The Legislature, Executive, and Judicial Functions in the Government of California and the United States
The legislature, executive, and judicial branches of the governments of California and the United States share certain functions. There are several functions where they vary as well. From the creation of the nation to the present day, the United States of America has experienced continual transition. The states now have their own governments and constitutions as a result of the reforms. California, a state in the United States of America, for example, has a well-established Judiciary, Executive, and Legislator. This paper attempts to shed light on how the governance of the state of California parallels and/or interacts with the government of the United States of America in terms of political, executive, and judicial functions.
Executive
One difference between the government of California and the government of the United States of America is that the Governor of the state of California can line veto, while the presidents of the United States of America can pocket veto (Grodin et al., 45). Line Veto means that the governor can assent some part of the bill presented to him and ignore some parts of it. The California Constitution allows the governor to sign only to specific aspects contained in the bill. Line-item veto shows that the powers of the governor are limited, even when it comes to dividing powers. On the other hand, pocket veto means that every bill that is passed by the members of the Congress must be presented to the US President, who is required by the constitution to veto the bill within ten days. In case the president fails to sign the bill within ten days, it automatically becomes a law without the presidential veto, if the house of the Congress is in session. However, in case the Congress has adjourned, the bill then fails.
Both the Governor of the State government and the president of the United States of America are limited to two term service in their offices. After the expiry of the term of the president of the United States of America, he cannot vie for the same post even thereafter.
The Chief Executive in both the government of California and the Federal government are similar, however, there are certain branches of Executive where there are differences. For instance, the state government is headed by the governor who is equal to the vice-president in the federal government. The governor is elected by the voters, just like the President of US. The Superintendent, the Treasurer, the Attorney General, and the Controller Secretary of State are all appointed by the voters, while the same post or people appointed to perform the same functions in the government of the United States of America are elected by the president as members of the executive (West 67).
Whereas the constitution of the United States of America builds a unitary executive that places much power in the hand of the president, the California constitution builds a plural executive that advocates for sharing of power across a number of elected offices, thereby ensuring that the executive branch of the government at the state level does not concentrate power in one office.
Legislature
Both the constitutions have a bicameral type of legislature. The state government is made up of the state assembly with 80 Members, and the State Senate comprising of 40 Members (Pritchett 23). The State Senate and State Assembly of California have their representations pegged districts which are decided by the population of the state. On the other hand, the government of the United States of America has a bicameral legislature whereby the representation is decided by the independent principles of the representatives (West 97). The federal legislature has a senate whereby all the states, regardless of the size, are represented by two senators. Senators in California serve for a four-year term, while the senators in the United States of America serve for six years in the office. Both in California and the United States of America, the States Assembly and House of Representatives' term goes for two years, and as from 1990, the terms of all legislators in California were limited to two-term service in the office (Pritchett 11).
Legislatively, the Federal Government has little restriction that limits the tax ad spending by the U.S Representatives and the senators. However, in California government, there are well-laid restrictions to the content of tax and spending laws that the state legislators are expected to write. In California government, the constitution bars the legislators from implementing a tax or doing any action that makes the state government go into debt, however, there are no such restrictions in the Federal Government (West 56). The other contrast is that the government of the United States of America has their full-time legislature who meets every year. On the other hand, the California legislature is not a professional legislature and has short term in the office.
The legislative arm of government both in the California government and the federal government has their executive check on the excesses and balance of power. They ensure that there is power balance among the three arms of the government and no one abuse of the office. The legislator of the California government is also called the general assembly whose main duty is to consider the suggestions which are brought before the governor of the state and women and men working in the senate and house of representatives (Pritchett 12). The legislature arm further approves or denies the suggestions brought before them and the governor. They consent to the state budget and draft an article of impeachment in case of any. The federal government, equally has the above powers, however, there are certain powers that are not given to the California government, yet the Federal government is not limited to them. For instance, the legislative of the U.S government can print currency, declare war, and establish an army and navy in the US. Moreover, the legislative branch of the Federal government can enter into an agreement with other nations regulating the trade between the State and other governments in the International Trade (Pritchett 11). On the contrary, there are powers which are accorded to the government of California that cannot be exercised by the Federal government, such as issuing licenses for driving, hunting, and among others.
The executive branch of the government of California ensures that there is correct enforcement of law and that the other positions of the authority do not practice excesses of power. The executive at this level appoints the state board members and they maintain all the legal documents of the state. Another role of the legislature that the federal government shares with the state government is the making of laws and policies.
Judiciary
According to the Article VI, Section 16A of the American constitution, the judges of the Court of Appeal are appointed in their districts during the time of appointment of the governor, while the judges of the Supreme Court are appointed at large. Their term runs for twelve years. This is contrary to the appointment done in the Federal Government where the judges are appointed by the president and they serve a life term.
Both the judiciary branch of the government of the United States of America and government of California have the Supreme Court as the top court and there is no any other court that can challenge it. The role of the Supreme Court in the two governments is to interpret the constitution. It is the duty of the Supreme Court to decide who is correct and who is wrong. In the state government, just like in the Federal government, there are lower courts that serve under the Supreme Court. Moreover, the judicial powers in the government of U.S are strong as compared to the judicial powers in the government of California which are limited by certain aspects of the constitution.
Conclusion
The three branches of the government of the United States of America and the government of California work as a system with distinct duties. With the government of the US headed by the President and the government of California headed by the governor, the difference therefore becomes because they perform different functions. Similarly, the paper has highlighted some of the similarities that the branches the governments share.
Work Cited
Grodin, Joseph R., Michael B. Salerno, and Darien Shanske. The California State Constitution. Oxford University Press, USA, 2015.
Pritchett, Charles Herman. The American Constitution. McGraw-Hill Companies, 1977.
Watts, Ronald L. “Comparing Federal Political Systems.” Understanding Federalism and Federation (2015): 11.
West, Darrell M. “State and federal e-government in the United States, 2001.” (2001).
