Game Of Government Power

Political scientists define politics as the struggle for power. This struggle can occur between differing parties or even different branches of government. In state governments, this game of power plays out between the executive and legislative branches. This game is often a game of tug-of-war between the two branches over who decides on the law in the state. This game is of great importance since a crucial part of government is to make laws for its people. Often many overlook this struggle for power; however, this game is not far off from the one in the Federal Government between the President and Congress. On the state level, governors and the legislators fight when it comes to shaping new legislation. These two branches have differing powers

The state-level of government gives the governor adequate power to make legislation their own, which many do not recognize in the typical executive powers as seen in the presidency. During this legislative game, the executive branch wields more power than the legislative branch through his ability to set the agenda, calling special sessions, proposing the budget, and vetoing legislation when it comes to making new legislation. In terms of legislative capabilities, one the most prominent abilities the governor posses is the power to set the agenda. Setting the agenda is the first step in the legislative game; the governor must decide what policies he wants to put into law. The governor of a state is often seen as the "legislator in chief" meaning the governor is in charge of the legislative process and setting the agenda for the legislative branch (Barrilleaux 410). Primarily, the governor sets the agenda through their State of the State Address. The State of the State address is akin to the President’s State of the Union Address. The governor gives this address typically once a year to his legislature and is an agenda setting exercise where

Another great source of the governor 's power over the legislative process is on the budget. The budget holds great significance since it delegates which programs have funding and which ones do not; political scientists consider the budget as one of the formal ways the governor can influence legislation. Here we start the bargaining game between the executive and legislative branches. Just like the President, the governor proposes the budget for the legislative branch. This "ability to present state budgets allows governors to make initial decisions over which policies, programs, and agencies receive funding” (Heidbreder). Of course, the legislators can suggest proposals to the governor, but the governor has the ability to decide what the government should fund and how much funding a certain program should receive. Before the legislative branch makes any legislation, the legislature needs to create a budget first to delegate spending in the state government. This gives the governor a great deal of power since he/she has the first say in what the government will be spending on during the next fiscal year. The budget lays out the framework for the next year and without any budget the legislative branch can make no plans for new and old programs. A governor with great control over the budgetary process rewards the governor with spending that he is accredited for (Barrilleaux 415). Governors are more likely to acquire the policy they want which gives them an advantage in the