Executive Orders and Their Purpose

Governors, all of whom are popularly elected, serve as the chief executive officers of the fifty states and five commonwealths and territories.
As state managers, governors are responsible for implementing state laws and overseeing the operation of the state executive branch. As state leaders, governors advance and pursue new and revised policies and programs using a variety of tools, among them executive orders, executive budgets, and legislative proposals and vetoes.
Governors carry out their management and leadership responsibilities and objectives with the support and assistance of department and agency heads, many of whom they are empowered to appoint. A majority of governors have the authority to appoint state court judges as well, in most cases from a list of names submitted by a nominations committee.
Although governors have
many roles and responsibilities in common, the scope of gubernatorial power varies from state to state in accordance with state constitutions, legislation, and tradition, and governors often are ranked by political historians and other observers of state politics according to the number and extent of their powers. Ranking factors may include the following:
 Qualifications and tenure
 Legislative—including budget and veto—authority
Appointment sovereignty
Although not necessarily a ranking factor, the power to issue executive orders and take emergency actions is a significant gubernatorial responsibility that varies from state to state.
According to the National Governor’s Association:
The authority for governors to issue executive orders is found in state constitutions and statutes as well as case law, or is implied by the
powers assigned to state chief executives. Governors use executive orders —certain of which are subject to legislative review in some states — for a variety of purposes, among them to:
trigger emergency powers during natural disasters, energy crises, and other situations requiring immediate attention;
create advisory, coordinating, study, or investigative committees or commissions; and
address management and administrative issues such as regulatory reform, environmental impact, hiring freezes, discrimination, and intergovernmental coordination.
Attached in this email are the seven (7) executive orders Governor Ralph Northam as enacted since March 12, 2020.