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Governor of Ohio
| Ohio Governor | |
 | |
| General information | |
| Office Type: | Partisan |
| Office website: | Official Link |
| 2013 FY Budget: | $3,216,701 |
| Term limits: | Two consecutive terms |
| Structure | |
| Length of term: | 4 years |
| Authority: | Ohio Constitution, Article III, Section 5 |
| Selection Method: | Elected |
| Current Officeholder | |
 | |
| Name: | John Kasich |
| Officeholder Party: | Republican |
| Assumed office: | January 10, 2011 |
| Compensation: | $148,886 |
| Elections | |
| Next election: | November 4, 2014 |
| Last election: | November 2, 2010 |
| Other Ohio 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 | |
Contents |
Prior to 1963, the term of office was two years and, prior to 1995, term limits were not in place.
As of May 2013, Ohio is one of 24 Republican state government trifectas.
Current officer
The 69th and current governor is John Kasich, a Republican elected in 2010.[2]
Authority
The state Constitution addresses the office of the governor in Article III, the Executive Department.
Under Article III, Section 5:
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The supreme executive power of this state shall be vested in the governor. |
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 |
A candidate for the governor of Ohio may not hold any Congressional or federal office or any other state office.
Elections
Ohio elects governors in the midterm elections, that is, even years that are not Presidential election years. For Ohio, 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.
If two candidates are tied, the joint session of the legislature shall cast votes to choose among the top two vote getters.
Term limits
- See also: States with gubernatorial term limits
Ohio governors are restricted to two consecutive terms in office, after which they must wait one term before being eligible to run again.
Ohio Constitution, Article III, Section 2
| No person shall hold the office of governor for a period longer than two successive terms of four years. |
Partisan composition
The chart below shows the partisan breakdown of Ohio State Governors from 1992-2013.
Vacancies
- See also: How gubernatorial vacancies are filled
Details of vacancy appointments are addressed under Article III, Sections 15, 17, and 22.
If the Governor dies, resigns, is removed, or is convicted on impeachment, the Lieutenant Governor succeeds.
The Lieutenant Governor also serves as the Acting Governor in the event of any temporary disability of the Governor.
After the Lieutenant Governor, the line of succession goes to the President Pro Tem of the Senate and then to the Speaker of the House. Whoever serves as the Acting Governor has the full duties, powers, and emoluments of the elected Governor.
Of the four offices of the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, President Pro Tem of the Senate, and Speaker of the House of Representatives, no person may hold two of them simultaneously or receive the compensation and emoluments of more than one office simultaneously.
If both the offices of the Governor and the Lieutenant Governor are vacant and there are more than 20 months remaining in the current term, a special election for both offices shall be held at the next general election. The highest officer in the line of succession serves as an Acting Governor until the election.
If a Governor-elect is unable to take office, the Lieutenant Governor-elect takes office and serves as the Governor. If the Governor-elect is only temporarily unable to take office, the Lieutenant Governor-elect serves as Acting Governor until the elected Governor's disability is removed.
If, by a joint resolution, the General Assembly presents the case for the Governor's removal on grounds of mental disability to discharge the office, the Supreme Court of Ohio shall have "original, exclusive, and final, jurisdiction" in the case. Within 21 days of receipt of such a resolution, the Supreme Court shall give notice to the Governor, hold a public hearing, and render a decision.
If the governorship is vacated in such a manner, the Court also has "original, exclusive, and final, jurisdiction" in choosing the manner of succession to the office.
Duties
The governor is the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces (§ 10). The governor has a duty to enforce state laws; the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Ohio Legislature; the power to convene the legislature; and the power to grant pardons, except in cases of treason and impeachment (§ 11).
Other duties and privileges of the office include:
- Executing all laws and requiring written information on any office from the head of that office (§ 6)
- Making an annual address to the General Assembly, with recommendation for legislation (§ 7)
- Convening extraordinary sessions of the legislature with limited purposes (§ 8)
- Adjourning the legislature when the two chambers cannot agree to do so themselves, not to include the privilege of adjourning the legislature past the sine die set for the regular session (§ 9)
- Keeping and using "The Great Seal of the State of Ohio" (§ 12)
- Signing and sealing all commissions granted in the name of the state of Ohio (§ 13)
- Nominating, in the event of a vacancy in the Lieutenant Governor's office, a new officer, subject to a confirmatory vote of both chambers of the legislature (§ 17a)
- Making vacancy appointments for all "key state officers" (the Auditor, the Treasurer, the Secretary of State, and the Attorney General. Such appointments are for the remainder of the term when the next general election is less than 40 days away and until the next general election otherwise (§ 18)
- Accepting a report from the head of each executive department at least once a year, not later than five days before the regular session of the legislature convenes, and including the substance of those reports in her annual address to the legislature (§ 20)
- Making all appointments not otherwise provided for, with the advice and consent of the Senate, unless the Senate refuses to act, in which case the Governor's appointee takes offices by default (§ 21)
State budget
The budget for the Governor's office in Fiscal Year 2013 was $3,216,701.[3]
Compensation
The governor's salary is legally fixed and may not be raised or decreased effective during the current term.
2012
In 2012, the Governor of Ohio was paid an estimated $148,886. This figure comes from the Council of State Governments.
2010
As of 2010, the Governor of Ohio is paid $144,269 a year, the 14th highest gubernatorial salary in America.
History
Partisan balance 1992-2013
- See also: Ballotpedia:Who Runs the States and Ballotpedia:Who Runs the States, Ohio’’
From 1992-2013, in Ohio there were Democratic governors in office for four years while there were Republican governors in office for 18 years, including the last three. Ohio is one of eight states that were run by a Republican governor for more than 80 percent of the years between 1992-2013. Ohio 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 Ohio, the Ohio State Senate and the Ohio House of Representatives from 1992-2013.
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Contact information
Governor's Office
Riffe Center, 30th Floor
77 South High Street
Columbus, OH 43215-6108
Phone:614-466-3555
Fax:614-466-9354
See also
- Ohio Governor John Kasich
- Lieutenant Governor of Ohio
- Lieutenant Governor Mary Taylor
- Ohio Attorney General
- Ohio Secretary of State
- Ohio state executive offices
External links
References
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