NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Executive Council of New Hampshire

Executive Council of the State of New Hampshire (commonly Governor's Council) is the Executive body of the U.S. state of New Hampshire. The Executive Council advises the Governor on all matters and provides a check on the governor's power. New Hampshire is one of the few states which has an Executive Council and the state whose council has the most power. While the Governor retains the right to veto legislation and command the New Hampshire National Guard, the Council has veto power over pardons, contracts over $1000 and nominations. The Executive Council Chambers have been located in the New Hampshire State House since the chambers were added to the capitol in 1909. Known as the Dean of the Council Ray Burton (R) is one of the longest standing elected officials in the State of New Hampshire. ... The doctrine and practice of dispersing political power and creating mutual accountability between political entities such as the courts, the president or prime minister, the legislature, and the citizens. ... It has been suggested that National Guard Bureau be merged into this article or section. ... A pardon is the forgiveness of a crime and the penalty associated with it. ... New Hampshire State House The New Hampshire State House is the state capitol building of the U.S. state of New Hampshire. ...

Construction

The Executive Council is made up of 5 councilors elected for two-year terms by their respective districts. The General Court divides the state into five districts by population, as needed for the public good, with each district containing approximately 247,000 citizens. Image File history File links NH_Executive_Council_Chambers. ... Image File history File links NH_Executive_Council_Chambers. ...

The governor has the sole power and authority to convene the meetings of the council at his discretion. The council does not have the power or authority to convene itself. The governor with, or a majority, of the council "may and shall, from time to time hold a council, for ordering and directing the affairs of the state, according to the laws of the land." (Part II. Art. 62 of the N.H. Constitution)

Members of the council may be impeached by the house, and tried by the senate for bribery, corruption, malpractice, or maladministration. (Part II. Art 63)

The constitution provides for the governor and council to be compensated for their services, from time to time, by such grants as the general courts shall think reasonable. (Part II. Art. 58) Each councilor is provided a salary $12,354 (FY 2006) and an additional $4000 for each councilor in districts 2-5 ($5800 for District #1) is given to each councilor in lieu of expenses.

Districts

The Great North Woods Region is located at the northern tip of New Hampshire, U.S.A., north of the White Mountains Region. ...

Powers

The Governor and Council, together, have the authority and responsibility over the administration of the affairs of the State as defined in the New Hampshire Constitution, the New Hampshire statutes (Revised Statutes Annotated), and the advisory opinions of the New Hampshire Supreme Court and the state Attorney General. The General Court has also designated specific powers to the governor and council in RSA Chapter 4. Other powers of the council derive from the NH Constitution: The New Hampshire Supreme Court is the supreme court of the U. S. state of New Hampshire, and its sole appellate court seated in Concord. ... In most common law jurisdictions, the Attorney General is the main legal adviser to the government, and in some jurisdictions may in addition have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions. ...

A watchdog originally referred to a dogs job, but now has been used in additional contexts with the same implication of watching or safeguarding: For the dogs job, see guard dog. ... The term treasury was first used in classical times to describe the votive buildings erected to house gifts to the gods, such as the Siphnian Treasury in Delphi or the many buildings put up in Olympia, Greece by competing city-states, to impress each other during the Ancient Olympic Games. ... In most common law jurisdictions, the Attorney General is the main legal adviser to the government, and in some jurisdictions may in addition have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions. ... Lexington Minuteman representing militia minuteman John Parker A militia is a group of citizens organized to provide paramilitary service. ... Preponderance of the evidence is the level of burden of persuasion typically employed in the civil procedure and administrative law. ...

History

Colonial Era

The Executive Council had its beginnings in 1679, when King Charles II issued a 3,438 word commission, on September 18. The Royal Commission separated the territory of New Hampshire from Massachusetts and directed that a new government be organized in the Province of New Hampshire. A President and a nine-member Council (representing the four towns of Portsmouth, Dover, Hampton and Exeter) were appointed by the king from the 4,000 settlers of the seacoast area and were required to assume office by January 21, 1680. Charles II or The Merry Monarch (29 May 1630â€“6 February 1685) was the King of England, King of Scots, and King of Ireland from 30 January 1649 (de jure) or 29 May 1660 (de facto) until his death. ... The New Hampshire Colony was the product of several English land grants dating from 1623 to 1680, and for much of its colonial history was subject to the Massachusetts Colony and its leadership in Boston. ... Portsmouth, New Hampshire is the largest city in Rockingham County in the State of New Hampshire in the United States of America. ... Dover is a small city located in Strafford County, New Hampshire, in the United States of America. ... Ã‚Ä‹Ä„ Hampton is a town located in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, USA. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 14,937. ... Squamscott River Falls in 1907, Exeter, NH Exeter is a town located in Rockingham County, New Hampshire. ...

Appointees to the Council and President were all Puritans, some with long associations with the Boston government and several had served in the Puritan Legislature in Boston. Some of the designated Council members were so firmly opposed to the new government that they considered refusing their appointed positions. When an ultimatum was presented that less desirable men would replace them, they all relented and took the oath of office on January 21, 1680. Nickname: City on a Hill, Beantown, The Hub (of the Solar System), Athens of America Official website: www. ... The Puritans were members of a group of English Protestants seeking further reforms or even separation from the established church during the Reformation. ...

