Quiz On California Gov.

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California Constitution Background

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1. The Purpose of State Constitutions create the institutions of state gov and to allocate powers among them.

2. The Legal Status of State Constitutions is legally superior to the laws of the state gov it created.

3. State Constitutions and the Federal Constitution, Compared
Similarities: All create gov of three branches within a system of checks and balances with protection of civil liberties and civil rights.
Difference: Federal creates a gov of delegated powers while state create a gov of residual powers.

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B. History of the California Constitution

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1. The U.S.-Mexico War (1846-48) and the Acquisition of California from Mexico (1848) Started by president Polk claiming border dispute, later turned out not true, real reason was to take the western territory away from Mexico. Treaty of Guadalupe.

2. The Constitution of 1849 and California’s Admission to the Union (1850) Convention was put together to draft a constitution for CA, first slavery was prohibited tipped balance towards free states, only white males were permitted to vote, women were able to own property, new borders were established, also recognized two languages Spanish and English and the constitution was drafted in both.

3. The Constitution of 1879 Problems that lead to new constitution were the rail road company, wanted to create a new state commission. The working men’s party represented the white working class, they were concerned about Chinese immigrants wanted to include restriction on Chines immigrants also a concern about land reform. Held a convention for the new constitution, a railroad commission was created however land reform was not adopted, the working men’s party was successful however the provisions were later struck down. Spanish was dropped as the official second language.


4. The Progressive Movement and its Influence on the California Constitution late 1800 early 1900 movement it was a populous movement that viewed political parties and government cooperation as corrupt. 17th amendment stated that state representatives were to be voted upon. In CA the movement was responsible for the direct democracy amendments providing for referendums and recalls also responsible for the non-partisan local elections. Responsible for women’s suffrage giving them the right to vote.

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Some Key Features of California’s Constitution Today

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1. Include guaranteed civil liberties and civil rights.

2. Includes term limits for governor and state legislature.

3. Provide for direct democracy.

4. Key feature is its length 154 pages, one of the longest constitutions in the world, has been amended 500 times since ratification because of direct democracy.

5. Requirement of a 2/3 vote in order to raise taxes.

6. Gives the governor a line item veto, he has the power to cross out any portion of a spending bill then sign it.

7. Prop 13 concerning property taxes from 1978 amended the constitution are limited to 1% of the assessed value of land. Reassessment of land values occurs only when the land is sold.

8. Prop 8 ban on gay marriage amend the constitution to prohibit gay marriage.

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D. Amending the California Constitution

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1. By Initiative (see Section III. B. 1., below) any person can file a proposed amendment to the constitution and if they collect enough sigs they can get it on the ballot.

2. By Referendum (see Section III. C. 1., below) the state legislatures pass a proposed amendment then it is put onto the ballot.
3. By Constitutional Convention 1. Legislature can call a convention with a 2/3 vote the question is then submitted to the voters. 2. If voters approve they must then elect delegates the convention. 3. Any amendment proposed in the convention must be approved by the voters.

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E. Recent Calls for Constitutional Reforms

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Prop 13
2/3 vote requirement to raise taxes
Direct Democracy (limitations)
Term Limits
Prop 8

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A. The Legislature

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1. Powers are residual

2. Bicameral Structure consists of 2 chamber an assembly (80 members) and a senate (40 members)

3. Terms of Office Assembly 2 years Senate 4 years

4. Term Limits Prop 140 1990 limited assembly to 3 terms and senate to 2 terms Prop 28 reduces the total number of years one can serve from 14 to 12 years.

5. Elections all assembly member and ½ senate member are elected every 2 years in November of even number years both are elected from districts each senate district has twice as many as each senate district.

6. Redistricting and Proposition 11 (2008) created an independed citizens commission to redraw state legislative districts after a census.

7. Removal 1. Member can be expelled by a 2/3 vote 2. Legislature can be removed by recall

8. Leadership Assembly is headed by speaker and a minority leader Senate President pro tem and a minority leader both chamber are controlled by democrats.

9. Committee Systems each chamber has standing committees.

10. Major Functions 1. Lawmaking 2. Representation 3. Oversight

11. Problems public approval rating 12% due to frequent delays with the budget.

12. The State Legislature and Congress, Compared Similarities: bicameral institutions, similar in organization Differences: power is residual, term limits

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B. The Executive

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1. The Governor Jerry Brown

a. Election state wide election on even numbered non presidential election years

b. Term 4 years 2 terms if served after 1990

c. Term limits



d. Powers and Duties 1. State executive power 2. Power to sign and veto bills 3. Line item veto for spending bills 4. Power to appoint executive branch officials and state judges 5. Duty to deliver a state of the state report 6. To grant pardons 7. To grant clemency 8. Commander and chief of the CA State national guard

e. The Role of Leadership and the Power to Persuade

f. Removal recall and impeachment by the state assembly and senate

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C. The Courts

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1. Jurisdiction

a. Federal and State claims.

b. Civil and Criminal cases.

