NationMaster - Encyclopedia: California government and politics

California is governed as a republic, with three branches of government, the executive branch consisting of the Governor of California and the other elected constitutional officers, the legislative branch consisting of the Assembly and Senate, and the judicial branch consisting of the Supreme Court of California and lower courts. The State also allows direct participation of the electorate by referendum, recall, and ratification. In a broad definition, a republic is a state whose political organization rests on the principle that the citizens or electorate constitute the ultimate root of legitimacy and sovereignty. ... Separ popular will, combined to establish the non-interference model of the separation of powers. ... Under the doctrine of the separation of powers, the executive is the branch of a government charged with implementing, or executing, the law. ... Governors Arnold Schwarzenegger and Gray Davis with President George W. Bush (2003) Seal of the Governor of California (without the Roman numerals designating the governors sequence) See also: List of pre-statehood governors of California, List of Governors of California The Governor of California is the highest executive authority... The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature. ... California State Senate Chamber in the State Capitol The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature. ... Justices of the Supreme Court of California (circa. ... A referendum (plural: referendums or referenda) or plebiscite is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. ... A recall election is a procedure by which voters can remove an elected official from office. ... Ratification is the process of adopting an international treaty, or a constitution or other nationally binding document (such as an amendment to a constitution) by the agreement of multiple subnational entities. ...

Constitution

California's constitution is one of the longest laws in the world, taking up over 10,000 sheets of paper. Part of this length is caused by the fact that most voter initiatives take the form of a constitutional amendment, as the state Legislature can easily overturn any law with the governor's consent, while a constitutional amendment requires an election to be ratified. The California Constitution is the document that establishes and describes the duties, powers, structure and function of the government of the U.S. state of California. ...

Many of the individual rights clauses in the state constitution have been construed as providing rights even broader than the Bill of Rights in the federal constitution. An excellent example is the Pruneyard Shopping Center case. The PruneYard Shopping Center is a sprawling 250,000 sq. ...

Executive Branch

California's executive branch is headed by the Governor. Other executive positions are the Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State, State Treasurer, State Controller, Insurance Commissioner, and the State Superintendent of Public Instruction. All offices are elected separately to concurrent four-year terms. Each officer may be elected to an office a maximum of two times. Image File history File links Edmund G. Pat Brown State Office Building, San Francisco, California. ... Image File history File links Edmund G. Pat Brown State Office Building, San Francisco, California. ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ... This a List of Lieutenant Governors of the State of California, 1850-present. ... The duty of California Attorney General is to ensure that the laws of the state are uniformly and adequately enforced (California Constitution, Article V, Section 13. ... The Secretary of State of California is the states chief elections officer. ... California State Treasurer List of Treasurers ... The State Controller is the Chief Financial Officer of the State of California. ... California Insurance Commissioners ... California Superintendent of Public Instruction List of Superintendents External Links California Superintendent of Public Instruction Homepage 2006 Candidates for Superintendent of Public Instruction ...

The Governor has the powers and responsibilities to: sign or veto laws passed by the Legislature, including a line item veto; appoint judges, subject to ratification by the electorate; propose a state budget; give the annual State of the State Address; command the state militia; and grant pardons for any crime, except cases involving impeachment by the Legislature. The Governor and Lieutenant Governor also serve as ex officio members of the University of California Board of Regents. In government, the line-item veto is the power of an executive to veto parts of a bill, usually budget appropriations. ... A militia is a group of citizens organized to provide paramilitary service. ... A pardon is the forgiveness of a crime and the penalty associated with it. ... The University of California (UC) is a public university system within the State of California. ...

