Governor (United States) in the context of "U.S. state"

The government of Puerto Rico encompasses the local administrative structure of the archipelago and island of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the U.S. organized under the Constitution of Puerto Rico since its establishment as the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico in 1952. The government is a republican democracy divided into three branches: the law-implementing executive, the law-making legislative, and the law-interpreting judicial. The Governor is the chief executive, the Legislative Assembly is the legislature, and the Supreme Court is the highest court of the territory, which is divided into 78 municipalities, each one headed by a strong mayor and a unicameral legislature. Like U.S. states and other U.S. territories, Puerto Rico is subject to the sovereign jurisdiction of the U.S. federal government.

With the American annexation of Puerto Rico during the Spanish–American War, the U.S. established a military government to administer the unincorporated territory from 1898 to 1900, when it was replaced by a civil insular government organized under the organic acts of the Foraker Act from 1900 to 1917 and the Jones–Shafroth Act from 1917 to 1952. The Constitution of Puerto Rico established the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and its government under the continued status of unincorporated territory in 1952. With the ratification of the constitution, the full authority and responsibility for the local administration of Puerto Rico was vested in the residents of Puerto Rico, resulting in complete self-governance within the archipelago and island.

In the United States, politics functions within a framework of a constitutional federal democratic republic with a presidential system. The three distinct branches share powers: Congress, which forms the legislative branch, a bicameral legislative body comprising the House of Representatives and the Senate; the executive branch, which is headed by the president of the United States, who serves as the country's head of state and government; and the judicial branch, composed of the Supreme Court and lower federal courts, and which exercises judicial power.

Each of the 50 individual state governments has the power to make laws within its jurisdiction that are not granted to the federal government nor denied to the states in the U.S. Constitution. Each state also has a constitution following the pattern of the federal constitution but differing in details. Each has three branches: an executive branch headed by a governor, a legislative body, and a judicial branch. At the local level, governments are found in counties or county-equivalents, and beneath them individual municipalities, county, townships, school districts, and special districts.

The United States Congress is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a bicameral legislature, including a lower body, the U.S. House of Representatives, and an upper body, the U.S. Senate. They both meet in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.

Members of Congress are chosen through direct election, though vacancies in the Senate may be filled by a governor's appointment. Congress has a total of 535 voting members, a figure which includes 100 senators and 435 representatives; the House of Representatives has 6 additional non-voting members. The vice president of the United States, as president of the Senate, has a vote in the Senate only when there is a tie.

The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the New York Legislature, to convene the legislature and grant pardons, except in cases of impeachment and treason. The governor of New York is the highest paid governor in the country.

The current governor is Kathy Hochul, a member of the Democratic Party who took office on August 24, 2021, following the resignation of Andrew Cuomo. She was elected to a full term in 2022.

An acting governor is a person who acts in the role of governor. In Commonwealth jurisdictions where the governor is a vice-regal position, the role of "acting governor" may be filled by a lieutenant governor (as in most Australian states) or an administrator.

In some U.S. states, it is a constitutional position created when the governor dies in office or resigns. In other states, the governor may also be declared to be incapacitated and unable to function for various reasons including illness and absence from the state for more than a specified period.

A state of the United States is one of the 50 constituent entities that shares its sovereignty with the federal government. Americans are citizens of both the federal republic and of the state in which they reside, due to the shared sovereignty between each state and the federal government. Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia use the term commonwealth rather than state in their full official names.

States are the primary subdivisions of the United States. They possess all powers not granted to the federal government nor prohibited to them by the Constitution of the United States. In general, state governments have the power to regulate issues of local concern, such as regulating intrastate commerce, running elections, creating local governments, public school policy, and non-federal road construction and maintenance. Each state has its own constitution grounded in republican principles, and government consisting of executive, legislative, and judicial branches.

The governor of California is the head of government of the U.S. state of California. The governor is the commander-in-chief of the California National Guard and the California State Guard.

Established in the Constitution of California, the governor's responsibilities also include submitting the budget, ensuring that state laws are enforced, and making the annual State of the State address to the California State Legislature. The position was created in 1849, the year before California became a state.