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Governor of Utah
| Utah Governor | |
 | |
| General information | |
| Office Type: | Partisan |
| Office website: | Official Link |
| 2013 FY Budget: | $39,193,900 |
| Term limits: | None |
| Structure | |
| Length of term: | 4 years |
| Authority: | Utah Constitution, Article VII, Section I |
| Selection Method: | Elected |
| Current Officeholder | |
 | |
| Name: | Gary R. Herbert |
| Officeholder Party: | Republican |
| Assumed office: | August 11, 2009 |
| Compensation: | $109,470 |
| Elections | |
| Next election: | November 8, 2016 |
| Last election: | November 6, 2012 |
| Other Utah Executive Offices | |
| Governor • Lieutenant Governor • Attorney General •Treasurer • Auditor • Superintendent of Education • Agriculture Commissioner • Insurance Commissioner • Natural Resources Commissioner • Labor Commissioner • Public Service Commission | |
Contents |
As of May 2013, Utah is one of 24 Republican state government trifectas.
Current officeholder
The 17th and current governor is Gary R. Herbert, a Republican. Initially an appointee who replaced Jon Huntsman, Herbert was elected to a special, two year term in November 2010.
Authority
The state Constitution addresses the office of the governor in Article VII, the Executive Department.
Under Article VII, Section 1 of the state's Constitution,
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The Executive Department shall consist of Governor... |
Qualifications
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A candidate for governor must be:
- at least 30 years old
- a resident of Utah for at least five years on the day of the election
- a United States citizen
- a qualified elector of Utah at the time of election
Additionally sitting Governors may not hold any federal office, any state office other than the governorship, or be elected to the United States Senate during his term.
Elections
- See also: Utah gubernatorial election, 2012
Utah elects governors in the Presidential elections, that is, in leap years. For Utah, 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2016 are all gubernatorial election years. Legally, the gubernatorial inauguration is always set for the first Monday in the January following an election. Thus, January 7, 2013 and January 2, 2017 are inaugural days.
In Utah, the governor and lieutenant governor are always elected on a shared ticket in both the primary and the general elections, meaning the two officers will always belong to the same party.
In the event of a tie between two candidates, a joint session of the legislature shall cast ballots to choose among the top two vote getters.
2012
Incumbents Gary Herbert and Greg Bell (R) won re-election in 2012. They defeated Democrats Peter Cooke and Vince Rampton, Libertarians Ken Larsen and Rob Latham, and Constitution Party candidates Kirk Pearson and Tim Alders in the November 6, 2012 general election.
| Governor of Utah General Election, 2012 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Peter Cooke and Vince Rampton | 27.7% | 253,514 | |
| Republican |  Gary Herbert and Greg Bell Incumbent |
68.4% | 624,678 | |
| Libertarian | Ken Larsen and Rob Latham | 2.2% | 19,956 | |
| Constitution | Kirk Pearson and Tim Alders | 1.7% | 15,548 | |
| Total Votes | 913,696 | |||
| Election Results via State of Utah. | ||||
Term limits
- See also: States with gubernatorial term limits
Utah governors do not face any term limits.
Partisan composition
The chart below shows the partisan composition of the Office of the Governor of Utah from 1992-2013.
Vacancies
- See also: How gubernatorial vacancies are filled
If the elected Governor dies, resigns, is impeached, is removed, is absent, or is temporarily unable to discharge the office, then the Lieutenant Governor shall become Governor.
Details of vacancies are addressed under Article VII, Section 11:
| If a vacancy in the office of Governor occurs, the Lieutenant Governor shall become Governor, to serve until the first Monday in January of the year following the next regular general election after the vacancy occurs, if the vacancy occurs during the first year of the term of office; or for the remainder of the unexpired term, if the vacancy occurs after the first year of the term of office. |
In the event of simultaneous vacancies in the offices of governor and lieutenant governor, next in the line of succession is the President of the Senate, whom, while functioning as Governor, shall have the salary and emoluments of the office.
Duties
The Governor upholds and executes all state laws and transacts state and executive business (§ 5).
The governor is responsible for presenting the annual state budget and "State of the State" speech. Additionally, the governor has the power to convene a special session of the state legislature (§ 6) and to grant reprieves and pardons (§ 12). He is also the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces (§ 4).
Other duties and privileges of the office include:
- Requiring written information from the officer of any executive department or the head of any state institution of any aspect of the duties, condition, and expenses of the department or institution (§ 5)
- Appointing investigative committees to look at any department or institution if the legislature is in recess. In such cases, the Governor must include the committee's findings in her next report to the legislature (§ 5)
- Convening the Senate alone in extraordinary session (§ 6)
- Adjourning the legislatures when the two chambers cannot agree to do so themselves (§ 7)
- Vetoing bills, including appropriations, subject to a two-thirds legislative override (§ 8)
- Filling vacancies in all offices not otherwise provided for, by a commission that expires at the next general election (§ 9)
- Appointing all offices not otherwise provided for, with the advice and consent of the Senate (§ 10)
- Sitting on the Board of Pardons with the Justices of the Utah Supreme Court and the Attorney General of Utah (§ 12)
- Sitting on both the Board of Examiners and the Board of State Prison Commissioners with the Secretary of State and the Attorney General (§ 13)
- Sitting on the Board of Insane Asylum Commissioners with the State Treasurer and the State Auditor (§ 14)
- Sitting on the Board of Reform School Commissioners with the Attorney General and the Utah Superintendent of Public Instruction (§ 15)
- Signing and sealing all grants and commissions made by the state of Utah (§ 21)
- Officially using "The Great Seal of the State of Utah" (§ 22)
State budget
The budget for the Governor/Lieutenant Governor's Office in Fiscal Year 2013 was $39,193,900.[2]
Compensation
Under Article VII, Section 18, the governor's salary is fixed by law and, if changed, does not take effect during the current term.
In 2012, the Utah Governor was paid an estimated $109,470. This figure comes from the Council of State Governments.
Contact information
Utah State Capitol Complex
350 North State Street, Suite 200
PO Box 142220
Salt Lake City, Utah 84114-2220
Phone:801-538-1000
Fax:801-538-1528
History
Partisan balance 1992-2013
Throughout every year from 1992-2013 there were Republican governors in office for Utah. Utah is one of eight states that were run by a Republican governor for more than 80 percent of the years between 1992-2013. Utah was under Republican trifectas for all 22 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 Utah, the Utah State Senate and the Utah House of Representatives from 1992-2013.
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See also
- Governor of Utah Gary R. Herbert
- Lieutenant Governor of Utah
- Lieutenant Governor Gregory Bell
- Secretary of State of Utah
- Utah Attorney General
External links
References
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State of Utah Salt Lake City (capital) |
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