The Lieutenant Governor is the President of the California Senate and acts as the governor when the Governor is unable to execute the office, including whenever the Governor leaves the state. As the offices are elected separately, the two could coneivably be from separate parties; currently this is the case with Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Democrat Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante. This has led to interesting scenarios, such as when Republican Lieutenant Governor Mike Curb was temporarily in power while Democratic Governor Jerry Brown was out of the state, Curb appointed judges to vacant seats and signed or vetoed bills which Brown would have vetoed or signed, respectively. A political party is a political organization that subscribes to a certain ideology and seeks to attain political power within a government. ... 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Republican Party, often called the GOP (for Grand Old Party, although one early citation described it as the Gallant Old Party) [1], is one of the two major political parties in the United States. ... Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July 30, 1947 in Thal, Styria, Austria) is an Austrian-American actor, Republican politician, and bodybuilder, currently serving as the 38th Governor of California. ... The Democratic Party is one of the two major political parties in the United States. ... Cruz Miguel Bustamante (born January 4, 1953) is an American politician. ... Michael Curb (born December 24, 1944 in Savannah, Georgia) is an American musician, record company executive, NASCAR owner and politician who served as Lieutenant Governor of California from 1979 until 1983. ... Edmund Gerald Brown Jr. ...

The Government Proper

As for the actual state government which the Governor oversees, it is organized into several dozen departments, of which most (but not all) have been grouped together (somewhat confusingly) into agencies to reduce the number of people who report directly to the Governor. For example, the California Department of Transportation is part of the Business, Transportation, and Housing Agency. Caltrans logo The soaring ramps in the stack interchanges favored by Caltrans often provide stunning views. ...

Many of the groupings are bizarre and counterintuitive. The Department of Managed Health Care is part of Business, Transportation, and Housing, rather than the Health and Human Services Agency. And the Department of Industrial Relations (which, among many duties, inspects most elevators in California) is part of the Labor and Workforce Development Agency, not Business, Transportation and Housing.

The Overregulation Issue

During the 2001-2002 recession, California was heavily criticized by conservatives as unfriendly to business, and one of the major reasons given was that it "overregulates" everything so much in comparison to the majority of states. The Department of Consumer Affairs has many constituent agencies that closely regulate a huge number of jobs in California, beyond the traditional professions that are regulated by all states (law, medicine, and accounting). Aphorism Critical legal studies Jurisprudence Law (principle) Legal research Letter versus Spirit List of legal abbreviations Legal code Natural justice Natural law Philosophy of law Religious law External links Find more information on Law by searching one of Wikipedias sibling projects: Wikibooks Wikiversity has more about this subject: School... Medicine on the Web Medical Alarm & Use Medical Marijuana NLM (National Library of Medicine, contains resources for patients and healthcare professionals) Virtual Hospital (digital health sciences library by the University of Iowa) Online Medical Information- medical news, links and resources. ... Accountancy (British English) or accounting (American English) is the process of maintaining, auditing, and processing financial information for business purposes. ...

Examples include: acupuncturists, barbers and hairdressers, electronic and appliance repair technicians, physical therapists, family therapists, social workers, guide dog trainers, cemetery owners, court reporters, private investigators, security guards, vocational school operators, landscape architects, anyone involved in boxing and martial arts, pest exterminators, and geologists. An Acupuncturist is a person who practices acupuncture professionally. ... A barber (from the Latin barba, beard) is someone whose occupation is to cut any type of hair, give shaves and cut beards. ... A hairdresser is someone whose occupation is to cut or style hair. ... Physical therapy can help restore lost functionality in many people. ... A social worker is a person employed in the administration of charity, social service, welfare, and poverty agencies, advocacy, or religious outreach programs. ... Graves at Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York A cemetery or graveyard is a place (usually an enclosed area of land) in which dead bodies are buried. ... A court reporter, stenotype reporter or stenographer is a person whose occupation is to transcribe spoken or recorded speech into written form, typically using stenography equipment to produce official transcripts of court hearings, depositions and other official proceedings. ... A private investigator, or PI, is a person who undertakes investigations. ... A security guard is a private person who is employed to protect property and people. ... A landscape architect is primarily a designer of spaces, mostly landscapes, and sometimes gardens, in the field of landscape architecture. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Hawaiian State Grappling Championships. ... A geologist is a contributor to the science of geology. ...

In 2004, Governor Schwarzenegger proposed that as part of his "blowing up the boxes" plan, nearly all DCA agencies would be consolidated into the Department — at present, each agency is separate from the others and has its own offices and staff. After much public uproar, Schwarzenegger abandoned his proposal. His critics had argued that the advantage of the current system is that the personnel of each agency have developed in-depth experience with the particular nuances of the job that they regulate; the line between professional and unprofessional conduct is not always easy to draw. 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Legislative Branch of California

Main article: California State Legislature Californias Capitol, where the state legislature meets The California State Legislature is the legislative branch of the state government of California. ...

