The government of Washington State is the governmental structure of the

State of Washington Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...

as established by the

Constitution of the State of Washington The Constitution of the State of Washington is the document that describes the structure and function of the government of the U.S. State of Washington. The constitution was adopted as part of Washington Territory's path to statehood in 1889. An e ...

. The executive is composed of the

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

, several other statewide elected officials and the Governor's cabinet. The

Washington State Legislature The Washington State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a bicameral body, composed of the lower Washington House of Representatives, composed of 98 Representatives, and the upper Washington State Senat ...

consists of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

and

State Senate A state legislature in the United States is the legislative body of any of the 50 U.S. states. The formal name varies from state to state. In 27 states, the legislature is simply called the ''Legislature'' or the ''State Legislature'', whil ...

. The judiciary is composed of the

Washington Supreme Court The Washington Supreme Court is the highest court in the judiciary of the U.S. state of Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the ...

and lower courts. There is also local government, consisting of counties, municipalities and special districts.

Executive

The executive branch of the state's government is organized as a plural executive, in which the heads of the principal departments are filled by individually elected officials. In addition to the

Governor of Washington The governor of Washington is the head of government of Washington and commander-in-chief of the state's military forces.WA Const. art. III, § 2. The officeholder has a duty to enforce state laws,WA Const. art. III, § 5. the power to either a ...

, the state constitutional officers are: the

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

, the

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

, the Secretary of State, the

Treasurer A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance. Government The treasury o ...

, the

Auditor An auditor is a person or a firm appointed by a company to execute an audit.Practical Auditing, Kul Narsingh Shrestha, 2012, Nabin Prakashan, Nepal To act as an auditor, a person should be certified by the regulatory authority of accounting and au ...

, the Commissioner of Public Lands, and the

Superintendent of Public Instruction A state education agency or state department of education is the state-level government organization within each U.S. state or territory responsible for education, including providing information, resources, and technical assistance on educationa ...

. Additionally, a number of state departments are governed and managed by independent commissions, including the

Department of Fish and Wildlife Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

and the Department of Transportation. Heads of the remaining departments are appointed by the Governor, with the advice and consent of the

Washington State Senate The Washington State Senate is the upper house of the Washington State Legislature. The body consists of 49 members, each representing a district with a population of nearly 160,000. The State Senate meets at the Legislative Building in Olympi ...

. The Governor also enjoys a

line item veto The line-item veto, also called the partial veto, is a special form of veto, veto power that authorizes a chief executive to reject particular provisions of a bill enacted by a legislature without vetoing the entire bill. Many countries have dif ...

, the power to issue pardons and commute death sentences, and they act as commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The offices of each of the state constitutional officers are established in the Washington constitution, with the exception of that of the

Insurance Commissioner An insurance commissioner (or commissioner of insurance) is a public official in the executive branch of a state or territory in the United States who, along with his or her office, regulate the insurance industry. The powers granted to the office ...

, which was created by statute. They are each elected on a partisan ballot to concurrent four-year terms, except for the Superintendent of Public Instruction who is officially non-partisan. 2014_Org_Chart_WA

The main administrative departments are: *

Agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

(WSDA) * Archaeology and Historic Preservation (DAHP) *

Commerce Commerce is the large-scale organized system of activities, functions, procedures and institutions directly and indirectly related to the exchange (buying and selling) of goods and services among two or more parties within local, regional, nation ...

(COM) *

Corrections In criminal justice, particularly in North America, correction, corrections, and correctional, are umbrella terms describing a variety of functions typically carried out by government agencies, and involving the punishment, treatment, and su ...

(DOC) * Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) *

Ecology Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overlaps wi ...

(ECY) * Employment Security Department (ESD) *

Washington State Technology Solutions Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

(WaTech) *

Financial Institutions Financial institutions, sometimes called banking institutions, are business entities that provide services as intermediaries for different types of financial monetary transactions. Broadly speaking, there are three major types of financial insti ...

(DFI) * Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) *

Health Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organiza ...

(DOH) * Labor and Industries (L&I) *

Licensing A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...

