History+of+the+Governor's+Office


 * Administrative History of the Office of the Governor of Wyoming ** **Wyoming Blue Book Volume 5 Part 2, 1990**

The office of the governor of the Territory of Wyoming was established by Congress on July 25, 1868, with the passage of the Organic Act creating the Territory of Wyoming. Section 2 of the act provided that the office of governor would be filled by presidential appointment, with confirmation by the United States Senate. Gubernatorial powers and duties set forth in the act included command of the territorial militia, superintendency of American Indian affairs, legislative veto power, the power to pardon offenses against territorial laws, and the authority to fill appointive offices.

Following the appointment and confirmation of John A. Campbell as the first governor of Wyoming Territory, and the organization of territorial government, the responsibilities of the governor's office increased as the government developed. During its first session in 1869, the territorial legislative assembly empowered the governor to reprieve a person under the sentence of death (Chapter 74, General Laws of the Territory of Wyoming, 1869). Two years later, with the passage of an act entitled Volunteer Militia, pages 116-117, Session Laws of the Territory of Wyoming, 1871, the governor was required law commission officers elected by the members of volunteer militia companies. The act also empowered the governor to furnish arms and equipment to the militia companies, and authorized him to call them into action.

Other legislation of the territorial assembly which affected the office of governor included Chapter 88, Session Laws of the Territory of Wyoming, 1882, which required the governor to make offers of reward for fugitive felons if requested by the prosecuting attorney of the county in which the crime had been committed, and Chapter 54, Session Laws of Wyoming Territory, 1888, which required territorial officers and boards of public institutions to submit reports to the governor. Fiscal officers were charged to report annually, while other officers reported biennially. Today, elected officials and agencies of the executive branch of state government are required to submit annual reports to the Department of Administration and Fiscal Control, Research and Statistics Division, for use by the governor and the state legislature (9-2-1024, Wyoming Statutes Annotated, 1977).

The Wyoming State Constitution, drafted and ratified in 1889, established various powers and duties of the governor, in addition to those prescribed by the Organic Act and enactments of the territorial legislative assembly. Article 4, Sections 4 and 9, and Article 5, Section 4, Constitution of the State of Wyoming, empowered and directed the governor to convene extraordinary sessions of the state legislature, to deliver a message to each state legislature concerning the condition of the state, to veto items in appropriation bills, to appoint supreme court and district court judges, to transact all necessary business with the officers of the state, to expedite all matters resolved by the legislature, and to faithfully execute all laws of the state.

Qualifications set forth in the state constitution to hold the office of governor, included being a citizen of the United States, a qualified elector of Wyoming, at least thirty years of age, and a resident of the state, or territory, for five years preceding his election. The governor is not eligible, under the constitution, to hold any other office during the term for which he is elected.

During the first decade of Wyoming statehood, the legislature increased the powers of the governor. Chapter 95, Session Laws of Wyoming, 1890-1891, authorized the governor free access to all records maintained by the secretary of state, but this was interpreted to give the governor access to the records of all state government agencies. The enactment of Chapter 59, Session Laws of Wyoming, 1895, authorized the governor, upon receiving a valid petition for the organization of an unorganized county, to appoint three organizing commissioners to accomplish the organization of the county. Two years late by the passage of Chapter 32, Session Laws of Wyoming, 1897, the governor was empowered to suspend any state or judicial officer pending impeachment proceedings begun by the Wyoming House of Representatives.

In 1905, the legislature saw fit to give the governor the authority to remove officers he had appointed (Chapter 59, Session Laws of Wyoming, 1905). The law required the governor to file reasons for the dismissal with the secretary of state. Eight years later, with the enactment of Chapter 67, Session Laws of Wyoming, 1913, upon submission of proof of misconduct by a county commissioner from a district court judge, the governor was obligated by law to remove the commissioner from office. Furthermore, the law provided that charges of misconduct and/or malfeasance in office by a county commissioner could be filed directly with the governor, and, if so done, the governor was obligated to notify the accused commissioner and hold a hearing. If the charges were substantiated, the governor could then remove the commissioner from office.

