The Government of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is the governmental structure of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as established by the Pennsylvania Constitution. It is composed of three branches: executive, legislative and judicial. The capital of the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

is Harrisburg.

Executive branch

The elected officers are: In Pennsylvania all members of the executive branch are not on the ballot in the same year: elections for governor and lieutenant governor are held in even years when there is not a presidential election, while the other three statewide offices are elected in presidential election years.

Departments

The Governor's Cabinet comprises the directors of various Commonwealth agencies: Health and Welfare Building, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

* Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) * Department of Aging * Office of General Counsel (OGC) * Department of Insurance * Department of Corrections (DOC) * Department of Transportation (PennDOT) *

Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other nati ...

(DOS) * Department of General Services (DGS) * Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) * Emergency Management Agency (PEMA) * Department of Health * Department of Banking and Securities (DoBS) * Office of the Budget * Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) *

Pennsylvania State Police The Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) is the state police agency of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, responsible for statewide law enforcement. The Pennsylvania State Police is a full service law enforcement agency which handles both traffic and cr ...

(PSP) * Office of Inspector General (OIG) * Department of Human Services (formally Department of Public Welfare) (DHS) * Department of Labor & Industry (L&I) *

Department of Agriculture An agriculture ministry (also called an) agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister f ...

* Department of Revenue * Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (DMVA) * Office of Administration (OA) * Department of Education (PDE) * Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs (DDAP) The '' Pennsylvania Bulletin'' is the weekly gazette containing proposed, enacted and emergency rules and other notices and important documents, which are codified in the '' Pennsylvania Code''.

Legislature

The

Pennsylvania General Assembly The Pennsylvania General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The legislature convenes in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. In colonial times (1682–1776), the legislature was known as the Pennsylvania ...

is the

bicameral Bicameralism is a type of legislature, one divided into two separate assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate and vote as a single grou ...

state legislature composed of 253 members: the House of Representatives with 203 members, and the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

with 50 members. The Speaker of the House of Representatives or their designated ''speaker pro tempore'' holds sessions of the House. The President of the Senate is the Lieutenant Governor, who has no vote except in the event of tie in the Senate, where the vote is 25-25. The legislature meets in the Pennsylvania State Capitol in Harrisburg. Its session laws are published in the official ''

Laws of Pennsylvania The ''Laws of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania'' (also known as the ''Pamphlet Laws'' or just ''Laws of Pennsylvania'', as well as the ''Acts of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania'') is the compilation ...

'', which are codified in the '' Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes''. Members of the Senate and the House cannot hold a position in any civic office, and both the houses may expel a member with two-thirds vote. Any member who is expelled for corruption may never run again for reelection in either portion of the legislature.

Judicial branch

Pennsylvania is divided into 60 judicial districts,Judicial districts
most of which (except Philadelphia) have magisterial district judges (formerly called district justices and justices of the peace), who preside mainly over minor criminal offenses and small civil claims. Magisterial District Judges also preside over preliminary hearings in all misdemeanor and felony criminal cases. Most criminal and civil cases originate in the Courts of Common Pleas, which also serve as appellate courts to the district judges and for local agency decisions. The

Superior Court In common law systems, a superior court is a court of general jurisdiction over civil and criminal legal cases. A superior court is "superior" in relation to a court with limited jurisdiction (see small claims court), which is restricted to civil ...

hears all appeals from the Courts of Common Pleas not expressly designated to the Commonwealth Court or Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. It also has original jurisdiction to review warrants for wiretap surveillance. The Commonwealth Court is limited to appeals from final orders of certain state agencies and certain designated cases from the Courts of Common Pleas. The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania is the final appellate court. All judges in Pennsylvania are elected; the chief justice is determined by seniority. In total, 439 judges preside over the Court of Common Pleas, 9 judges preside over the Commonwealth Court, 15 judges preside over the

, and 7 justices preside over the Supreme Court. Elected judges run in 10 year terms, at which point they are required to run in a non-partisan retention election if they wish to continue to serve.

Local government

Local government in Pennsylvania Local government in Pennsylvania is government below the state level in Pennsylvania. There are six types of local governments listed in the Pennsylvania Constitution: county, township, borough, town, city, and school district. All of Pennsylvani ...

consists of five types of local governments: county, township, borough,

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

, and school district. All of Pennsylvania is included in one of the state's 67 counties and each county is then divided into one of the state's 2,562 municipalities. There are no

independent cities An independent city or independent town is a city or town that does not form part of another general-purpose local government entity (such as a province). Historical precursors In the Holy Roman Empire, and to a degree in its successor states ...

or unincorporated territory within Pennsylvania. Local municipalities are either governed by

statutes A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs the legal entities of a city, state, or country by way of consent. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. Statutes are rules made by le ...

enacted by the

Pennsylvania Legislature The Pennsylvania General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The legislature convenes in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. In colonial times (1682–1776), the legislature was known as the Pennsylvania ...

and administered through the '' Pennsylvania Code'', by a

home rule charter Home rule is government of a colony, dependent country, or region by its own citizens. It is thus the power of a part (administrative division) of a state or an external dependent country to exercise such of the state's powers of governance wit ...

or optional form of government adopted by the municipality with consent of the Legislature. Municipalities may enact and enforce

local ordinance A local ordinance is a law issued by a local government. such as a municipality, county, parish, prefecture, or the like. China In Hong Kong, all laws enacted by the territory's Legislative Council remain to be known as ''Ordinances'' () af ...

s. Pennsylvania enacted the Local Government Commission in 1935, by an Act of Assembly. The commission is one of the oldest in the country, composed of five members of the state Senate and House of Representatives who are appointed by the

President Pro Tempore A president pro tempore or speaker pro tempore is a constitutionally recognized officer of a legislative body who presides over the chamber in the absence of the normal presiding officer. The phrase ''pro tempore'' is Latin "for the time being". ...

of the Senate and the Speaker of the House. The commission provides assistance to Members of the General Assembly on researching local issues.

References

External links

PA.GOV

Pennsylvania General Assembly

Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
recipient profile on USAspending.gov {{Governments of the United States Pennsylvania