(DOL) *

Washington Military Department The Washington Military Department is a branch of the state government of Washington, United States. The Washington State Military Department has several major operational divisions: * Washington Emergency Management Division * Washington Ar ...

(MIL) *

Natural Resources Natural resources are resources that are drawn from nature and used with few modifications. This includes the sources of valued characteristics such as commercial and industrial use, aesthetic value, scientific interest and cultural value. O ...

(DNR) * Puget Sound Partnership * Retirement Systems (DRS) * Revenue (DOR) * Services for the Blind (DSB) * Social and Health Services (DSHS) *

Transportation Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land (rail and road), water, cable, pipeline, ...

(WSDOT) *

Veterans Affairs Veterans' affairs is an area of public policy concerned with relations between a government and its communities of military veterans. Some jurisdictions have a designated government agency or department, a Department of Veterans' Affairs, Minist ...

(DVA) The '' Washington State Register'' (WSR) is a biweekly publication that includes activities of the government. The ''

Washington Administrative Code Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

'' (WAC) is the codification of regulations arranged by subject and agency.

Legislature

The

is the state's

legislative branch A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known as ...

. The

state legislature A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Sta ...

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 ...

and is composed of a

lower Lower may refer to: *Lower (surname) *Lower Township, New Jersey *Lower Receiver (firearms) *Lower Wick Lower Wick is a small hamlet located in the county of Gloucestershire, England. It is situated about five miles south west of Dursley, eight ...

and an upper

. The state is divided into 49 legislative districts of equal population, each of which elects two representatives and one senator. Representatives serve two-year terms, whilst senators serve for four years. There are no

term limit A term limit is a legal restriction that limits the number of terms an officeholder may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in presidential and semi-presidential systems they act as a method of curbing the potenti ...

s. The

Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hungerf ...

presides over the House of Representatives. The Speaker and the Speaker

Pro Tem ''Pro tempore'' (), abbreviated ''pro tem'' or ''p.t.'', is a Latin phrase which best translates to "for the time being" in English. This phrase is often used to describe a person who acts as a ''locum tenens'' (placeholder) in the absence of ...

are nominated by the majority party caucus followed by a vote of the full House. As well as presiding over the body, the Speaker is also the chief leadership position, and controls the flow of legislation. In the absence of the Speaker the Speaker Pro Tem assumes the role of Speaker. The

Lieutenant Governor of Washington The lieutenant governor of Washington is an elected office in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. The incumbent is Denny Heck, a Democratic Party (United States), Democrat who began his term in January 2021. The lieutenant governor s ...

serves as the

President of the Senate President of the Senate is a title often given to the presiding officer of a senate. It corresponds to the speaker in some other assemblies. The senate president often ranks high in a jurisdiction's succession for its top executive office: for e ...

, but only casts a vote if required to break a tie. In his or her absence, 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". ...

presides over the Senate. The President Pro Tempore is elected by the majority party caucus followed by confirmation of the entire Senate through a Senate Resolution. The President Pro Tempore is the chief leadership position in the Senate. The other legislative leaders, such as the

majority A majority, also called a simple majority or absolute majority to distinguish it from #Related terms, related terms, is more than half of the total.Dictionary definitions of ''majority'' aMerriam-Websterminority leaders are elected by their respective party caucuses. Its

session laws Session laws are the collection of statutes enacted by a legislature during a single session of that legislature, often published following the end of the session as a bound volume. The United States Statutes at Large are an example of session l ...

are published in the '' Laws of Washington'', which in turn have been codified in the ''

Revised Code of Washington The Revised Code of Washington (RCW) is the compilation of all permanent laws currently in force in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. Temporary laws such as appropriations acts are excluded. It is published by the Washington State S ...

'' (RCW).

