Welcome to the Friday, March 7, Brew.
By: Briana Ryan
Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:
- 44 governors have given their state of the state addresses so far this year
- Wyoming governor vetoes bill allowing state legislators to disapprove agency rules
- Did you know that 13 state capitals are holding elections for mayor in 2025?
44 governors have given their state of the state addresses so far this year
In the March 4 Brew, we told you about President Donald Trump’s (R) first address to a joint session of Congress of his second term. Today, we’ll look at the governors who’ve given their state of the state addresses so far this year.
Each year, governors provide an annual report on their policy priorities and the overall condition of their states to lawmakers (in states with legislatures that do not meet annually, the address is given every other year). These reports, mandated by all 50 state constitutions, are generally known as state of the state addresses.
As of this date, 44 governors—19 Democrats and 25 Republicans—have given their addresses. The addresses in Louisiana and North Carolina are scheduled for April 14 and March 12, respectively. Four other governors have not yet announced plans to deliver an address.
Of the 44 governors who have delivered their addresses, six were first elected in November 2024 and gave their addresses for the first time. They include Indiana Gov. Mike Braun (R), Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe (R), New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte (R), North Dakota Gov. Kelly Armstrong (R), Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson (D), and West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey (R). The 38 other governors who addressed their legislatures are incumbents.
The average length of all addresses so far is 4,607 words. Democratic speeches averaged 5,265 words, while Republican speeches averaged 4,107 words.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) delivered the longest speech at 10,934 words, while Idaho Gov. Brad Little (R) delivered the shortest at 2,216 words.
We also analyzed the transcripts for the most common words in Democratic and Republican addresses. We found that the most common words in both parties’ addresses so far include: “state” (1,368 uses), “new” (721), “year” (576), “people” (605), and “work” (560). The chart below shows other words frequently used in this year’s addresses.
Click the link below to see our list of all current and previous addresses going back to 1990. Also, make sure to click here to check out the Feb. 26 edition of Hall Pass, where we give an in-depth look at how governors addressed education in their addresses.
Wyoming governor vetoes bill allowing state legislators to disapprove agency rules
On March 4, Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon (R) vetoed Senate File (SF) 0127, a bill designed to create a process for state legislators to disapprove of and nullify executive agency regulations. Wyoming has a Republican trifecta.
The Wyoming Legislature designed the final version of SF127 to require the Wyoming Legislative Services Office (LSO) to create and distribute to each legislator a regulatory impact analysis for each major rule, defined as having either an annual economic impact of $1 million or more or significant adverse effects on competition, employment, investment, productivity, or innovation. Under the bill, legislators could have introduced legislation prohibiting the regulation from being implemented or enforced.
Gordon said in his veto message that SF0127 didn’t institute an effective check on bureaucracy but instead added to it. He also said the rules do not exist without the Legislature first authorizing them, pointing to existing checks on agency procedure and authority in the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act: “If burdensome regulation is a concern, perhaps the Legislature should examine its own motivations. Are all the new laws absolutely necessary? Moreover, if there are questions about implementation, should the Legislature be more thorough?”
Concerning the initial version of SF0127, AFP-Wyoming State Director Tyler Lindholm said Gordon should sign the bill: “If Wyoming is going to become the freest state in the nation, we can’t have unelected bureaucrats legislating by decree. We urge Governor Gordon to take this golden opportunity to restore limited government and reduce our state’s regulatory burden.”
Background
The amended version of SF0127 would have given legislators a mechanism of oversight on agency rulemaking authority by opt-in legislative disapproval of agency regulation, similar in some ways to the resolutions of disapproval Congress can use according to the Congressional Review Act. This mechanism is one of several legislative oversight policies, part of a broader conflict regarding the power balance between legislators and executive agencies.
As initially introduced, SF 0127 was a REINS-style state law requiring the Legislature to ratify any major agency rules with implementation or enforcement costs above a certain threshold before the rules could take effect. However, the Senate amended SF 0127 from a REINS-style law to an opt-in oversight mechanism, allowing for legislative disapproval and nullifying major regulations.
Four states — two Republican trifectas and two divided governments — have REINS-style state laws as of 2024. Six states have introduced REINS-style legislation so far in 2025, five with Republican trifectas and one with a divided government.
Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs (D) vetoed a REINS-style bill in 2023 and 2024, and voters defeated a ballot measure in the Nov. 5, 2024, general election that would have enacted a REINS measure in Arizona.
Administrative state legislation in other states
We follow legislation reforming the administrative state, including legislation reforming the power balance between legislatures and executive agencies.
SF0127 is one of 124 bills introduced in the 2025 legislative session regarding the legislative review of agency actions as of March 4. Forty bills were from states with Democratic trifectas, 69 from states with Republican trifectas, and 15 from states with divided governments.
Of the 124 bills, five are federal bills from the U.S. Congress. One—the Midnight Rules Relief Act— crossed over.
Seventeen bills were enacted in 2024 related to the legislative review of agency actions: Democratic trifectas enacted four, Republican trifectas enacted three, and divided governments enacted four. Three related bills were vetoed by two divided governments and one Republican trifecta.
Did you know that 13 state capitals are holding elections for mayor in 2025?
The cities range in size, from Boston, Massachusetts, with nearly 700,000 residents, to Helena, Montana, with roughly 34,500. Election dates are scattered across the year. Jackson, Mississippi, goes first with primaries on April 1, followed by Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on May 20. Jackson will hold general elections on June 3.
Several of the 13 cities will hold general elections on Nov. 4.
Ballotpedia covers mayoral elections in all state capitals and the 100 most populous cities. This year, in addition to mayoral elections in the 13 state capitals, Ballotpedia will also cover 25 elections in the largest cities that aren’t state capitals. That includes New York City, the most populous city in the U.S.
Click here to learn more.