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Governor of Kansas
| Kansas Governor | |
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| General information | |
| Office Type: | Partisan |
| Office website: | Official Link |
| Term limits: | None |
| Structure | |
| Length of term: | 4 years |
| Authority: | Kansas Constitution, Article I, Section III The Executive Department |
| Selection Method: | Elected |
| Current Officeholder | |
 | |
| Name: | Sam Brownback |
| Officeholder Party: | Republican |
| Assumed office: | January 10, 2011 |
| Compensation: | $99,636 |
| Elections | |
| Next election: | November 4, 2014 |
| Last election: | November 2, 2010 |
| Other Kansas Executive Offices | |
| Governor • Lieutenant Governor • Secretary of State • Attorney General • Treasurer • Commissioner of Education • Agriculture Secretary • Insurance Commissioner • Wildlife and Parks Secretary • Labor Secretary • Corporation Commission | |
Contents |
Governors are popularly elected by a plurality to four year terms, and no individual may serve more than two successive term.
As of May 2013, Kansas is one of 24 Republican state government trifectas.
Current officeholder
The 46th and current governor is Sam Brownback, a Republican elected on November 2010.
Authority
The state Constitution addresses the office of the governor in Article I, the Executive Department.
Under Article 1, Section III:
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The supreme executive power of this state shall be vested in a governor, who shall be responsible for the enforcement of the laws of this state. |
Qualifications
| Governors |
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| Current Governors |
| Gubernatorial Elections |
| 2013 • 2012 • 2011 • 2010 Lists of candidates |
| Current Lt. Governors |
| Lt. Governor Elections |
| 2013 • 2012 • 2011 • 2010 |
| Breaking news |
Kansas' constitution does not set out requirements for office.
Elections
Kansas elects governors in the midterm elections, that is, even years that are not Presidential election years. For Kansas, 2006, 2010, 2014, and 2018 are all gubernatorial election years. Legally, the gubernatorial inauguration is always set for the second Monday in the January following an election. Thus, January 10, 2011 and January 12, 2015 are inaugural days.
Term limits
- See also: States with gubernatorial term limits
Kansas governors are restricted to two consecutive terms in office, after which they must wait one term before being eligible to run again.
Kansas Constitution, Article I, Section 1
| No person may be elected to more than two successive terms as governor... |
Partisan composition
The chart below shows the partisan breakdown of Kansas State Governors from 1992-2013.
Vacancies
- See also: How gubernatorial vacancies are filled
Details of vacancies are addressed under Article 1, Section 11.
At any time the Governor is unable to discharge the office, temporarily or permanently, the Lieutenant Governor shall take his place until edthe disability is removed.
If the Lieutenant Governor is also disabled, the legislature shall determine the line of succession.
Duties
Under the Kansas Constitution, the governor is also the head of government, serving as the chief executive of the Kansas executive branch. The governor is the Commander-in-Chief of the state National Guard when not called into federal use. Despite being an executive branch official, the governor also possesses legislative and judicial powers. The Governor's responsibilities include making yearly "State of the State" addresses to the Kansas Legislature, submitting the budget, ensuring that state laws are enforced, and that the peace is preserved.
Other duties and privileges of the office include:
- commanding reports from any other officer of the Executive on any aspect of their job. Heads of state institutions must also make annual reports to the Governor no later than ten days prior to the state of the regular legislative session (§ 4).
- calling the legislature into special session either by proclamation or following a petition signed by two-thirds the membership of either house (§ 5), as well as adjourning the legislature when the body cannot agree to do so itself
- reorganizing the parts of the Executive "for the purpose of transferring, abolishing, consolidating or coordinating" (§ 6)
- granting pardons (§ 7)
- keeping and officially using the Great Seal of Kansas (§ 8)
- making vacancies to the offices of Attorney General of Kansas and Kansas Secretary of State (§ 11)
Compensation
- See also: Comparison of gubernatorial salaries
Under Article 1, Section 13, the gubernatorial salary is legally fixed and may not be reduced during the current term, unless such a reduction applies to all salaried state officers. However, under Article 15, Section 7, the legislature may reduce the salary of an elected officer for gross neglect of duty.
As of 2010, the Governor of Kansas is paid $110,707 a year, the 36th highest gubernatorial salary in America.
History
Partisan balance 1992-2013
In Kansas from 1992-2013 there were Democratic governors in office for 11 years while there were Republican governors in office for 11 years, including the last three. Kansas 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 Kansas, the Kansas State Senate and the Kansas House of Representatives from 1992-2013.
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Contact information
Office of the Governor
Capitol, 300 SW 10th Ave., Ste. 212S
Topeka, KS 66612-1590
Phone:785-296-3232
See also
- Governor of Kansas Sam Brownback
- Lieutenant Governor of Kansas
- Lieutenant Governor Jeff Colyer
- Kansas Attorney General
- Kansas Secretary of State
External links
References
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State of Kansas Topeka (capital) |
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| Ballot Measures |
List of Kansas ballot measures | Local ballot measures | School bond issues | Ballot measure laws | Campaign Finance Requirements | Recall process | |
| Government |
Kansas State Constitution | House of Representatives | Senate | Governmental Ethics Commission | Legislative Post-Auditor | |
| State executive officers |
Governor | Lieutenant Governor | Attorney General | Secretary of State | Treasurer | Commissioner of Education | Commissioner of Insurance | Secretary of Agriculture | Secretary of Wildlife and Parks | Secretary of Labor | Corporation Commission | |
| Judiciary |
Kansas Supreme Court | Court of Appeals | District Courts | Judicial Activists | Judicial selection | Judicial News | |
| Transparency Topics |
Open Records Act | Transparency Checklist | Government corruption reports | Transparency Legislation | Open Records procedures | Transparency Advocates | State budget | Taxpayer-funded lobbying associations | |
| Divisions |
List of Counties |
List of Cities |
List of School Districts | |
