Governors are elected by the people and, with the exception of the governors of New Hampshire and Vermont, serve four year terms. Except in Virginia, governors may succeed themselves, although many are limited to two consecutive terms in office. The governors serve as the chief executive officers of the fifty states and of the five commonwealths and territories. In this role they are generally responsible for the implementation of the laws enacted by their state legislatures and for the operation of the majority of state departments and agencies. In carrying out these responsibilities governors generally appoint department and agency heads, often subject to legislative confirmation, propose state budgets and legislation, and oversee their appointees and the programs for which they are responsible. Many states' governors carry out these responsibilities with the assistance of a cabinet comprised of their appointees. In more than half of the states, governors have the power to appoint judges to state courts, in most cases from a list of names submitted by a nominations committee.

While governors share many common characteristics across the states, the specific powers and responsibilities vary considerably from state to state. As a result, governors are often ranked as more or less powerful based on the combination of their powers and responsibilities and the political situation in their states. The factors used in ranking gubernatorial power often include such things as the number of separately elected executive branch officials, tenure potential, appointment power, budget power, veto power and gubernatorial party control. Overall, the power of governors appears to be increasing over time.

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Many of the sections in “Executive Branch Powers & Processes” contain links to tables from "The Book of the States," which provides state-by-state data on important state government policies and programs. For additional information, see the Council of State Government's "The Book of the States." This annual publication holds all of the "need to know" facts about state government in one place. A true "encyclopedia" of state government, "The Book of the States" covers every topic imaginable. Each section contains an original essay by an expert tracking state trends in that issue area for the past decade or more. This is accompanied by hundreds of easy-to-use 50-state tables and charts. To order "The Book of the States," call 1-859-244-8000 or visit the Council of State Government's online storefront at http://storefront.csg.org.