued.

Generally with the right of pardon is included the power to grant reprieves, that is, stays of execution; commutations, that is, the substitution of a lesser punishment in the place of the one imposed; and remission of fines and forfeitures. The right also usually includes the power of amnesty or the power of granting by proclamation pardons to large numbers of persons, as in the case of uprisings or insurrections against the laws and authority of the state. A pardon may be absolute or conditional; in the first case, it is granted without restriction; in the second case, it is valid only on certain conditions, as where the offender is required to lead an upright life or where he is required to leave the state. Generally the governor of the state, unlike the President of the United States, has no power to grant a pardon to an individual offender before he has been convicted.

State Boards and Commissions.– One of the remarkable political tendencies of recent years has been the multiplication of boards and commissions to aid in the government of the states. Every state now has a number of such boards, and in some of the populous commonwealths such as New York and Massachusetts there are upwards of a hundred of them. Hardly a legislative session passes that does not create one or two commissions for some purpose or other. These boards or commissions fall roughly into five classes, as follows:

First, many of these boards are of an industrial character, such as boards of agriculture, food and dairy commissions, live stock, fish, and mining commissions, and the like. In general their purpose is to promote the agricultural, mining, and industrial interests, generally, of the state, through the collection and dissemination of information concerning the best method of conducting those industries.

A second class of boards are of a more distinctly scientific and research character, such as boards of health, bureaus of labor and statistics, geological commissions, forestry boards, and the like. Although some of these, like the board of health, are charged with the execution of certain laws, the general purpose of all of them is scientific research and the collection of data.

A third class of boards are those charged primarily with the supervision of certain businesses or industries affecting the public interest, and with the enforcement of the laws relating to such businesses. Such are the railroad commissions, commissions of insurance, public utility commissions, commissions of inland fisheries, and the like. In some instances these commissions not only have power to prescribe rules for businesses affected with a public interest, but also to fix the rates which they may charge.

A fourth group of commissions or boards are those charged with examining applicants for admission to practice certain professions or trades such as medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, architecture, and plumbing. The purpose of requiring such examinations is to secure a standard of efficiency, and to protect society against quacks.

A fifth class includes those which have supervision over the public institutions of the state, educational, penal, reformatory, charitable, etc. In recent years there has been a marked tendency to consolidate boards of this class, by putting all the charitable and penal institutions under the control of a single board, or under two boards, one for charitable and the other for penal institutions. In a few states all the higher educational institutions are under one board.

Members of all these classes of boards are usually appointed by the governor, though occasionally a board is made up of members chosen by popular election.

State Administrative Reorganization.– In 1917 a more systematic organization of state administration was established in Illinois. Nine main departments were established, each under a director, in place of a large number of former offices, boards, and commissions. Similar reorganizations have since taken place in a number of other states.

The State Civil Service System.– The number of persons necessary to carry on the state government in its various branches is very large. In order to provide a method by which subordinate employees can be selected with regard to their fitness rather than with reference to their party services, New York, Massachusetts, Illinois, Wisconsin, and other states have enacted civil service laws establishing the merit system of appointment.

The recent civil service laws provide, in general, for the classification of all positions other than those filled by popular election, by executive appointment, or by legislative choice, and for appointment to these positions only after an examination of the candidates. Generally, those who pass the examination successfully are placed on an eligible list in the order of the grades which they receive, and when an office is to be filled, the appointing officer is required to make his choice from the three candidates highest on the list. For the filling of certain positions requiring technical skill, special non-competitive examinations are given and less consideration is given to academic qualifications. Certain positions are not placed under the civil service rules, and the appointing authority is allowed to make his choice without the necessity of examinations. Such are the positions of private secretary, chief clerk, and other employees who occupy a confidential relation to the heads of departments.

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1

Fairlie, "Local Government," p. 147.

2

Hart, "Actual Government," p. 172.

3

The corresponding division in Louisiana is called a parish.

4

In Vermont and Connecticut, however, they are appointed by the judges and hold during their pleasure, while in Rhode Island they are elected by the legislature annually.

5

Rhode Island is the only state in which there is no such official as the county treasurer, the custody of local funds being intrusted to the town treasurers.

6

The county court and the justices of the peace are discussed in the chapter on the state judiciary (chapter vi).

7

Goodnow, "Comparative Administrative Law," Vol. I, p. 178.

8

The Census Bureau reported in 1916 that 155 of the 204 cities having populations in excess of 30,000 owned their water supply systems.

9

An ex post facto law is retroactive, making criminal an act that was not a crime when committed, or increasing the punishment for past crimes. A bill of attainder is a law convicting an accused person without a trial, and imposing on him the penalties of treason.

10

The inherent power of the state to take private property for public use is called the right of eminent domain.

11

The California house of representatives, consisting of eighty members, had in 1907 a total of 335 employees, with salaries ranging from $3 to $8 per day. The senate, composed of forty members, had 228 employees. Since then an amendment to the constitution of that state has been adopted, limiting to $500 per day the amount that may be expended by the legislature for clerical assistance. In some other states the number of employees of the legislature seems excessive, and restrictions similar to that now found in the constitution of California might not be out of place. Thus in 1903 there were 226 employees of the legislature of Illinois, 315 in Missouri, 299 in New York, and 225 in Oregon. The expense account of legislative employees in Illinois for the session of 1913 amounted to more than $95,000; the amount in New York was over $250,000; and in Wisconsin over $76,000. One of the arguments now being urged in some states in favor of a single-chamber legislature is that it would make possible a material reduction in the number of legislative employees and a corresponding diminution of expenses.

12

In Wisconsin and some other states, "legislative reference bureaus" furnish members with information regarding subjects of proposed legislation, and aid them in the drafting of bills.

13

The constitution of Illinois requires the governor to transmit a message to the legislature also at the end of his term, summing up the condition of affairs of the state at the time.

14

By an important act passed in Illinois in 1917 a large number of bureaus and commissions were consolidated and placed under the authority of departmental heads appointed by the governor, who has a large power of control over them. A number of other states have since done likewise.

15

In several states certain of the state officers, one of whom is the attorney-general, serve as the pardon board; in others, it is the senate; and in Massachusetts and Maine it is the executive council.