Constitutional Authority in Crisis: Examining a State Governor’s Emergency Powers

The powers of our nation’s 50 state governors are enshrined in our Constitution in Article X, wherein those governors may exercise broad authority for their populations, especially in conditions of extreme emergency. However, the full extent of a governor’s emergency powers are not well understood, nor have they been explored in depth to assess the governor’s discretionary authority in a national emergency. Despite the catastrophic events of 9/11 and subsequent 21st century threats, the scope of augmented emergency powers granted to governors remains ambiguous. Specifically, governors lack the robust authority to offer sustained emergency response and recovery operations beyond the normal 72 hours most cities and communities routinely prepare for and expect. However, if Washington, DC, is preoccupied, disabled, or distracted by its own post-attack strategic vulnerability and beset by continuity of operations planning requirements and national security imperatives, the federal government may not be able to set in to provide help after those first 72 hours. Therefore, our governors must plan for sustained operations for an additional 2 weeks after a national catastrophe and equip themselves for that scenario, which puts an enormous strategic burden on them.