John Cutt, a wealthy Portsmouth merchant, was appointed the first President (later called Governor) of New Hampshire. The first official act of the President and Council was to create a legislative body, then called an Assembly, to raise taxes and establish public conduct laws. The president and council obtained listings of property owners in the four towns and posted those freeholders (voters) in each town, to elect representatives to the Assembly, which was convened on March 16, 1680. John Cutt (1613 - April 1, 1681) was the first President of the Province of New Hampshire. ... Assembly may refer to the following things: In politics, any body meeting together to discuss matters, a parliament or a legislative assembly such as the French revolutionary Legislative Assembly, or a body more designed to mediate between otherwise independent bodies, such as the United Nations General Assembly. ... -1...

The first Assembly, of which the Council was the upper branch, was quick to express its opposition to the directives of the royal command. They promptly enacted a law that New Hampshire's property owners' titles, as granted by the Massachusetts Bay Colony over the years, would continue as valid, contraty to the ruling of the King. The legislators also joined with the president and his council in voting an apology to the Bay State for having been torn from their jurisdiction. They also expressed special appreciation for the favors they received through the 38 year affiliation. The Massachusetts Bay Colony (sometimes called the Massachusetts Bay Company, for the institution that founded it) was an English settlement on the east coast of North America in the 17th century, in New England, centered around the present-day cities of Salem and Boston. ... This is a list of British monarchs, that is, the monarchs on the thrones of some of the various kingdoms that have existed on, or incorporated, the island of Great Britain, namely: England (united with Wales from 1536) up to 1707; Scotland up to 1707; The Kingdom of Great Britain...

At that time, the Council's primary responsibility was to report on the activities of the president to the King, especially if he strayed from the crown's dictates.

Post-Colonial Council

On January 5, 1776, the founding fathers of the State created New Hampshire's first constitution, which eliminated the position of governor, but kept the concept of a Council due to its former status as a check on the power of authoritarian rule, a reoccuring theme during the Revolution and afterwards with the creation of the Articles of Confederation, an ethos that made the founding fathers change selection of councilors from appointed to elected positions The Articles of Confederation The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, commonly known as the Articles of Confederation, was the first governing document of the United States of America. ...

In the second and current Constitution, first written in 1784, a head executive was renewed, but given the title "President" rather than Governor to avoid the connotations of the Royal Governorship during the Colonial period(which was changed back to Governor by 1792.) However, the Council, while being unable to act on its own, was now given the right to veto the head of state by a 3-2 vote.

The only time the Council was in danger of being eliminated was in 1850, when the future US President Franklin Pierce suggested its removal during that year's Constitutional Convention, with the voters of New Hampshire disagreeing with him by a more than 2-1 margin (27,910 to 11,299). Franklin Pierce (November 23, 1804 â€“ October 8, 1869) was an American politician and the 14th President of the United States, serving from 1853 to 1857. ...

References

PDF is an abbreviation with several meanings: Portable Document Format Post-doctoral fellowship Probability density function There also is an electronic design automation company named PDF Solutions. ...

Official Websites

Categories: New Hampshire | Government of New Hampshire Atkinson and Gilmanton Academy Grant is a grant located in Coos County, New Hampshire. ... Beans Grant is an unincorporated township located in Coos County, New Hampshire, USA. In New Hampshire, locations, grants, townships (which are different from towns), and purchases are unincorporated portions of a county which are not part on any town and have limited self-government (if any, as many are... Beans Purchase is a purchase located in Coos County, New Hampshire, USA. As of the 2000 census, the purchase had a total population of 4. ... Cambridge, New Hampshire, is a township in Coos County in the state of New Hampshire. ... Chandlers Purchase is a purchase located in Coos County, New Hampshire. ... Crawfords Purchase is a purchase located in Coos County, New Hampshire. ... Cutts Grant is a grant located in Coos County, New Hampshire. ... Dixs Grant is a grant located in Coos County, New Hampshire. ... Ervings Location is situated in Coos County, New Hampshire, USA. In New Hampshire, locations, grants, townships (which are different from towns), and purchases are unincorporated portions of a county which are not part of any town and have limited self-government (if any, as many are uninhabited). ... Greens Grant is a grant located in Coos County, New Hampshire. ... Hadleys Purchase is a purchase located in Coos County, New Hampshire. ... Hales Location is a location located in Carroll County, New Hampshire. ... Kilkenny is an unincorporated township located in Coos County, New Hampshire. ... Livermore is an unincorporated township located in Grafton County, New Hampshire. ... Low and Burbanks Grant is a grant located in Coos County, New Hampshire. ... Martins Location is a location located in Coos County, New Hampshire. ... Millsfield is an unincorporated township located in Coos County, New Hampshire, USA. In New Hampshire, locations, grants, townships (which are different from towns), and purchases are unincorporated portions of a county which are not part on any town and have limited self-government (if any, as many are uninhabited). ... Odell is an unincorporated township located in Coos County, New Hampshire, USA. In New Hampshire, locations, grants, townships (which are different from towns), and purchases are unincorporated portions of a county which are not part on any town and have limited self-government (if any, as many are uninhabited). ... Pinkhams Grant is a grant located in Coos County, New Hampshire. ... Sargents Purchase is a purchase located in Coos County, New Hampshire. ... Second College Grant is a grant located in Coos County, New Hampshire. ... Success Township is a township located in Coos County, New Hampshire. ... Thompson and Meserves Purchase is a purchase located in Coos County, New Hampshire. ... Wentworths Location is a location located in Coos County, New Hampshire. ...

Contents

Construction GA_googleFillSlot("encyclopedia_square");