Constitutional Basis

The basic form of law in California is a republic, governed by democratically elected state Senators and Assembly members. The governing law is a constitution, interpreted by the California Supreme Court, whose members are appointed by the Governor, and ratified at the next general election. The constitution can be changed by initiatives passed by voters. Initiatives can be proposed by the governor, legislature, or by popular petition, giving California one of the most flexible legal systems in the world. The constitution makes the California legislature bicameral, with a Senate and an Assembly. State nickname: The Golden State Other U.S. States Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) Senators Dianne Feinstein (D) Barbara Boxer (D) Official language(s) English Area 410,000 kmÂ² (3rd) - Land 404,298 kmÂ² - Water 20,047 kmÂ² (4. ... In a broad definition, a republic is a state whose political organization rests on the principle that the citizens or electorate constitute the ultimate root of legitimacy and sovereignty. ... Governors Arnold Schwarzenegger and Gray Davis with President George W. Bush (2003) Seal of the Governor of California (without the Roman numerals designating the governors sequence) See also: List of pre-statehood governors of California, List of Governors of California The Governor of California is the highest executive authority... In political science, the initiative (also known as popular or citizens initiative) provides a means by which a petition signed by a certain minimum number of registered voters can force a public vote on a proposed statute, constitutional amendment, charter amendment or ordinance. ... Look up Petition in Wiktionary, the free dictionary A petition is a request to an authority, most commonly a government official or public entity. ...

Redistricting

California's legislature has engaged in some rather unusual redistricting practices (noted in detail further below). The result is that virtually all Assembly and Senate district lines have been drawn in a way so as to favor one party or the other, and it is rare for a district to suddenly shift party allegiance. The state government is dominated by the Democratic Party, which controls the heavily populated coastal cities in Central and Southern California. The Republican Party is stronger in the Central Valley, most rural areas, and certain conservative suburbs like Orange County. Orange County is the name of several counties in the United States of America: Orange County, California: probably named for the city of Orange, California, which in turn may have been named after the orange groves that used to exist there. ...

Codification In California

In 1872, under the influence of David Dudley Field, California began codifying its laws. California was one of the earliest American states (the first was New York), to codify its statutes into named codes (Civil Code, Code of Civil Procedure, and so on). David Dudley Field (February 13, 1805 - April 13, 1894) was an American lawyer and law reformer. ... State nickname: The Empire State Other U.S. States Capital Albany Largest city New York City Governor George Pataki (R) Senators Charles Schumer (D) Hillary Rodham Clinton (D) Official languages None (English is de facto) Area 141,205 kmÂ² or 54,556 square miles (27th) - Land 122,409 kmÂ² - Water...

Prior to the 1840s, legislatures in all common law jurisdictions passed "Acts" in a completely haphazard manner and published them in the order passed. The result was that to determine what the current statutory law was, a lawyer would have to find the earliest relevant act and then trace a path from past to present through a series of acts passed at different dates to determine which rules had been expanded, overruled, or superseded. The advantage of a code is that once the legislature gets into the habit of writing acts as amendments to the code, then the official copy of the code will reflect what the current statutory law is. This article concerns the common-law legal system, as contrasted with the civil law legal system; for other meanings of the term, within the field of law, see common law (disambiguation). ...

Since then, virtually all states and the federal government have followed the lead of California and New York and codified their statutes. However, they have preferred to write a single code with a universal numbering system. Today, only California, New York, and Texas have systems of separate subject-specific codes.

