Governor of Alabama

Alabama Governor
General information
Office Type:	Partisan
Office website:	Official Link
2013 FY Budget:	$1,522,187
Term limits:	2 terms
Structure
Length of term:	4 years
Authority:	Constitution of Alabama, Article V, Section 113
Selection Method:	Elected
Current Officeholder
Name:	Robert J. Bentley
Officeholder Party:	Republican
Assumed office:	January 17, 2011
Compensation:	$112,895
Elections
Next election:	November 4, 2014
Last election:	November 2, 2010
Other Alabama Executive Offices
Governor • Lieutenant Governor • Secretary of State • Attorney General • Treasurer • Auditor • Superintendent of Education • Agriculture Commissioner • Insurance Commissioner • Natural Resources Commissioner • Labor Commissioner • Public Service Commission

The Governor of the State of Alabama is an elected Constitutional officer, the head of the Executive branch, and the highest state office in Alabama. The Governor is popularly elected every four years by a simple majority and is limited to two terms. Alabama's original Constitution, from 1819, made the gubernatorial term of office two years. The 1901 Constitution extended the term to four years and, after Amendment 282 was passed in 1968, allowed a Governor to succeed himself once.

As of May 2013, Alabama is one of 24 Republican state government trifectas.

Current officeholder

The 53rd and current governor of Alabama is Robert J. Bentley, a Republican. Bentley took office in January 2011, after winning the seat in the November 2010 midterms.

Before becoming governor, Bentley served in the Alabama House of Representatives and as a founding partner and president of Alabama Dermatological Associates. He also served as a captain in the U.S. Air Force during the Vietnam War from 1969 to 1971. Bentley earned a B.S. in Biology and Chemistry from the University of Alabama and an M.D. from the Medical College of Alabama. His wife, Dianne Bentley, is the First Lady of Alabama.

Authority

The state constitution establishes the office of the governor in Article V, the Executive Department.

Constitution of Alabama, Article V, Section 113

The supreme executive power of this state shall be vested in a chief magistrate, who shall be styled "The Governor of the State of Alabama.

Qualifications

Governors
Current Governors
Gubernatorial Elections
2013 • 2012 • 2011 • 2010 Lists of candidates
Current Lt. Governors
Lt. Governor Elections
2013 • 2012 • 2011 • 2010
Breaking news

The governor may not hold any federal or state office in Alabama concurrently with his gubernatorial term. Additionally, the governor must be at least 30 years old, an American citizen for at least ten years on the date of the election, and a resident of Alabama for at least seven years.

Constitution of Alabama, Article V, Section 116

The governor, lieutenant governor, attorney-general, state auditor, secretary of state, state treasurer, superintendent of education, commissioner of agriculture and industries, elected after the ratification of this Constitution, shall hold their respective offices for the term of four years from the first Monday after the second Tuesday in January next succeeding their election, and until their successors shall be elected and qualified.

Constitution of Alabama, Article V, Section 117

The governor and lieutenant governor shall each be at least thirty years of age when elected, and shall have been citizens of the United States ten years and resident citizens of this state at least seven years next before the date of their election.

Elections

See also: Gubernatorial election cycles by state

See also: Election of governors

Per Section 114 of the state constitution, Alabama elects its governors during federal midterm election years (e.g. 2006, 2010, 2014, and 2018). Section 116 sets the governor's inauguration for the first Monday after the second Tuesday in the January following an election. Thus, January 17, 2011 and January 19, 2015 are inaugural days.

Constitution of Alabama, Article V, Section 114

The governor, lieutenant governor, attorney-general, state auditor, secretary of state, state treasurer, superintendent of education, and commissioner of agriculture and industries shall be elected by the qualified electors of the state at the same time and places appointed for the election of members of the legislature in the year nineteen hundred and two, and in every fourth year thereafter.

Constitution of Alabama, Article V, Section 116

The governor, lieutenant governor, attorney-general, state auditor, secretary of state, state treasurer, superintendent of education, commissioner of agriculture and industries, elected after the ratification of this Constitution, shall hold their respective offices for the term of four years from the first Monday after the second Tuesday in January next succeeding their election, and until their successors shall be elected and qualified.

Term limits

See also: States with gubernatorial term limits

Alabama governors are restricted to two consecutive terms in office, after which they must wait one term before being eligible to run again.

Alabama Constitution of 1901, Amendment 282 (to Section 116)

[The Governor] shall be eligible to succeed himself in office, but no person shall be eligible to succeed himself for more than one additional term.

Partisan composition

The chart below shows the partisan breakdown of Alabama State Governors from 1992-2013.

Vacancies

See also: How gubernatorial vacancies are filled

Details of vacancy appointments are addressed under Article V, Sections 127 and 128 of the state constitution.

