Politics overall is a very important subject that we really take into consideration as a nation. Many American citizens all over the nation today participate in politics and value it as well. Every state in the U.S.A has there own way of participating in politics, but there is one state in particular that plays an important role in the nation when it comes to politics and that state is California. When it comes to politics California is always fifteen years ahead than the rest of the nation. In an article by Peter Leyden talking about California's politics he states: “ In other words, what happened in California 15 years ago should be studied closely to see how it will play out in America today. And what’s happening now in California will roll …show more content…
The legislative branch in California focuses on making laws and policies. The legislative branch consists of the State Assembly and the Senate. The members of the Senate and State Assembly are limited to twelve year terms and can serve their terms in one house alone or in both houses. “Legislators are elected from districts that are redrawn once per decade based on the U.S Census.” Many of these members come from the two major political parties; Democrat and Republican. Even though many legislators come from different parties they are often always seen working together to create new laws. The work of the executive branch in California falls into several large categories which include; policy making and lawmaking, annual budgeting, constituency service, and oversight. In the policymaking and lawmaking stage of their work, legislators do research, listen to advice by their colleagues, hear arguments by hundreds of people, and visit community sites as well as citizens to get a better understanding of what the citizens want in their district. Legislators use this information to make reasonable and fair laws and policies. “They introduce bills addressing problems that lobbyist or constituents bring to their attention.” In the annual budgeting stage of the legislators job they determine how much money is needed to keep government programs running. They usually work on subject like these during the Winter …show more content…
The Governor is elected by the citizens of California and is limited to, two four year terms. “The Governor is the Commander and Chief of the militia of the state and is the sole official of communication between the state and the federal government and other states of the United States.” The executive branch usually works closely with the legislative branch to promote the best laws for Californians. As the head of state it is the governor's job to participate in public speeches, ceremonies, events and say where California stands politically. Also as chief of security the governor had duties. “If the governor calls a state of emergency during a drought or after a natural disaster or terrorist act, he or she is authorized to suspend certain laws and use private property in the impacted area, and the locality becomes eligible for state emergency funds.” Just like the U.S president has a its board members and the officers, the governor of California has its officers as well. The executive office consists of members such as; lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of state, prominent controller, treasurer, the Board of Equalization and the superintendent of public instruction. The treasurer, prominent controller and the Board of Equalization are all in charge of dealing with the money in California like paying the state's bills, monitor
The office of president of the Republic of Texas was superseded and the state governor was first established in the Constitution of 1845 (“Phillip, Fry,” 2010) The Constitution of 1845 vested executive power in the governor and the election was done by the qualified voters of the State. In comparison, the Constitution of 1876 created plural executive, dividing the executive power among a governor, lieutenant-governor, Secretary of State, comptroller of public accounts, treasurer, commissioner of the general land office, attorney general and all of the officers of the executive department. All of these positions are elected by qualified voters except the Secretary of State who is appointed by the governor. The governor remains the commander-in-chief of the army and navy of the State and the militia in both the Constitutions. Also, the Constitution of 1845 placed a limit on the governor’s salary to two thousand dollars annually, which was amended on November 2, 1954 removing this limit. Although there has not been much change in the requirements to become a governor, the Constitution of 1845 limited the governor to two two-year terms in six years compared to the four-year term in the Constitution of 1876 (“Constitution of Texas,” n.d.; “Texas Constitution,” n.d.)
The government officials have a scope of duties that they are required deal. The governor may create the budget, appoint executive boards, and declare martial law, so the scope of the governor’s duties range from budget to martial law. I believe citizens will find the budget very important because that is where their tax money is and people typically want to know where that is going. The lieutenant governor is the president of the Senate, which according to the textbook by Benson, Clinkscale, and Giardino, “many political scientist believe…is the most powerful position in the state,” (218). The senate is a part of the Texas legislature, so making laws is very important to the public because the citizens are the ones who have to abide by the law. The attorney general is elected by the public and basically the state’s lawyer, so his issues are important to the people because he deals with making laws (Benson, Clinkscale, and Giardino 220). The comptroller is “the state’s chief accountant and financial officer,” so the public should be interested in the financial aspects of the state (Benson, Clinkscale, and Giardino 221). The land commissioner manages leases and the state’s public land, so the issues that are under the title may not be as important as the comptroller or lieutenant governor’s
In this essay I will explore whether or not members of congress are still doing their job or just trying to keep their good reputation with their constituents for re-election time. The question of whether or not members of congress are doing their job effectively has been a great topic of controversy. Being a member of congress has turned into a long term struggle of constantly working towards reelection and trying to balance keeping their districts happy and still being a part of major legislature. Is there a way for members of congress to keep their district happy and still manage the bigger issues they are expected to deal with? Most Americans will complain that they are not happy and that their representatives are not doing their job in
The legislative branch is responsible for making laws and includes Congress, the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Senate has 100 members, two from each state. The house of representatives is made up of 435 members, and the larger the population of the state is, the more representatives it will have. The House and the Senate are also known as Congressional Chambers, and they both have particular exclusive powers. The consent of both chambers is required to pass any legislation. But it can only become law if it is signed by the President. The President has the power to veto a bill though, which will deny the legislation and kick the bill back to Congress. It may then only be passed if 2/3 of both houses of Congress vote to pass the bill.