Many of the code sections have become famous throughout the U.S., like Business and Professions Code Section 17200 (unfair competition), Code of Civil Procedure Section 425.16 (anti-SLAPP special motion), Penal Code Section 187 (murder), and Penal Code Sections 667 and 1170.12 (both codifying the state three-strikes law). Also, the Federal Rules of Evidence were inspired by the success of the California Evidence Code. ... Strategic lawsuits against public participation, (SLAPP) refers to litigation filed by a large corporation (or in some cases, a wealthy individual) to silence a less powerful critic by so severely burdening them with the cost of a legal defense that they abandon their criticism. ... The California Penal Code forms the basis for the application of criminal law in the American state of California. ... 187 is the numeric code for the crime of murder used by law-enforcement officials, particularly in the state of California. ... Three strikes laws are a category of statutes enacted by state governments in the United States, beginning in the 1990s, to mandate long periods of imprisonment for persons convicted of a felony on three (or more) separate occasions. ...

The Big Five

The Big Five is an informal institution of California government, consisting of the governor, the Assembly speaker, the Assembly minority leader, the Senate president pro tempore, and the Senate minority leader. Members of the Big Five meet in private to discuss bills pending in the legislature. Because the party caucus leaders in California's legislature also control the party's legislative campaign funds, the leaders wield tremendous power over their caucus members. They are thus usually able to guarantee their caucus's votes in Big Five meetings. Therefore, if all five members agree to support a Bill, it will likely pass into law. State nickname: The Golden State Other U.S. States Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) Senators Dianne Feinstein (D) Barbara Boxer (D) Official language(s) English Area 410,000 kmÂ² (3rd) - Land 404,298 kmÂ² - Water 20,047 kmÂ² (4. ... Governors Arnold Schwarzenegger and Gray Davis with President George W. Bush (2003) Seal of the Governor of California (without the Roman numerals designating the governors sequence) See also: List of pre-statehood governors of California, List of Governors of California The Governor of California is the highest executive authority... California State Assembly Chamber in the State Capitol The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature. ... California State Senate Chamber in the State Capitol The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature. ...

Judicial Branch

The judicial system of California is the largest in the United States, with about 1,600 judges hearing over 8 million cases each year (with the assistance of 19,000 staff members and 400 judicial "equivalents" like commissioners and referees). In comparison, the federal judicial system has only about 840 judges. California's system is divided into three levels, with the Supreme Court and Courts of Appeal serving as appellate courts reviewing the decisions of the Superior Courts.

The California Supreme Court

The California Supreme Court consists of a Chief Justice and six Associate Justices, who are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the California Commission on Judicial Appointments. Justices are also ratified by the electorate at the next general election following their appointment and at the end of each twelve year term. The Supreme Court's decisions are binding on all lower state courts. The Supreme Court of California is the state supreme court in California. ...

The Court has original jurisdiction in a variety of cases, including habeas corpus proceedings, and has the authority to review all the decisions of the California Courts of Appeal, as well as an automatic appeal for cases where the death penalty has been issued by the trial court. The original jurisdiction of a court refers to matters on which the court rules directly, rather than on matters which are referred to it after being heard by another court. ... In English Common Law habeas corpus is the name of several writs which may be issued by a judge ordering a prisoner to be brought before the court. ... Capital punishment, also referred to as the death penalty, is the judicially ordered execution of a prisoner as a punishment for a serious crime, often called a capital offense or a capital crime. ...

The Court deals with about 8,800 cases per year, although review is discretionary in most cases, and it dismisses the vast majority of petitions without comment. It hears arguments and drafts full opinions for about 100 to 120 cases each year, of which about 20 are automatic death penalty appeals.

The Supreme Court is headquartered in San Francisco, with branch offices in Los Angeles and Sacramento. It hears oral arguments each year in all three locations. This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ... This article is about the largest city in California. ... City nickname: The Big Tomato Location Location of Sacramento in California Government County Sacramento Mayor Heather Fargo Physical characteristics Area Land Water 99. ...

The Supreme Court supervises the lower courts through the Judicial Council of California, and also supervises California's legal profession through the State Bar of California. All lawyer admissions and disbarments are done through recommendations of the State Bar, which are then routinely ratified by the Supreme Court. California's bar is the largest in the U.S. with 200,000 members, of whom 150,000 are actively practicing. The California State Bar Association is Californias statewide organization responsible for overseeing the admission of lawyers to the practice of law in that state. ...