Judiciary

The

is the

highest court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

in the state. It has original jurisdiction of petitions against state officers, and can review decisions of lower courts if the money or value of property involved exceeds $200. Direct Supreme Court review of a trial court decision is permitted if the action involves a state officer, a trial court has ruled a statute or ordinance unconstitutional, conflicting statutes or rules of law are involved, or the issue is of broad public interest and requires a prompt and ultimate determination. All cases in which the death penalty has been imposed are reviewed directly by the Supreme Court. In all other cases, review of Court of Appeals decisions is left to the discretion of the court. Nine justices serve on the bench and are elected statewide to six-year terms. Motions to be determined by the Court, and petitions for review of Court of Appeals decisions, are heard by five-member departments of the Court, and a less-than-unanimous vote on a petition requires that the entire court consider the matter. The

Washington Court of Appeals The Washington Court of Appeals is the intermediate level appellate court for the state of Washington. The court is divided into three divisions. Division I is based in Seattle, Division II is based in Tacoma, and Division III is based in Spokan ...

is the intermediate level

appellate court A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of ...

empowered to hear appeals from final judgments and orders of superior courts, Personal Restraint Petitions,Wash. R.App.P. 16.1 et seq. writs of

mandamus (; ) is a judicial remedy in the form of an order from a court to any government, subordinate court, corporation, or public authority, to do (or forbear from doing) some specific act which that body is obliged under law to do (or refrain from ...

and

quo warranto In law, especially English and American common law, ''quo warranto'' (Medieval Latin for "by what warrant?") is a prerogative writ requiring the person to whom it is directed to show what authority they have for exercising some right, power, or ...

, appeals from decisions of administrative agencies, discretionary review of a superior court's decision in an appeal from a court of

limited jurisdiction Limited jurisdiction, or special jurisdiction, is the court's jurisdiction only on certain types of cases such as bankruptcy, and family matters. Courts of limited jurisdiction, as opposed to general jurisdiction, derive power from an issuing autho ...

, and discretionary review of interlocutory appeals from rulings of superior court for which there is no other effective remedy. Judges are elected for six-year terms. The court is divided into three divisions. Cases are heard by panels of three judges. There is no ''

en banc In law, an en banc session (; French for "in bench"; also known as ''in banc'', ''in banco'' or ''in bank'') is a session in which a case is heard before all the judges of a court (before the entire bench) rather than by one judge or a smaller ...

'' procedure. The

Washington superior courts Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

are courts of general jurisdiction, grouped into thirty single or multi-county districts. The Washington district courts (of counties) and Washington municipal courts (of cities and towns) are courts of limited jurisdiction which hear cases involving misdemeanor crimes, traffic, non-traffic, and parking infractions, domestic violence protection orders, civil actions of $75,000 or less, and small claims of up to $5,000. Superior court and district court judges are elected to four-year terms, and municipal court judges may be elected or appointed to four-year terms depending on state law. In addition to municipal courts, cities can establish traffic violation bureaus (TVBs) that handle traffic violations of municipal ordinances. The

Washington State Bar Association The Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) operates under the delegated authority of the Washington Supreme Court to license the state's nearly 41,000 active and inactive lawyers and other legal professionals. In furtherance of its obligation to ...

(WSBA) licenses and regulates attorneys, and serves its members as a professional association. The Commission on Judicial Conduct consists of 11 members (two attorneys selected by the WSBA, three judges selected by the sitting judges of the state, and six non-attorneys appointed by the Governor), which is authorized to investigate complaints against sitting judges and recommend the removal of judges, which can be effected by a majority vote of the Supreme Court.

Local government

The powers of the counties of Washington are exercised by three to five county commissioners, or by a different form of government provided by "

home rule 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 ...

" charters, such as a council-elected executive, council-appointed administrator, or commission-appointed administrator form. The cities and towns of Washington can be organized under mayor-council, council-manager, and commission forms of government. The power of the public to initiate ordinances by petition and to have enacted ordinances referred to the voters are only available in first class cities, code cities, cities or towns organized under the commission plan of government, and home rule counties. Special purpose districts are governments that provide an array of services and facilities including electricity, fire protection, flood control, health districts and hospital districts, housing, irrigation, parks and recreation, library, water-sewer service and more recently stadiums, convention centers, and entertainment facilities that are not otherwise available from city or county governments.

References

External links

* {{Authority control