Our Legislative Branch has two chambers or as some will call it bicameral. The chambers consist of the Senate and the House of Representatives just like the National Legislative Branch. In our Senate we currently have a total of 31 members and there are 150 members in the House of Representatives. Senators hold their seat for 4 years and their election years are spread out while the House of Representatives are elected for two-year terms. In our Texas Legislature we have a few authority figures. “The Texas Constitution provides that the lieutenant governor shall serve as president of the senate, the presiding officer of that body. The lieutenant governor is elected statewide by voters of Texas and is the second-highest ranking officer of the executive branch of government”. (Texas Medical Associaton) In the House of Representatives we have a Speaker of the House who is chosen in each time a new legislature starts by its own members. “The speaker maintains order during floor debate, recognizing legislators who wish to speak and ruling on procedural matters.” (Joe Straus Speaker) There are also many committees who act as important gatekeepers and shape the proposed legislation. (University of Texas at Austin). The main pu...
1. The legislative branch is composed of the House of Representatives and the Senate, as a whole they are referred to as Congress. There are 435 elected officials in the House of Representatives
The role of an executive branch is to carry out the law. Many states switched to the plural executive form of government because state governors were known for abusing their power when appointing friends to political positions or handing out favors when they requested. A plural executive system which means the power of a governor is limited and distributed among other government officials. Which means, that there is not an government official in Texas that has the solely responsible for the Texas Executive Branch. Some of the members of the Texas Plural Executive and their roles are Lieutenant Governor serves as the presiding officer is first in line of succession for governor, is elected to 4 years terms by the public with no terms limits. Attorney General serves as the lawyer for the state also represents the state on civil matters and is responsible for the interpretation of the
One of the main similarities of these two systems is that they both have a bicameral legislature, which means that the legislatures is divided into two decision making bodies: a senate and an assembly (Starr, 62). In this sort of system, it is difficult to have a bias decision. They both also have 3 branches of government, with are the executive branch, which would consist of the governor of California and the president of the United States; the legislative branch, which consists of the U.S. congress and the state assembly of California; and the judicial branch, which consists of the U.S. Supreme Court and the California State Supreme Court.
California’s constitution delegates that its government divides its power into three separate branches: the legislative, the executive, and the judicial. The legislative branch consists of the Senate and the Assembly, both holding the power over California legislature. The constitution calls for 40 members in the Senate and 80 members in the Assembly. The legislative has the power to write laws, but they must propose the bill to the governor beforehand. “Perhaps the greatest change to the constitution was the insertion of direct democracy” (Fiber-Ostrow, 16). Although the legislative holds the power to make laws, citizens have the right to propose initiatives and amendments which created a direct democracy.
The legislative branch of America helps create the laws or legislation. Ideally, it works to create a society that is safe for all members. The State of California like the federal government has a bicameral legislature, in other words, composed of two chambers. The upper chamber is called the senate, while the lower is called the assembly. A unique process for the state level is that it allows for the initiative. This process circumvents the state congress and can create laws without their aide. In the state of California, every ten years, following a US census, which collects demographic information, state legislators draw redistricting plans for itself, California seats in the US House of Representatives, and the State Board of Equalization. There have been attempts to create a “non-partisan” redistricting commission, but this has been turned down by voters numerous times. Proposition 14, 39, 118, and 119 were all turned down by voters to create a non-partisan districting commission. Every decade a large portion of the state congress’s energy is spent on redistricting. In fact, two of the last four censuses, Supreme Court has had to step in to break a deadlock. In 1970, Ronald Reagan, a Republican, vetoed all together the Democratic redistricting plan. The Supreme Court had to step in and created its own plans for California to follow. Then in 1981, Democrats proposed redistricting as well as congressional delegation redistricting. The Republicans stopped this by adding referendums to the state ballot. Because it was too close to elections though, Supreme Court overturned these referendums in 1982. In 1984, they officially passed the new redistricting plan which was very similar to the original plans.
Firstly, the bill is filed by a member and assigned a number, for example, SB6, meaning it was filed in the Senate. Then it is referred to a committee to which it falls under. After this there is opportunity for the public to weigh in on how the bill will affect them or their community by writing letters, calling their representatives, and other public testimony. Lastly the bill must go through both chambers to be signed into effect. Statewide elected officials play an important role in the legislative process as well because their actions reflect those of the ones who voted them into office. For example, the Governor has the power to call special sessions, that last 30 days that can review bills that may have been beneficial but did not get addressed in the regular session. Another very important statewide elected official is the Comptroller whose department tracks all state money. The Comptroller provides the framework for developing the state’s biannual budget. This can then be signed by the Governor and back to the Comptroller to at least balance out the budget that the State of Texas is constitutionally obligated to adhere
The legislative branch consists of the Senate and the House of Representatives also known together as Congress is the only branch that has the power to create new laws. Furthermore the legislative branch employs an amazing amount of power. However the members of this branch are likely voted out of office if their objectives are not acceptable to the people. In addition the legislative branch is looked at the branch that is connected to the people. (Phaedra Trethan, 2013)
The legislative branches are the U.S. Congress on the federal level, various general assemblies on the state level and on the local level town councils or township trustees. The legislative branch is said to be the most important player in the policy process and is so powerful ...
...cal elections is many times less than twenty-five percent. Americans too frequently disregard state and local governments, although these governments have much power in the way that they live their lives.
The United States government braces its power among three powerful branches, legislative, executive and judicial. These branches interact with one another to establish authority that is strong, yet equal to have power over the country. Each branch pursues certain responsibilities and duties to operate in an efficient and effective manner in which society upholds. The executive, legislative and judicial branches all interact amid each other to validate accuracy of the nation’s most powerful law of the land, the Constitution. It is important to know how these branches interact with each other to learn how a bill becomes a law. Reflecting on how the three branches promote a balance of power that is constructive to include the agendas and electoral roles that also plays a vast part in the government’s operation.