The governor of Tennessee is the head of government of the U.S. state of Tennessee. 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.
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 Bill Lee Transition
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."