Administrative From the fore going the governor's powers may be surmised as lying not so much in his constitutional rights or privileges as in the moral atmosphere and prestige of his office, since he represents the highest dignity of the State. On all public oc casions he is the first citizen of the State, the representative of its civil and military authority. As the official head of the State he sends and receives communications in its name; issues proclamations to its people; and owing to a variety of powers, including the bestowal of considerable patronage, his prominence in the public eye and his relation to the legislature, he has an influence in shaping legislation far ex ceeding a strict interpretation of his constitu tional prerogatives. He is the official and nat ural exponent of the State in National affairs and in its relations to the Federal Government, for which reason he issues writs for the holding of elections to fill vacancies in Congress and even under Amendment XVII to the National Constitution may make temporary appointments of senators in case of vacancies until the peo ple fill such vacancies by elections; he trans mits ratifications of constitutional amendments and other acts of the State legislature which relate to National matters.
Tendencies and Proposed The evils of the subdivision of executive power have not only been recognized but in many States the tendency is to remedy such defects by strength ening the governor's control over the adminis tration through a wider appointing power; by reducing the number of co-ordinate elective officials; by relieving him of the confirmation of appointment, by the State senate; by recog nizing his unrestricted removal power; by au thorizing him to make special inquiries into the several executive departments and during the legislative recess to suspend officers who have violated the law; by empowering him to require from department heads written statements per. taining to anything connected with their re spective duties; in some cases by allowing him, at stated intervals, to examine the accounts of officials such as the treasurer and auditor ; and in some States by requiring the principal State officers to render to the governor periodic re= ports covering the activities of their depart ments, although such reports, even if convincing as to the official's incompetency, neglect of duty or violation of the law, in no way augment the governor's power of supervision over the ad ministration because of his greatly restricted power of removal. Although responsible for
the faithful execution of the laws, the governor is often powerless, without the co-operation of the department heads, to carry out the constitu tional injunction owing to the manner in which the executive power is divided; as an example, he cannot compel the attorney-general unwill ingly to start a suit against an individual or a corporation chiefly because he has neither the power of direction or removal, and this same weakness characterizes his relations with other State officers. The enforcement of responsi bility is impossible owing to the multiplication of departments exercising • administrative powers, and this is particularly noticeable in States which have boards and commissions the members of which are often elected by the people, though even if they are appointed by the governor he has little power of control or • supervision over the administration of affairs entrusted to them. New Yorlc, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts each have nearly 100 such boards and commissions, but a movement is going forward to consolidate most of these boards into one board of control or board of affairs. The creation of the office of "state business to organize and manage State business affairs under the governor's di rection, has also been proposed. One governor has even recommended a system of State rule by commission, similar to the commission sys tem of city government (q.v.). Another pro posal is to authorize the governor to appoint the principal State officers, who, collectively, shall constitute a cabinet or council, and to give the governor a large power of initiating legisla tion. In this way the State executive would resemble the President and his Cabinet ; thus the power and responsibility would be central ized, and unity, co-ordination and efficiency could be introduced into the administration of State affairs.