STATE GOVERNMENTS
Students in a U.S. classroom.
The fourth section of the Constitution explains how state governments are set up. This section also explains how new states can join the United States.
The Constitution says that each state will have a government that has a legislative branch, an executive branch, and a judicial branch.
The person in charge of the executive branch for a state government is a called a governor. Each of the 50 states has a governor. To find out who is the governor of your state now, please visit: usa.gov/state-governor.
Under the Constitution, powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved for the states respectively, or to the people.
For example, state governments have the power to provide the people of their state with protection and safety. One way that state governments do this is by providing the people in their state with police departments and fire departments.
State governments also have the power to provide the people of their state with schooling and education. Each state in the U.S. has its own educational system for students in grade school, colleges and universities, and adult education programs.
Fighting fires is among a state's powers.
ONE NATION, ONE PEOPLE: THE USCIS CIVICS TEST TEXTBOOK
Washington, D.C., does not have a governor because it is not a U.S. state. Washington, D.C., residents should answer that D.C. does not have a governor.