Governors hold more power under federal law than most practitioners realize. This reference guide from 56 Capitals LLC catalogs every statutory provision in the U.S. Code that assigns authority, duties, consultation rights, or formal roles to the chief executives of all 50 states and 6 territories — spanning 30 titles of federal law and more than 400 individual citations.

Originally published in 2002 and updated through March 2026, this document is the only comprehensive statutory index of gubernatorial authority organized by U.S. Code title. It covers emergency declarations, workforce programs, environmental regulation, highway safety, national defense, healthcare, education, energy policy, homeland security, and dozens of other federal domains.

Whether you are advising a governor's office, managing federal relations for a state agency, or analyzing the scope of state executive power in federal programs, this reference provides the statutory foundation that practitioners need and cannot find assembled anywhere else.