Introduction. The increased sanctions pressure on the Russian economy and the growth of geopolitical tensions have predetermined the need to modernize the management mechanism in public authorities. Organisational and legal aspects of the content of the competence of the state authority at the regional level are considered in the article on the basis of retrospective analysis of the works of national scientists. It is determined that subnational development and ensuring economic security should take into account the tasks of increasing the sustainability of regional economic systems. Methods. The methods of logical cognition such as deduction, induction, method of analogy, method of comparative jurisprudence were used as a methodological basis of the study. Results. It is proved that regional government authorities are a system that includes a set of elements (various organisational cells) that are in interrelation, and their competence, covering all areas and spheres of the region, contributes to the formation of conditions for their stable functioning. In this regard, the sustainable development of meso-level systems involves improving the quality of functioning of regional government bodies based on an unambiguous definition of their competencies. The definition of the elements of competence of regional authorities will contribute to its more complete consolidation in the normative acts regulating their activities.