Question 1 California’s Political Culture
Historically, California’s state constitution was based on the amended constitution that was first adopted before California gained statehood sometime in 1850. The initiative and the referendum were used by the state to alter its constitution, and throughout its existence the state constitution of California has been altered for about 500 times. And this can be attributed to the referendums that gained a high rate of approval from the voters. For one, the state’s administration is representative of a democratic government, which allowed the voters to participate in the approval of constitutional and statute initiatives, thus ranking California as having the most liberal public policies (Korey, 22).
The diversity of cultures that comprised the majority of California population must have an impact on its government. According to studies, the people of Anglo-American heritage have a more conservative manner of voting, while the African Americans and the Latinos tend to be liberal, and the Asians somewhere in between (Korey, 26); though not all social issues were decided upon this pattern. The political legacy of the party system in California resulted two major political parties which are the democratic and the republican parties, among other parties such as the American Independent Party. Accordingly, these political parties paved the way for the state constituents to make their democratic choices with ease.
Question 2 The Governor
The governor of California has much influence in the political structure of the state, especially in the enforcement, strengthening or weakening of legislations. Accordingly, some of the roles of the governor of California include the a) approval of public fund spending, b) the signing of legislations and the setting of policy agendas, c) controlling of the agencies that are tasked to implement legislations, and c) the appointment of judges and policy makers. As the elected chief executive of the state, the governor has the duty to implement state laws, while overseeing the different operations of the executive branch of the state government. Currently, the governor’s most important role is in being a chief legislator, being the paramount personality in the state’s lawmaking endeavors.
Nevertheless, the influence of the governor has its limits, which is a typical occurrence in every democratic government. For example, the media, the state constituents and other state officials have also had some level, or even profound influence on the legislations and the policies of the state. Despite being the chief legislator of the state, the governor’s decisions and opinions are affected by the district legislators. For instance, there are policies that may be viewed by the governor to serve the best interest of the state, but which the district legislator may view otherwise. Therefore, the authority of the governor is not complete as the legislators may have the prerogative not to support his opinions. The media also play an important role in controlling the power of the governor. His decisions and actions are easily accessible to the media. When the governor calls for town hall meetings and other conferences, the media are almost always there to cover the event, and most likely have something to say about it.
Question 3 The State Budget
The state budget serves to provide a structure from which to define the manner of funding of the different public services in the state. The approved policies and state projects are accomplished from the funds appropriated from the state budget. However, drafting the state budget is a complex process and there are many factors that have to be considered in its implementation. The state budget is said to be defined by the values and main concern of the constituents, and for some reason the state leaders often are in conflict on what determines the state priorities and values. The reason for the conflict or trouble for agreeing on a state budget can be attributed to the fact that some state leaders deemed one public service more important than the others.
The trouble in coming up with the budget framework of the state of California is not attributed to ineffective leaders. The conflict is linked to the fact that it is almost an inherent part of the state leadership position to have conflicting interest. For example, while the government may have the authority to approve or modify spending proposals, these may be in conflict with how the legislators like it. The district legislators may, in their capacity, reject the proposal of the governor. The conflicting interest may lead to the disagreement of how the funds will be allocated in the different state services. Accordingly, as Californians, we can also have our share in supporting the objective of coming up with a stable budget. The idea that the budget process must cater to balanced plans that provide services and ensuring good investments requires that the people should have a clear understanding of the budget process. The Californians should actively participate in coming up with budget priorities and other important budget issues.
Question 4.
The state of California, just most states is partitioned according to counties, which are the basic political unit of the state. Each county serves to provide the law enforcements, public health, education and other services expected by the local government, specifically those that are not included in the city governments. A remarkable attribute of counties is that they are bestowed with taxing and police powers, being the largest political unit of the state that have corporate authorities. Accordingly, each country is under the assistance of the administration of the Board of Supervisors who were tasked to set policies and pass county regulations as well as to administer the activities of the different departments.
California is also comprised of incorporated cities that derived their authority from either the state code or from the city charter. The difference between cities from the counties is that the former exercises more autonomy by virtue of their ability to perform the essential services that concerns the citizens. California has also its special districts which are referred to as the state agencies that are created for the performance of local functions. The special districts offer services that are defined specifically defined by local boundaries. Moreover, special districts are divided into two categories which are the enterprise that are almost anonymous to private businesses and the non enterprise which derived most of its funding from property taxes.
The local government is especially challenging because it is the level of government that has a direct interaction with the citizens. It has many concerns that ranged from service delivery, fund budgeting, dealing with the citizens and the national government. It is tasked that includes overseeing the concerns of its constituents.
Works Cited
Korey, John. California Government. Cengage Learning. 2008
