| Nevada's Governors |
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NEVADA STATE GOVERNORS Administrative History
The supreme executive power of Nevada is vested in the governor who is elected for four year terms at the same time as the members of the State Legislature. Candidates for governor must be qualified electors, be a state resident for two years, and be at least twenty-five years of age. No person may be elected to the office of governor more than twice and no person who has held the office or acted as governor for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected governor may be elected more than once. The governor may not hold any federal office while in state office. The governor transacts all executive business with officers of the government, civil and military and may require information in writing from the officers of the Executive Department upon any subject relating to the duties of their respective offices. The governor is the Commander in Chief of the military forces of Nevada except when they are called into service of the United States. The governor is the keeper of the Great Seal of the State of Nevada. All grants and commissions are made in the name and by the authority of the State of Nevada, sealed with the Great Seal, signed by the governor, and counter-signed by the Secretary of State. The governor, secretary of state, and the state attorney general constitute the members of the State Board of Pardons Commissioners, the State Board of Prison Commissioners, and the State Board of Examiners. The Prison Commissioners supervise all matters connected with the State Prison. The Pardons Commissioners oversee hearings for parole and pardons of Nevada State Prison inmates. The Board of Examiners has the power to examine all claims against the State (except salaries or compensation of officers fixed by law) and no claim against the state may be passed upon by the Legislature without having been considered and acted upon by the Examiners. The governor is required to send to the Legislature at every regular session a report on the condition of the State and may recommend measures as deemed expedient. The governor also presents the budget of the State of Nevada and of the University of Nevada to the Legislature. The governor may convene the Legislature by proclamation into special sessions and at such times states the purpose for convening the special session. During the special session the Legislature may only transact the business for which they were called by the governor. When an office becomes vacant and no method is provided by the Constitution and laws for filling such a vacancy, the governor has the power to fill the vacancy by granting a commission which will expire at the next election. Under certain conditions he may remit fines and forfeitures, commute punishments, and grant pardons after conviction except for cases of treason and impeachment. In the case of pardons, he may not commute a sentence of death or a sentence of life imprisonment without possibility of parole which would allow parole (1950 and 1982 amendments). The governor and other state and judicial officers except Justices of the Peace may be impeached for misdemeanor or malfeasance in office. Impeachment proceedings begin in the State Assembly and if a majority of the members concur, the impeachment is tried in the Senate presided over by the Chief Justice of the State Supreme Court. A two-thirds vote in favor of impeachment is necessary at which time the official may be removed from office and disqualified from holding any office of honor, profit, or trust in state government. See Article 7 “Impeachment and Removal from Office” of the Nevada State Constitution. Public officers in the state, including the governor and lieutenant governor are subject to recall from office by registered voters. The process includes a petition campaign and if successful, a special election. The ballot for the special election may include nominations for replacement candidates to be elected if the officer is voted out of office. The process is described in detail in Article 2, Section 9 of the State Constitution. In the case of the impeachment of the governor or his removal from office, death, inability to discharge the duties, resignation, or absence from the State, the powers and duties of the office pass to the lieutenant governor for the remainder of the term or until the disability ceases. The lieutenant governor is elected at the same time and manner as the governor and his term of office and eligibility are the same. If during a vacancy of the office of the governor, the lieutenant governor is impeached, displaced, resigns, dies, or becomes incapable of performing the duties of the office or be absent from the state, the President pro-tempore of the state Senate acts as governor until the vacancy is filled or the disability ceases. |
The powers and duties of the governor of Nevada were established in the Constitution of the State of Nevada, Article V, Executive Department, Constitutional amendments, and by State Statutes.