The California Courts Of Appeal

The California Courts of Appeal were added to the judicial branch by a constitutional amendment in 1904. The courts are organized into six districts, the First Appellate District in San Francisco, the Second District in Los Angeles, the Third District in Sacramento, the Fourth District in San Diego the Fifth District in Fresno, and the Sixth District in San Jose. The districts are further divided into 19 divisions sitting throughout the state at 9 locations, and there are 105 justices serving on the Courts. 1904 is a leap year starting on a Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... City nickname: Americas Finest City Location Location of San Diego within San Diego County Government County San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders takes oath of office 12/05/05 Physical characteristics Area Land Water 372. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... City nickname: Capital of Silicon Valley Location Location of San Jose within Santa Clara County, California. ...

Unlike the state supreme court, the Courts of Appeal have mandatory review jurisdiction under the informal legal tradition in common law countries that all litigants are entitled to at least one appeal. In practice, this works out to about 16,000 appeals per year, resulting in 12,000 opinions (not all appeals are pursued properly or are meritorious enough to justify an opinion).

Under the common law, judicial opinions themselves have legal effect through the rule of stare decisis. But because of their crushing caseloads (about 200 matters per justice per year), the Courts of Appeal are permitted to take the shortcut of selecting only the best opinions for publication. This way, they can draft opinions fast and quickly dispose of the vast majority of cases, without worrying that they are accidentally making bad law. About 7% of their opinions are ultimately selected for publication and become part of California law. Stare decisis (Latin:, Anglicisation:, to stand by things decided) is a Latin legal term, used in common law to express the notion that prior court decisions must be recognized as precedents, according to case law. ...

Court of Appeal justices are selected, confirmed, and ratified just like the Supreme Court justices, although only the electorate in the appellate district vote to ratify the justices.

The Superior Courts Of California

Each county in California has a Superior Court that hears all civil and criminal cases. Before 1998, each county also had a municipal court that heard some of the cases. In June, 1998, California passed Proposition 220, which allowed the judges in each county to determine if the county should have only one trial court. By 2001, all 58 counties had consolidated their courts into a single Superior Court. The Stanley Mosk Courthouse in the Downtown area of Los Angeles, California. ... The Stanley Mosk Courthouse in the Downtown area of Los Angeles, California. ... 1998(MCMXCVIII) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ...

Judges are elected by the county residents for 6 year terms in nonpartisan elections. In the case of a vacancy the Governor fills the position by appointment. All Superior Court judges must have been either a member of the State Bar of California or a judge in the state for the 10 years prior to taking office. There are a total of about 1,500 Superior Court judges, assisted by 380 commissioners and 35 referees. The California State Bar Association is Californias statewide organization responsible for overseeing the admission of lawyers to the practice of law in that state. ...

Because Los Angeles County has the largest population of any county, it also has the largest Superior Court. The Los Angeles County Superior Court is organized into dozens of highly specialized departments dealing with everything from moving violations to mental health. It handles over 2.5 million legal matters each year, of which about 4,000 terminate in jury trials; this works out to about 4,300 matters per judge. Its 429 judges are assisted by 140 commissioners and 14 referees. Map of California showing Los Angeles County. ... A moving violation is any violation of the law, committed by the driver of a vehicle, while it is in motion. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ...

In contrast, many of California's smallest counties, like Alpine, Del Norte, Inyo, Lake, Lassen, Mono, and Trinity, typically have only two Superior Court judges each, who are usually assisted by a single part-time commissioner.

The Power Of The Courts Of Appeal Over The Superior Courts

In California, the power of the intermediate Courts of Appeal over the Superior Courts is quite different than the power of the Courts of Appeals of the federal government over the federal district courts.

The first Court of Appeal to rule on a new legal issue will bind all lower Superior Courts statewide. However, litigants in other appellate districts may still appeal a Superior Court's adverse ruling to their own Court of Appeal, which has the power to fashion a different rule. When such a conflict arises, all Superior Courts have the discretion to choose which rule they like until the California Supreme Court grants review and creates a single rule that binds all courts statewide. However, where a Superior Court lies within one of the appellate districts actually involved in such a conflict, it will usually follow the rule of its own Court of Appeal.

