State administration - Introduction

The general administration of the State of Vorarlberg employs around 1,600 persons. Another 2,400 work in the State hospitals. Vorarlberg's administration is small and has proved to be very thrifty. In accordance with the principles of modern administration management it is managed as a service provider.
 
The State administration does more than just execute State law. It also implements federal law and fulfils a wide range of tasks of the State and federal governments in the form of private enterprise administration. The work of the State administration thus ranges, for example, from the granting of commercial licences to the granting of social welfare benefits, vehicle registration, planning permission, landscape and environmental protection matters and promotion of agriculture right up to the restoration of old buildings.
 
The State administration makes every effort to be a partner to the citizen. Even in cases where decisions are made which restrict the activities of the citizen in the interests of the common good, the relationship between the State authorities and the persons concerned should always be of a correct and positive nature.

Our task

The State administration has the task of realising the functions of the State. Insofar as it also has the responsibility of the execution of federal laws and the administration of federal assets, it must also fulfil tasks of the federal government. The individual tasks of the State administration are mainly established in the laws. In the interpretation of the laws, and even where the administration is not bound by law, it must observe the State aims specified by the constitution. The State aim of ensuring the free development of the individual personality has an important orientation function for the State administration. In conjunction with the democratic principle, it allows participation in public life through elections, referenda and other means of direct democracy. Along with the principles of subsidiarity and of helping people to help themselves, this State aim serves as a protection against an all-powerful bureaucracy intruding in people's private sphere.

The federal State also stands in the service of freedom. The protection of property forms the core of free commercial activity. Interventions in these freedoms are only permitted in line with constitutionality, proportionality, equality and good faith. The State Government has the task of ensuring the organisation of communal life in accordance with the principles of subsidiarity and solidarity. The substance and the viability of human communities, particularly marriage and the family, are to be upheld. With its commitment to the cultivation of science, education, art and the fostering of regional values and traditions, to the respect for freedom, independence and diversity of cultural life, the State Government elevates culture to a State aim. The natural basis for our existence is increasingly under threat, so that the protection and cultivation of the environment are extremely important. State aims also include the protection of life, health and physical safety. They are included in, and a precondition of, the aforementioned aims.