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AZ State Government
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Three Branches of the Arizona State Government
Zak Poirier
Executive
The Executive Branch
The chief executive of the state government is the governor.
As outlined in the Arizona state constitution, the other offices of the executive branch are the secretary of state, state treasurer, attorney general, and superintendent of public instruction.
All of these offices are independently elected, and all are elected to four year terms.
Responsibilities
Responsibilities of the Executive Branch
The governor is in charge of overseeing all of the other executive offices. His other responsibilities include appointing public officials and being the official representative of Arizona to other states and to the nation.
The secretary of state has two primary duties: collection and compilation of records of the state (non-financial) and administering the election process. The attorney general is the head of the Department of Law. This person represents the state in legal matters and provides legal advice to the rest of the state government. The state treasurer is in charge of keeping records of the state's financial revenue and reporting on the conditions of the state's bank accounts. Finally, the superintendent of public instruction supervises the distribution of funding to the state's schools, as well as overseeing teacher certification laws.
Powers and Limitations
Powers and Limitations of the Executive Branch
The governor has the power of appointing all public officials except the ones previously mentioned who are independently elected. He also has the ability to appoint justices to the Arizona Supreme Court.
The governor also has the power to veto legislation. Additionally, he may call the legislature to a special session, as long as he specifies the issue to be addressed.
One limitation on the power of the chief executive is that all appointments he makes are subject to approval by the state senate.
Legislative
The Legislative Branch
Much like the federal government, Arizona's state government has a bicameral legislature, which consists of a State Senate and a House of State Representatives. The legislature consists of 30 senators and 60 representatives from the 30 legislative districts around the state.
Both senators and representatives are elected to two-year terms and cannot serve more than four consecutive terms in either house without taking a full term out of office.
Both houses have a presiding officer. The House of Representatives has the Speaker of the House, and the Senate has the president of the Senate.
Responsibilities
Responsibilities of the Legislative Branch
Like the legislature of the federal government, the primary responsibility of the state legislature is writing, voting on, and enacting legislation for the state.
Most bills require a simple majority in both houses to be passed and go into effect 90 days after they have been signed. The exception to this rule allows a bill to become effective immediately upon being signed by the governor if the bill has an emergency clause and has been passed by a two-thirds vote in both houses.
Powers and Limitations
Powers and Limitations of the Legislative Branch
One major power that the legislature has over the executive branch is that gubernatorial appointments made to public office are subject to approval by the senate.
Members of the Arizona legislature have another interesting power that regular civilians do not. Current members of the Arizona legislature are immune to all instances of arrest except treason, felony, or breach of the peace.
A significant limit on the legislature's power comes with the governor's ability to veto bills that have been passed by the house and the senate.
Judicial
The Judicial Branch
The judiciary of the state of Arizona is comprised of numerous different courts. The courts can basically be thought of in three separate groups: limited jurisdiction courts, general jurisdiction courts, and appellate jurisdiction courts.
Limited jurisdiction courts have certain limitations on what kinds of cases they can hear and the size of those cases. General jurisdiction courts hear the bigger court cases that limited jurisdiction courts cannot.
Arizona has two appellate courts as well: the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court. These courts hear cases that have been tried in one of the lower courts, but their rulings have been appealed.
Responsibilities
Responsibilities of the Judicial Branch
The responsibilities of the state judiciary are very similar to those of the federal judiciary. The courts hear cases, interpret the laws of the state, and dole out sentences for being found in violation of these laws.
Cases heard by the courts can be sorted into two categories: civil and criminal. Civil cases involve a legal dispute between two entities (e.g. an employee and an employer). Criminal cases involve an alleged violation of the criminal code.
Powers and Limitations
Powers and Limitations of the Judicial Branch
The members of the judiciary, or justices, have the power to dole out consequences for convictions within the confines of the law.
The Supreme Court of Arizona also has the power to oversee the Arizona State Bar and the admission of new attorneys to the practice.
The power of the judiciary is limited in that many of its members must be elected by the public and in that they serve fixed terms.