Governor of Tennessee
The governor of Tennessee is the head of government of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor is the only official in the Tennessee state government who is directly elected by the voters of the entire state.
The current governor is Bill Lee, a member of the Republican Party, who took office on January 19, 2019, as the state's 50th governor. He was re-elected to serve a second term in 2022.
Qualifications
The Tennessee Constitution provides that the governor must be at least 30 years old and must have lived in the state for at least seven years before being elected to the office. The governor is elected to a four-year term and may serve no more than two terms consecutively. There are only two other U.S. states, New Jersey and Hawaii, where the governor is the only state official to be elected statewide.Powers and duties
The Tennessee Constitution provides that "The supreme executive power of this state shall be vested in a governor." Most state department heads and some members of boards and commissions are appointed by the governor.The governor is the commander-in-chief of the state's National Guard and the state militia, except when they have been called into federal service. The governor chairs the Tennessee Board of Regents, the University of Tennessee's Board of Trustees, and holds seats on the State Funding Board, State Building Commission, Board of Equalization, Tennessee Local Development Authority, School Bond Authority, and Tennessee Industrial and Agricultural Development Commission.
The Constitution grants the governor the power to veto laws passed by the Tennessee General Assembly, as well as line-item veto authority for individual spending items included in bills passed by the legislature. In either situation, the governor's veto can be overridden by a simple majority of both houses of the legislature. If a governor exercises the veto authority after the legislature has adjourned, the veto stands. It is uncommon for Tennessee governors to use their veto power, likely because it is relatively easy for the General Assembly to override a veto.
Article III Section 9 of the state constitution empowers the governor to call the General Assembly into special session, with the subjects to be considered limited to matters specified in the proclamation.
Nominations of justices
In the state of Tennessee, one of the powers of the governor is to appoint justices to the state, local, and appellate courts through a system known as the Tennessee Plan. The process includes nominees being vetted by a judicial nomination commission before being appointed. After their initial term, judges are required to run in a retention election to determine if they will serve another term in the courts.Cabinet appointments
The Tennessee Governor's Cabinet is made up of seven key staff members and 23 Executive Departments. Key staff members include Chief Operating Manager, Chief of Staff, Special Assistant, Senior Adviser, Communications Director, Policy Director, and Deputy to the Governor. The Executive Department cabinet includes Commissioners of Agriculture, Commerce, Correction, Developmental Disability, Education, Environment, General Services, Health, Finance, Labor, among others. Most executive department positions are chosen by the governor, but some like secretary of state, attorney general, treasurer, and lieutenant governor are chosen by popular statewide elections with limited input from the governor. State comptrollers and department heads are typically chosen by panels or commissions independent of gubernatorial interference, the most common chosen in this way across the United States being the head of Education, Natural Resources, Labor, and high Education boards.Before being inaugurated as governor, then Governor-elect Bill Lee announced two appointments: Maj. Gen. Jeff Holmes for the Department of Military and Ret. Lt. Col. Courtney Rogers for the Department of Veterans Services. In early January, Governor Bill Lee announced three new cabinet appointments: Dr. Lisa Piercey to the Department of Health, Brad Turner to the Department of Developmental Disability, and Christi Branscom to the Department of General Services. Along with announcing new cabinet members, Bill Lee also announced a new website where Tennesseans can apply to work in the administration and check on policy issues called
State of the State address
Article III Section 11 of the Tennessee Constitution provides that the governor shall, "from time to time, give to the General Assembly information of the state of the government, and recommend for their consideration such measures as he shall judge expedient."The State of the State address is typically delivered in January at the beginning of the General Assembly's session and is used to outline priorities and a legislative agenda for the coming legislative session, especially for a new administration.
For example, in his first State of the State speech in 2019 Bill Lee announced his plan to add more funds to the state's rainy day fund:
"As our state continues to grow, we are committed to remaining among the most fiscally sound and best managed states in America. We live in prosperous days, but it's precisely during these times when we must build up our storehouses for when times may not be as good. For that reason, I am particularly proud of this: in my budget, we are making the largest single contribution to our Rainy Day Fund in the state's history. When this budget is implemented, our Rainy Day Fund will be $1.1 billion – the largest it has ever been in both real dollars and as a percentage of our overall revenue."During a governor's final address before leaving office, the speech is used to highlight the outgoing governor's achievements. Haslam in 2018 highlighted Tennessee's job growth rate, greater funding for K-12 education and teachers' salaries, tax and spending cuts, and a record high for high school graduation rates in Tennessee history, all achieved under his administration.
Compensation
, the governor's salary was set at $204,336 per year. This is the fourth highest U.S. gubernatorial salary. Bill Haslam and his predecessor, Phil Bredesen, both were independently wealthy before taking office and refused to accept state salaries for their service as governor.Line of succession
Tennessee does not elect a lieutenant governor. If a vacancy occurs in the office of governor due to the governor's death, removal, or resignation from office, the Tennessee Constitution provides for the Speaker of the Tennessee Senate to become governor. For this reason, the speaker is often referred to by the title "lieutenant governor", and was also granted this title by statute in 1951. Following the lieutenant governor/senate speaker in the line of succession are the speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives, the secretary of state, and the comptroller.In the event the governor's office becomes vacant during the first 18 months of his term, a special election for the balance of the term must be held at the time of the next federal general election. If the vacancy occurs after the first 18 months, whoever ascends to the governorship serves out the balance of the term. In either case, a partial term counts toward the limit of two consecutive terms.
Governor William Blount served from 1790 to 1796, when Tennessee was known as the Southwest Territory. He was replaced by John Sevier, the state's first governor. Other notable governors include Willie Blount, Sam Houston, and future U.S. Presidents James K. Polk and Andrew Johnson
Incumbent governor
, Republican, is the 50th governor of Tennessee, succeeding Bill Haslam in 2019. A former president of his company, the Lee Company, his primary focus so far has been job creation and the economy. In his budget proposal, Lee outlined plans for K-12 education, mental health, criminal justice, rural economic development and health care. Like Haslam, Lee also intends to add to the Rainy Day fund.Lee's early executive orders included an order requiring all state executive departments to report rural impact and recommendations for improvement and three regarding ethics and transparency.
History
Experience
Many recent governors have been businessmen. Phil Bredesen created the HealthCare America Corporation and Bill Haslam has held multiple chair and executive positions and is a co-owner of a minor league baseball team. Current governor Bill Lee was the president of his own company before taking office.Education varies, but typically recent governors hold at least a bachelor's degree. Bredesen earned a degree in physics from Harvard, Haslam a bachelor's in history from Emory University, and Lee a bachelor's in mechanical engineering from Auburn University.
Though political experience is helpful for running for governor, it has never been a requirement. Bill Lee, for example, prior to his governorship never held office. Bredesen and Haslam were both mayors: Bredesen as mayor of Nashville from 1991 to 1999 and Haslam as mayor of Knoxville from 2003 to 2010. Early Tennessean politicians such as Andrew Jackson sometimes had a history of military service, with Jackson serving in the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812.