In 1919, the legislature established a state budget system with the enactment of Chapter 10, Session Laws of Wyoming, 1919. The act designated the governor as the chief budget officer of the state and required all state agencies and programs to submit estimates of expenditures and revenues to the governor. It also provided for the governor to arrange for public budget hearings and to distribute copies of the budget, with statements reflecting the financial conditions of the state to the legislature. In 1990, the governor still has prime responsibility for the development of the state's biennial budget.

The Wyoming State Constitution set the precedent for establishing boards and commissions to diffuse central authority and to provide for citizen participation in state government; the practice was continued by legislative enactment. Throughout the first one hundred years of Wyoming statehood there has been an ever growing number of boards, commissions, and councils, established by the legislature, which have significantly affected the office of governor. During its centennial year, more than one hundred various boards, commissions, and councils existed in the executive branch of state government, and more than six hundred Wyoming citizens served on them.

The practice of having the governor serve on boards and commissions was initiated during the Wyoming Territorial era in 1886, with the creation of the Capitol Building Commission, Chapter 37, Session Laws of the Territory of Wyoming, 1886, and the assignment of the governor to the commission. In 1990, the governor still chairs the Capitol Building Commission. Included with the boards and commissions mandated by the Wyoming State Constitution was the Board of Land Commissioners, of which the governor was designated as the chairman. One hundred years later, the governor still chairs the State Land Commission.

Currently, the governor serves on eleven boards and commissions, chairing many of them, and is also an ex-officio member of the Board of Trustees of the University of Wyoming. The boards and commissions are: the State Farm Loan Board; the Capitol Building Commission; the Board of Charities and Reform; the State Land Commission; the Wyoming Liquor Commission; the State Canvassing Board; the Board of Deposits; the Economic Development and Stabilization Board, the Education Commission of the States; the Geological Survey Board; and the Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. In addition to serving on these boards and commissions, the governor is responsible for making appointments to the multitudes of boards, commissions, and councils, making as many as six hundred appointments during a single term in office. The 1990 plan for reorganizing the executive branch of state government will reduce both the number of boards on which the governor serves, and the number to which he or she makes appointments.

Beyond boards and commissions, the one hundred years of Wyoming statehood have expanded the responsibilities of the governor in other areas, as well. In 1951, the legislature created a Civil Defense Agency, Chapter 104, Session Laws of Wyoming, 1951, and charged the governor to prepare a "comprehensive plan and program" for Wyoming. The plan was to be coordinated with federal civil defense plans. The Civil Defense Agency is now called the Emergency Management Agency.

Chapter 177, Session Laws of Wyoming, 1965, enacted that year, gave the governor a more direct role in interstate streams negotiations and interstate stream compacts, by authorizing his participation. Four years later, with the passage of Chapter 95, Session Laws of Wyoming, 1969, the legislature prescribed the general duties of the governor. These duties included formulating and administering the policies of the executive branch of state government; maintaining general control of the executive branch; retaining the right to attend and vote at meetings of all boards and commissions not created by the state constitution; designating state agencies to administer federally supported cooperative programs; and appointing Wyoming residents to any committees required by the programs.

In 1977, the legislature involved the governor in two new areas of responsibility, with the passage of chapters 105 and 190, Session Laws of Wyoming, 1977. Chapter 105 assigned supervisory responsibilities for human services agencies' planning, requiring the governor to "review, revise, or adapt" program plans before presenting recommendations to the legislature. Chapter 190 made the governor part of the administrative rule process. After receiving rule recommendations from the legislative management council, the governor was required by the law to approve the recommendations, or file his objections with the council.

Thirty-six men and one woman, Nellie Tayloe Ross, have served as either Wyoming Territory Governor, or Wyoming State Governor. The scope and responsibilities of the office of governor have been one of evolution, ever expanding and increasing. The reorganization of the executive branch of Wyoming State Government, taking place in 1990, when fully implemented, will further change the functions, scope, and responsibilities of the governor.