The role of the modern governor in the United States has significantly evolved as the country tries to meet tough economic, domestic and international challenges. With the federal government giving more priority on foreign policy, “governors were expected to provide more leadership on difficult domestic issues like healthcare” (Smith 85). The modern governor is even expected to provide actions on some important international policy issues such as illegal immigration. As the modern governor started to gain more power and authority in the previous decades, he emerged to become an important figure in the federal government.
The functions and responsibilities of the modern governor started to increase in the nineteenth-century when a reform movement was created to give “governors the tools to exercise true executive authority and make them in practice the real chief executive officers of the state” (Smith 86). Since then, the modern governor has become a significant decision-maker on domestic issues such as public education, public health, law enforcement, public works and public welfare. The role of the modern governor has also expanded to include line-item veto power, budgetary powers, and the authority to hire and dismiss people in key agency positions.
The modern governor is not only a central figure in state politics, but he also holds a significant influence at the national level through the National Governors Association. The real power gained by the modern governor has increased the expectation that this power will be used to effectively manage and address tough situations in the state.
Works Cited
Smith, Kevin B. State and Local Government 2008-2009. Washington, D.C.: CQ Press, 2008
