ANSWER.... Governor State governments of the United States are institutional units in the United States exercising some of the functions of government at a level below that of the federal government. Each state's government holds fiscal, legislative and executive authority over[1] a defined geographic territory. The United States comprises 50 states: 13 that were already part of the United States at the time the present Constitution took effect in 1789, plus 37 that have been admitted since by Congress as authorized under Article IV, Section 3 of the Constitution.