The Governor and the Executive Council
The Governor signs or vetoes. The Council — five members, elected by district — approves contracts, nominations and pardons.
On this page
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- “The Governor and the Executive Council.” Granite Record, https://graniterecord.org/learn/governor-and-council. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.
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- Granite Record. (n.d.). The Governor and the Executive Council. Retrieved 24 Oct. 2026, from https://graniterecord.org/learn/governor-and-council
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- Granite Record. “The Governor and the Executive Council.” Accessed 24 Oct. 2026. https://graniterecord.org/learn/governor-and-council.
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@misc{learn-governor-and-council, title = {The Governor and the Executive Council}, howpublished = {Granite Record}, url = {https://graniterecord.org/learn/governor-and-council}, note = {Accessed 24 Oct. 2026} }
The Governor
The New Hampshire governor serves as the state's head of government and supreme executive magistrate, responsible for enforcing state laws, proposing the biennial state budget, and commanding the New Hampshire National Guard.
The Governor is elected for two years, at the same election as the whole legislature. When a bill has passed both chambers the Governor may sign it, veto it, or do nothing, in which case it becomes law without a signature after five days, Sundays excepted — unless the legislature's adjournment prevents the Governor from returning it, and then it does not become law at all. Part Second, Article 44 of the state constitution sets both.
A bill has passed both chambers
The Governor signs it
- It becomes law.
The Governor vetoes it
The legislature may overrideStarting with the chamber the bill came from.Two thirds of each chamber, by roll call- Overridden: it becomes law over the Governor’s objection.
- Not overridden: the veto stands.
The Governor does nothing
Five days passSundays excepted.- It becomes law without a signature,
- unless the legislature’s adjournment prevents its return: then it does not become law at all.
A Veto Is Not Always the End
The legislature can override a veto, but it takes two thirds of each chamber, by roll call, starting with the chamber the bill came from. The constitution says two thirds "of that house", and the House counts that among the members voting. That is a high bar and most attempts fail.
Across the 19 terms on this site there are 348 vetoed bills. In 309 the veto stood. In 39 it was overridden and the bill became law over the Governor's objection.
When the Governor vetoes a bill, the reasons are set out in a message entered in the journal of the chamber the bill came from. Those messages are printed in the House and Senate calendars, and this site carries 261 of the 348.
The Executive Council
Five councilors, each elected by district, meeting with the Governor. Almost no state has anything like it, and not many people can describe what it does.
Its approval is required for a great deal of what the executive branch does: state contracts above a threshold, the appointment of commissioners and judges, and pardons. A commissioner nominated by the Governor takes office only when the Council confirms them, and a Governor who has the legislature and not the Council cannot simply proceed.
- The Governor nominatesa commissioner, or a judge.
- The Executive Council confirms
- The nominee takes officeonly when the Council confirms them.
The Council is genuinely debated. Supporters say it is a check on executive power that no single elected officer should be without. Critics say it gives five people a veto over routine administration and slows work that has already been authorized. Both are arguments about the same fact.
This site indexes the legislature, and it holds almost nothing about the Executive Council: no agendas, no contract votes, no nominations. What it does hold is the legislative half — the vetoes and the override votes, on each bill's own page: HB 349-FN, whose veto stood, and HB 2026, whose veto was overridden. For the Council's own record, go to the Council.