In the event that the elected governor is unable to complete his term, the Lieutenant Governor of Alabama succeeds him. The lieutenant governor also becomes acting governor at any time when the elected governor is unable to discharge the office for 20 consecutive days. Because Alabama elects her governor and lieutenant governor on separate tickets, it is theoretically possible for the governorship of the state to change parties without an election occurring.

Any two other constitutional officers, excluding the individual who would succeed the governor, may also file a affidavit with the state Supreme Court declaring that the sitting governor is of unsound mind, in which case the determines whether the governor is mentally competent to exercise his office.

Duties

The governor is responsible for upholding the Alabama Constitution and executing state law. The governor also is commander-in-chief of the state's military forces (the Alabama Army National Guard and Alabama Air National Guard, which are part of the National Guard of the United States, and the Alabama State Defense Force, which is the State Defense Forces). As commander-in-chief the governor may call out the state's military forces preserve the public peace when it is not in active service of the United States.

At least once every legislative session, the governor is required to deliver an address to the state legislature, referred to as the "State of the State Address," regarding the condition and operation of the state government and to suggest new legislation.

Other duties and privileges of the office include:

• seeing that all laws of the state are faithfully executed.

• overseeing other state executive officers and agencies.

• convening extraordinary sessions of the legislature.

• presenting a budget for the state to the legislature.

• remitting fines and forfeitures and granting reprieves, paroles, commutations of sentence and pardons

• exercising a veto over bills

Divisions

The governor's office includes a number of individual divisions:

• Executive Office
• Chief of Staff
• Appointments
• Communications
• Legal
• Legislative
• Constituent Services
• Policy
• Administration
• Mansion

State budget

The budget for the Governor's Office in Fiscal Year 2012-2013 was $1,522,187.

Compensation

See also: Comparison of gubernatorial salaries and Compensation of state executive officers

The governor's pay is fixed and may be raised by the Alabama legislature. In 2012, the Governor of Alabama's salary was $120,936. Article V, Section 118 of the state constitution requires that changes in compensation take effect in the term after they were passed.

Alabama Constitution, Article V, Section 118

The governor, lieutenant governor, attorney-general, state auditor, secretary of state, state treasurer, superintendent of education, and commissioner of agriculture and industries, shall receive compensation to be fixed by law, which shall not be increased or diminished during the term for which they shall have been elected, and shall, except the lieutenant governor, reside at the state capital during the time they continue in office, except during epidemics.

Recent news

This section displays the most recent stories in a google news search for the term Alabama+ governor

All stories may not be relevant to this page due to the nature of the search engine.

Alabama Governor News Feed

• Alabama Governor Robert Bentley says state will meet with existing and ... - Made In Alabama
• Alabama school board's Mary Scott Hunter may challenge Gov. Bentley in 2014 - The Birmingham News - al.com
• Alabama governor headed to Paris Air Show - WSFA
• Alabama governor seeks review of roadblock surveys - Chattanooga Times Free Press
• Alabama governor headed to Paris Air Show - WVTM-TV: News, Weather, and ... - Alabama's13.com
• Alabama pension boss says governor's not expanding Medicaid irresponsible - Chattanooga Times Free Press
• Former Alabama Gov George Wallace NOT a Republican, MSNBC Corrects - iMediaEthics
• David Bronner says Alabama governor 'irresponsible' on Medicaid - Tuscaloosa Magazine
• George Wallace Stood in a Doorway at the University of Alabama 50 Years Ago ... - U.S. News & World Report
• Governor Bentley Selling Alabama in Paris - WNCF

Contact Information

Physical address:
State Capitol
600 Dexter Avenue
Montgomery, Alabama 36130

Phone: (334) 242-7100
Fax: (334) 353-0004

History

Partisan balance 1992-2013

See also: Ballotpedia:Who Runs the States and Ballotpedia:Who Runs the States, Alabama

Partisan breakdown of the Alabama governorship from 1992-2013

From 1992-2013, Alabama had Democratic governors in office for 6 years while there were Republican governors in office for 16 years, including the last 11. Alabama was under Republican trifectas for the last three years of the study period.

Across the country, there were 493 years of Democratic governors (44.82%) and 586 years of Republican governors (53.27%) from 1992-2013.

Over the course of the 22-year study, state governments became increasingly more partisan. At the outset of the study period (1992), 18 of the 49 states with partisan legislatures had single-party trifectas and 31 states had divided governments. In 2013, only 13 states have divided governments, while single-party trifectas held sway in 36 states, the most in the 22 years studied.

The chart below shows the partisan composition of the Office of the Governor of Alabama, the Alabama State Senate and the Alabama House of Representatives from 1992-2013.

See also

• Governor of Alabama Robert J. Bentley
• Lieutenant Governor of Alabama
• Lieutenant Governor Kay Ivey
• Alabama Attorney General
• Alabama Secretary of State

External links

Suggest a link

• Office of the Governor of Alabama