Governor of Tennessee
The governor of Tennessee is the head of government of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor is the only official in the Tennessee state government who is directly elected by the voters of the entire state.
For a list, see List of governors of Tennessee.Governor of Tennessee
- Mr. Governor (informal)
- The Honorable (formal)
Four years, renewable once consecutively
March 30, 1796
Lieutenant Governor of Tennessee (The Speaker of the Senate holds the title and succession)
$204,336 (2022)[1]
The current governor is Bill Lee, a member of the Republican Party, who took office on January 19, 2019, as the state's 50th governor. He was re-elected to serve a second term in 2022.
Qualifications[edit]
The Tennessee Constitution provides that the governor must be at least 30 years old and must have lived in the state for at least seven years before being elected to the office. The governor is elected to a four-year term and may serve no more than two terms consecutively.[2] There are only two other U.S. states, New Jersey and Hawaii, where the governor is the only state official to be elected statewide.[3]
Compensation[edit]
As of 2022, the governor's salary was set at $204,336 per year. This is the fourth highest U.S. gubernatorial salary.[16] Bill Haslam and his predecessor, Phil Bredesen, both were independently wealthy before taking office and refused to accept state salaries for their service as governor.[17][18]
Incumbent governor[edit]
Bill Lee, Republican, is the 50th governor of Tennessee, succeeding Bill Haslam in 2019.[19] A former president of his company, the Lee Company, his primary focus so far has been job creation and the economy.[20] In his budget proposal, Lee outlined plans for K-12 education, mental health, criminal justice, rural economic development and health care.[21] Like Haslam, Lee also intends to add to the Rainy Day fund.[21]
Lee's early executive orders included an order requiring all state executive departments to report rural impact and recommendations for improvement[22] and three regarding ethics and transparency.[23]
History[edit]
Experience[edit]
Many recent governors have been businessmen. Phil Bredesen created the HealthCare America Corporation[24] and Bill Haslam has held multiple chair and executive positions and is a co-owner of a minor league baseball team.[25] Current governor Bill Lee was the president of his own company before taking office.[20]
Education varies, but typically recent governors hold at least a bachelor's degree. Bredesen earned a degree in physics from Harvard,[24] Haslam a bachelor's in history from Emory University,[25] and Lee a bachelor's in mechanical engineering from Auburn University.[20]
Though political experience is helpful for running for governor, it has never been a requirement. Bill Lee, for example, prior to his governorship never held office. Bredesen and Haslam were both mayors: Bredesen as mayor of Nashville from 1991 to 1999[24] and Haslam as mayor of Knoxville from 2003 to 2010.[25] Early governors such as Andrew Jackson sometimes had a history of military service, with Jackson serving in the Revolutionary War [26] and the War of 1812.
Recent priorities[edit]
In recent years there has been a heavy focus on the economy, health care, and education. Governors such as Haslam focused on making the state business friendly as much as possible, using fiscally conservative ideas when making policy.[31] Conservatism has not been limited to Republicans however, as Phil Bredesen, a Democrat, supported the death penalty.[36] There have been successful achievements that are not traditionally seen as conservative, namely TN Promise and Reconnect.[31]
Bredesen's focuses included healthcare. He announced Cover Tennessee in 2006 as "a partnership between the state and small business to help adults buy affordable insurance that follows them, no matter where they work, and that doesn't require high deductibles on the front end."[37] Cover Tennessee would follow a citizen regardless if they changed employers and Cover Kids provides services to pregnant women and children in low-income families.[34] His handling of TennCare, namely that he cut more than 170,000 people from the rolls for the sake of the budget, was criticized, and it played a role in his Senate race in 2018.[38]
Tennessee governors have a history of going back and forth between democrats and republicans,[39] though the former Democratic stronghold is now solidly Republican.[40]
Achievements[edit]
Tennessee governors' achievements generally have varied with the priorities of the administration. Since governor Haslam, much emphasis has been placed on education and increasing the number of student enrolling in technical and community colleges. Bill Lee has continued this priority by proposing a budget to increase funding for school safety and resource officers. Democratic and Republican administrations alike have carried the belief that a well balanced budget should always be paramount when shaping policy in Tennessee.
Governor Sundquist served from 1995 to 2003. In 1996 Sundquist focused heavily on ethic and welfare reforms and played a role in the creation of the Tennessee Regulatory Authority and the Families First Act.[41] Replacing the previous Public Service Commission, the Families First Act dropped the number of welfare recipients from 70,000 to 30,000 in an effort to reduce state expenditures.[42] Sundquist also created the Department of Children's Services in 1996.[41] In his second term Sundquist created the ConnectTn program which made Tennessee the first state in the country to provide internet use in public libraries and schools.[42] Sundquist is most known for his push for a state income tax, which received wide backlash from Democrats and Republicans. His effort of tax reform was destroyed by future governor Phil Bredesen.[43]
Phil Bredesen campaigned to reduce waste in state government, reform TennCare, and improve Tennessee schools. In 2004, Bredesen enacted TennCare reform, cutting the budget by more than half and removing nearly 200,000 citizens from being eligible for Medicaid. Bredesen increased funding for education by $366.5 million focusing on Pre-K incentives and increasing teacher pay.[44] In 2006 Bredesen created Cover Tennessee protecting Tennesseans with preexisting conditions and expanding care to uninsured children. In 2007, Bredesen pushed for another increase to education funding by issuing a cigarette tax, the increase would amount to $343 million for education.
The Haslam administration focused heavily on improving the economy and education in Tennessee.[45] In 2012 Haslam signed a budget to increase construction spending by $560 million and eliminate the inheritance and gift tax. The bill also included a plan called "Fast Track", which aimed to provide incentives for companies to move to Tennessee.[46] Haslam's most well-known accomplishment is the Tennessee Promise and Reconnect programs. Tennessee Promise gives Tennesseans the opportunity of two free years of community college or technical school. The Reconnect program provides incentives for adults to return for post-secondary degrees. In 2012, Haslam introduced the T.E.A.M. Act in an attempt to improve state employee performance.[47] The bill would change hiring and advancements policy to prioritize job performance over seniority. In 2017, Haslam introduced the IMPROVE Act which aimed to provide funding for $10 billion of needed road construction.[48] The act cut food sales taxes, but raised taxes on gas, diesel, and natural gas. The bill also created an annual $100 fee for electric car owners and increased all vehicle registration fees.[49]