Political Issues

There have been several constitutional crises over the last twenty years: The passage of term limits for the California legislature and elected constitutional officers (which was hotly argued state-wide, and debated in the Supreme Court of California); a test of the ratification process for the Supreme Court (in which a liberal chief justice, Rose Bird, was ousted); a full-fledged tax revolt, "Proposition 13," which resulted in the freezing of real estate tax rates at 1% of the property's last sale price; and a test of the state recall provision (in which Governor Gray Davis was recalled in a 2003 special election). Various anti-tax organizations remain well-funded and active. A term limit is a provision of a constitution, statute or bylaw which limits the number of terms a person may serve in a particular elected office. ... Rose Elizabeth Bird (November 2, 1936â€“December 4, 1999) served for 10 years as the 25th Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court until removed from that office by the voters. ... Proposition 13 was a ballot initiative enacted by the voters of the state of California on June 6, 1978. ... Joseph Graham Davis Jr. ... The 2003 California recall was a special election permitted under California law. ...

Northern California's inland areas and Southern California (outside of Los Angeles) tend to be conservative, mostly Republican areas. Los Angeles and the Northern California coast tend to be liberal, mostly Democratic areas. Because most of the population is in Los Angeles and the northern coast, California as a whole tends to be liberal. Northern California (sometimes NorCal) refers to the northern portion of the U.S. state of California, roughly covering all of those counties except for the ten counties which make up Southern California. ... Southern California Downtown Los Angeles Skyline Southern California, sometimes abbreviated SoCal, is an informal name for the megalopolis that is the southern one-third of the state of California. ... The City of Los Angeles (from Spanish; Los Ãngeles, ) also known simply as L.A., is the second-largest city in the United States in terms of population, as well as one of the worlds most important economic, cultural, and entertainment centers. ... Conservatism is any of a number of political philosophies supporting traditional values or an established social order. ... The Republican Party, often called the GOP (for Grand Old Party, although one early citation described it as the Gallant Old Party) [1], is one of the two major political parties in the United States. ... Liberalism is a political current embracing several historical and present-day ideologies that claim defense of individual liberty as the purpose of government. ... The Democratic Party is one of the two major political parties in the United States. ...

However, it has to be noted that until 1992, California was a Republican stronghold in Presidential elections since the 50's (during which they won California in all but one election). It is also worth mentioning that in these years, the GOP regularly nominated Californians as presidential candidates: Richard Nixon in 1960, 1968, and 1972, and Ronald Reagan in 1980 and 1984. The immigration of Chicanos, who tend to vote Democratic, and the flight of middle-class Republicans away to Rocky Mountains' states shifted the balance in favor of the Democratic Party. Presidential electoral votes by state. ... Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913 â€“ April 22, 1994) was the thirty-seventh President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. ... Presidential electoral votes by state. ... Presidential electoral votes by state. ... Presidential electoral votes by state. ... Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 â€“ June 5, 2004) was the 40th President of the United States (1981â€“1989) and the 33rd Governor of California (1967â€“1975). ... Presidential electoral votes by state. ... Presidential electoral votes by state. ...

Among the state's divisive issues are water and water rights. Water is limited, mostly from mountain runoff (70%), wells (limited by salt-water incursion and overuse), and some Colorado River water (strictly limited by treaties with the other western states and Mexico). Waste water reclamation in California is already routine (for irrigation and industrial use). City-dwellers' property taxes pay for most water projects, but 75% of the water is used by farmers. This causes periodic water-rights initiatives and tax revolts in the cities, especially during droughts, when city water is rationed so farmers can keep fruit trees and vineyards alive. Also, most water is in the north of the State, while most people are in the south. This causes many north vs. south disputes, the most famous being the Peripheral Canal, a proposed project to divert water from the Sacramento River delta (the San Francisco Bay Area) to Southern California (Los Angeles). Colorado River in the Grand Canyon from Desert View The Colorado River is a river in the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, approximately 1,450 mi (2,333 km) long, draining a part of the arid regions on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains. ... A spring at the Sacramento River headwater The Sacramento River is the longest river in the state of California. ... USGS Satellite photo of the San Francisco Bay Area. ... Southern California Downtown Los Angeles Skyline Southern California, sometimes abbreviated SoCal, is an informal name for the megalopolis that is the southern one-third of the state of California. ...

