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Executive branch
The Governor of Tennessee is the head of government, elected statewide, and holds office for a four-year term for maximum of two consecutive terms.
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Legislative branch
The Tennessee General Assembly, the state legislature, consists of the 33-member Senate and the 99-member House of Representatives. Senators serve four-year terms, and House members serve two-year terms. Each chamber chooses its own speaker, e.g., the Lieutenant Governor and Speaker of the Senate of Tennessee is elected by the Senate from among its members. Constitutional officials in the legislative branch are elected by a joint session of the legislature.
Judicial branch
The highest court in Tennessee is the state Supreme Court. It has a chief justice and four associate justices. No more than two justices can be from the same Grand Division. The Supreme Court of Tennessee also appoints the Attorney General, a practice that is not found in any of the other 49 states in the Union. Both the Court of Appeals and the Court of Criminal Appeals have 12 judges. The trial courts are the: