Governor of Nevada

Nevada Governor
General information
Office Type:	Partisan
Office website:	Official Link
2012-13 FY Budget:	$2,399,335
Term limits:	2 terms
Structure
Length of term:	4 years
Authority:	Nevada Constitution, Article V, Section I
Selection Method:	Elected
Current Officeholder
Name:	Brian Sandoval
Officeholder Party:	Republican
Assumed office:	January 3, 2011
Compensation:	$141,000
Elections
Next election:	November 4, 2014
Last election:	November 6, 2010
Other Nevada Executive Offices
Governor • Lieutenant Governor • Secretary of State • Attorney General • Treasurer • Controller • Superintendent of Public Instruction • Agriculture Director • Insurance Commissioner • Director of Conservation and Natural Resources • Labor Commissioner • Public Utilities Commission • Employment, Training and Rehabilitation

The Governor of the State of Nevada is an elected Constitutional officer, the head of the Executive branch, and the highest state office in Nevada. The Governor is popularly elected every four years by a plurality and is limited to two terms.

Current officeholder

The 29th and current governor is Brian Sandoval, a Republican elected in 2010.

Authority

The state Constitution addresses the office of the governor in Article V, the Executive Department.

Under Article V, Section I:

The supreme executive power of this State, shall be vested in a Chief Magistrate who shall be Governor of the State of Nevada.

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

Candidates for governor must be

• at least 25 years old
• a registered elector
• a resident of Nevada for at least two years

While in office, the governor may not hold any federal level office.

Elections

Nevada elects governors in the midterm elections, that is, even years that are not Presidential election years. For Nevada, 2006, 2010, 2014, and 2018 are all gubernatorial election years. Legally, the gubernatorial inauguration is always set for the first Monday in the January following an election. Thus, January 3, 2011 and January 5, 2015 are inaugural days.

Past elections

Main article: Nevada gubernatorial election, 2010

Term limits

See also: States with gubernatorial term limits

Nevada governors are restricted to two terms in office during their lifetime.

Nevada Constitution, Article 5, Section 3

nor shall any person be elected to the Office of Governor more than twice; and no person who has held the Office of Governor, or acted as Governor for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected Governor shall be elected to the Office of Governor more than once.

Gubernatorial removal

There are two methods available to remove a governor before the expiration of the gubernatorial term of office.

Impeachment

Main article: Article 7, Nevada Constitution

The governor can be impeached for by a majority concurrence of the Nevada State Assembly and removed by a two-thirds vote of the Nevada State Senate.

Recall

Main article: Laws governing recall in Nevada

Petitions signed by Nevada voters equal in number to 25% of the last vote for the office of governor. If the governor does not resign within five days of the petition's filing, a special election will be held in 30 days to determine whether the governor shall be recalled.

Partisan composition

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

Vacancies

See also: How gubernatorial vacancies are filled

Details of vacancy appointments are addressed under Article 5, Section 18.

Anytime the elected Governor dies, resigns, in impeached, or is temporarily or permanently unable to discharge the office, the powers and duties of the governorship shall devolve to the Lieutenant Governor of Nevada.

The Lieutenant Governor also serves as Acting Governor when the Governor is absent, unless the latter is absent in order to lead the state's militia and has done so with the consent of the legislature, in which case he remains the Governor while actively serving as commander-in-chief.

Duties

The Governor is commander-in-chief of the state military forces. The governor appoints department heads and members of boards and commissions.

The governor has the power to veto bills from the Nevada State Legislature. The Legislature can override a veto by a two-thirds majority vote in both the Assembly and the Senate.

Law-enforcement powers include the ability to grant pardons, commute sentences, and remiss fines and forfeitures, as well as serving as the commander-in-chief of the military forces in the state, except when they are called into service of the United States.

Only the Governor may call a special session of the Legislature, wherein the Legislature cannot introduce, consider or pass any bills except those related to the business for which the Legislature has been specially convened and those necessary to provide for the expenses of the session.

The Governor also has power to adjourn the Legislature in case of a disagreement between the two Houses with respect to the time of adjournment.

Other duties and privileges of the office include:

• Conducting all executive business with both civil and military officers (§ 6)

• Filling all vacancies not otherwise Constitutionally provided for (§ 8)

• Delivering a state of the state address to the legislature at each regular session (§ 10)

• Suspending the collection of fines and forfeitures and granting reprieves of not more than 60 days (§ 13)

• Granting pardons, not to extend to convictions for treason or impeachment, and commuting sentences, not to include sentences of life without parole (§ 14)

• Keeping and using the Great Seal of the State of Nevada (§ 15)

• Signing all commissions granted by the state of Nevada (§ 16)

State budget

The budget for the Governor's office in Fiscal Year 2012-13 was $2,399,335.

Compensation

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

2012

In 2012, the governor was paid an estimated $141,000. This figure comes from the Council of State Governments.

2010

As of 2010, the Governor of Nevada is paid $141,000 annually, the 15th highest gubernatorial salary in America.

On January 3, 2011, and and on the first Monday of every fourth year thereafter, the pay level will increase by an amount equal to the cumulative percentage increase in the salaries of the classified Nevada Employees during the Governor's previous term.

History

Partisan balance 1992-2013

See also: Ballotpedia:Who Runs the States and Ballotpedia:Who Runs the States, Nevada’’

Partisan breakdown of the Nevada governorship from 1992-2013

From 1992-2013, in Nevada there were Democratic governors in office for the first seven years while there were Republican governors in office for the last 15 years.

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 Nevada, the Nevada State Senate and the Nevada House of Representatives from 1992-2013.

Contact information

State Capitol
101 N. Carson Street
Carson City, NV 89701
Phone:775-684-5670
Fax:775-684-5683

See also

• Governor of Nevada Brian Sandoval
• Lieutenant Governor of Nevada
• Lieutenant Governor Brian Krolicki
• Nevada Attorney General
• Nevada Secretary of State

External links

Suggest a link

• Office of the Governor of Nevada