Governor's Appointment Power for Missouri Executive Departments

Abstract

Missouri state government is not organized in the structured, top down mold so familiar in the corporate world. In fact, state government contains several different organizational structures with varying degrees of independence from the state's chief executive. The Governor has no control over offices managed by statewide elected officials: Secretary of State, Auditor, Treasurer, and Attorney General. The Governor has no direct control over an additional six departments that are overseen by commissions, although he has considerable indirect influence. The Governor directly appoints the directors of ten executive departments. In addition, the Governor appoints members of boards and commissions located within some executive departments. This report summarizes the Governor's Appointment Power for each department of state government.