Agency: Governor's Office

Function

The executive power of the state is vested in the Governor, who must see that state laws are faithfully executed. The Governor is the Commander-in-Chief of the State's military forces. The Governor transacts executive business on behalf of the state. With respect to the Legislature, the Governor calls special sessions, acts upon passed legislation, fills vacancies, and annually submits a budget. The Governor also appoints state agency leadership positions and judges. The Governor is the designated communicator between the state and other states and the federal government. The Governor also serves on the Board of Examiners.

The Governor's Office budget funds the Governor's appointed staff as well as statewide functions including elections, planning, and budget. Appropriations are divided into eight line items:

1. The Governor's Office
2. Public Lands Litigation
3. Character Education
4. The Governor's Emergency Fund
5. The Governor's Office of Management and Budget (GOMB)
6. The LeRay McAllister Critical Land Conservation Program
7. The Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice (CCJJ)
8. The Office of Energy Development (OED)

While OED is a line item in the Governor's Office, its budget is reviewed in the Natural Resources, Agriculture, & Environmental Quality Appropriations Subcommittee. For this reason, the OED budget and related issues are not summarized here.

Statutory Authority

Legal authority for the Office of Governor is granted by the State Constitution and several statutes. Principal sections include:

• Utah Constitution, Article VII, "Executive Department" provides the qualifications, powers, and duties of the Governor and Lt. Governor;
• UCA 67-1, "Governor" lists official duties and powers of the office;
• UCA 67-1a, "Lieutenant Governor" lists official duties of that office;
• Several sections of code require the Governor to appoint agency directors, judges, board members, commissioners, and so forth;
• UCA 63G-9-201 Appoints the Governor, State Auditor and Attorney General to the Board of Examiners;
• UCA 20A-1-503 and 504 require the Governor to fill vacancies in the House of Representatives, Senate, Attorney General, State Treasurer, State Auditor, and Lt. Governor until the next general election;
• UCA 20A provides for the Lt. Governor to oversee referenda, initiatives, elections, and lobbying.

Funding Detail

The $243,300 difference in the FY 2011 Closing Nonlapsing Balance and the FY 2012 Beginning nonlapsing balance is a result of two issues: 1) the consolidation of the Governor's Energy Advisor with the Office of Energy Development which includes $244,900 of closing nonlapsing balances in FY 2011 and does not include this amount for FY 2012 beginning nonlapsing balances; please refer to the Governor's Energy Advisor Program for further details; and 2) the $98,500 closing nonlapsing balance in the Governor's Emergency Fund for FY 2011 is $1,500 below the FY 2012 beginning nonlapsing balance of $100,000; please refer to the Governor's Emergency Fund line item for further detail.

Table 1: Operating and Capital Budget Including Expendable Funds and Accounts

Table 2: Operating and Capital Budgets

Table 3: Expendable Funds and Accounts