2. Structure Superior Courts (58) → Courts of Appeal (6) → State Superior Court ( 7 justices)

3. Term of office for judges Superior 6 years and State and Appeal 12 years

Term limits? None

4. Qualifications Member of the CA bar for 10 years

5. Selection of judges

a. Courts of Appeal judges and Supreme Court justices 1. Gov nominate a judge 2. Nominee must be confirmed by a committee of judicial appointments, which consist of the chief justice, appeal court judge, and the attorney general. 3. At the next governor election the appointee must be retained by the voters in a non competitive election.

b. Superior Court judges 1. Elected in non partisan elections. 2. Vacantsies are filled by the governor with no confirmation needed.


6. Removal impeached and removed by state legislature can also be removed by a commission of judicial performance can also be removed by recall.

7. Caseload and Cost of California Courts 8 million civil and criminal cases are filed each year in CA with an annual cost of 4 billion dollars.

8. Plea Bargains and Settlements not able to handle all cases through trials resolved by settlement.

9. State Courts and Federal Courts, Compared Sim: Structure of the court systems Diff: CA judges have terms of office, elected rather than appointed

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Direct Democracy: Initiatives, Referendums, and Recalls

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Initiatives, referendums, and recalls are forms of direct democracy that permit voters to participate directly in amending the state constitution, making laws, and removing elected officials from office prior to the expiration of their terms.

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Initiatives

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Initiatives are so named because they are initiated by the people and not by the state legislature. The initiative process can be used to amend the state constitution or to enact state statutes.

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Constitutional Initiatives

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a. Any person or group can submit a proposed state constitutional amendment to the state attorney general.
b. The submitter must obtain a number of signatures of registered voters that totals at least 8% of the number of voters in the last governors race. Petition circulators have 150 days to collect signatures.

c. The secretary of state determines whether the required number of signatures has been submitted, if so the proposed amendment will appear on the ballot as a proposition.

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Referendums

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A referendum proposal asks voters to judge an action previously taken by the state legislature. A qualifying referendum is placed on the ballot as a proposition. There are three types of referendums: constitutional, statutory, and mandatory.

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Referendums pt. 2

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1. Constitutional referendums seek ratification by voters of a proposed amendment passed by a 2/3 vote of each house of the states legislature.

2. Statutory referendums can be proposed by any individual or group in order to repeal a law enacted by the state legislature. Qualifying procedure is the same except sponsors only have 90 days to collect signatures.

3. Mandatory referendums seeks voter ratification of a proposed government bond issue following approval by the state legislature.

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Recalls

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1. Definition: elections held to decide whether to remove a state or local elected official prior to the expiration of his or her term.

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Recall requirements

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a. Supporter must gather the required amount of signatures of registered voter within an X amount of days, varying on the date of the recall.

b. If the recall effort qualifies two questions are place on the ballot. 1. Whether the official should be removed. 2. Asks voters to choose a replacement.

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Counties

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1. Function subdivisions of the state that provide services to county residents such as police and fire protection public health services roads criminal justice system and welfare.

2. Governance by an elected five member board of supervisors other elected official include sheriffs, district attorney, and assessor.

3. Elections non partisan.

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Cities

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1. Function preform additional governmental services to residents of an area. The process begins with a petition signed by 25% of registered voters within the area, the county can then authorize a election.

2. Governance
a. Mayor/Council model in which an elected mayor holds executive power and council that has legislative power to enact city laws called ordinances.

b. Council Manager model the city council has both legislative and executive power, hiring a manager to run city departments.

3. Elections non partisan.

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Special Districts

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1. Functions to provide specific services that require specialization like water supply air pollution or education.

2. Governance district boards elected by voters other are governed by county supervisors.

3. Elections non partisan.

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California’s Plural Executive

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In addition to the governor, the California Constitution provides for seven other executive officials elected by the people in statewide elections. Each serves a four-year term and is limited to two terms. The arrangement gives the governor far less control over the state executive branch than the president has over the federal executive branch.

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a. Lieutenant Governor

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president of the state senate and serves as the acting governor when the governor is out of state and also take over when position becomes vacant.

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Attorney General

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head of the state justice department serves as the chief legal advisor and supervises county distract attorneys.

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Controller

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audits state expenditures and chairs the franchise tax board which collect state income taxes.

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Secretary of State

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maintains state legal documents, grants charter to cooperation, and runs state elections.

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e. Treasurer

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deposits state tax collections in banks and sells state government bonds.

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f. Insurance Commissione

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monitors and regulates insurance companies doing business in the state.

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g. Superintendent of Public Instruction

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elected on a non partisan basis head of the state department of education, grants teaching credentials and enforces state education policies.

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The Governor and the President, Compared

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Sim: leadership role with power to persuade, subject to term limits dif: president appoints cabinet while governor’s are elected in own right, governor has a line item veto