Land use is also divisive. High land prices mean that ordinary people keep a large proportion of their net worth in land. This leads them to agitate strongly about issues that can affect the prices of their home or investments. The most vicious local political battles concern local school boards (good local schools substantially raise local housing prices) and local land-use policies. In built-up areas it is extremely difficult to site new airports, dumps, or jails. Graft and developer influence on local politics might be rife, since many cities routinely employ eminent domain to make land available for development. A multi-city political battle was fought for several years in Orange County concerning the decommissioning of the huge El Toro Marine airbase. Orange County needs a new airport (pilot unions voted the existing airport, John Wayne, the least safe in the U.S.), but the noise could reduce land prices throughout the southern part of the county, including wealthy, politically-powerful Irvine. Location Location of Orange County within California. ... Location Location of Irvine within Orange County, California. ...

Gun control is another divisive issue. In the cities, California has one of the U.S.'s most serious gang problems, and in some farming regions, some of the highest murder rates. The state also contains many individuals who desire to keep and bear arms in defense of themselves, their families and property. The legislature has passed restrictive gun-control laws. Private purchase of semi-automatic rifles that look like military rifles is a felony. The law does not prohibit sales of semi-automatic hunting-style civilian weapons, which might be intended to be a distinction without a real difference. Pistols may be purchased and kept in one's home or place of business, but it is illegal to carry weapons or ammunition outside these areas without a concealed weapons permit, except in a locked area (car trunk) to licensed practice ranges or other legitimate uses (hunting, repair, collection, etc.) Most people find it impossible to get concealed weapons permits since they are issued at the arbitrary discretion of the local law enforcement officials. California is not a "shall issue" state for concealed weapons permits. (This information should not be taken as legal advice.) (ref. section 12000 of the California Penal Code)

Bi-partisan gerrymandering

After the 2000 year census, the legislature was obliged to set new district boundaries, both for the state Assembly and Senate and for Federal Congressional Districts. This would normally be expected to create a divisive political fight between the Republicans and the Democrats. Instead of fighting, the politicians of these two parties made a bargain with each other that ultimately greatly reduced the power of voters of the state. It was mutually decided that the status quo in terms of balance of power would be preserved. With this goal, districts were assigned to voters in such a way that they were dominated by one or the other party, with almost no districts that could remotely be considered competitive. Redrawing electoral districts in this example creates a guaranteed 3-to-1 advantage for Party 1. ... This article is about the year 2000. ... A census is the process of obtaining information about every member of a population (not necessarily a human population). ...

Instead of the democratic ideal of voters selecting their political representatives, it was the other way around: politicians choosing voters. In only a few cases did this require extremely convoluted boundaries, but the results are easily seen by examining the results of the 2004 election, where a win by less than 55 percent of the vote is quite rare (five out of eighty Assembly districts, two out of 39 Senate district seats). Within the state legislature, term limits previously imposed by the voters through the initiative process may have prompted a desire of party leadership to avoid costly and risky elections in cases where there is no incumbent running. Democracy in its ideal sense is the notion that the people should have the right to rule themselves. ... A term limit is a provision of a constitution, statute, or bylaw which limits the number of terms a person may serve in a particular elected office. ...

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger proposed placing the redistricting process in the hands of retired judges, which was on the November ballot as an initiative in a special election (called by the Governor on June 14, 2005). The special election was held on November 8, 2005. Since the term limit initiative was intended to reduce the disconnect of entrenched politicians from the electorate and passed by a substantial majority - and the gerrymandered districts are generally considered a countering reaction to this - it was speculated that an initiative changing the redistricting procedures would have a good chance of passage. However, perhaps surprisingly, it was overwhelmingly defeated, with 59.5% No votes. All intiatives, three other "reform" measures proposed by the Governor and four other independant initiatives defeated. June 14 is the 165th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (166th in leap years), with 200 days remaining. ... 2005 (MMV) is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... November 8 is the 312th day of the year (313th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 53 days remaining. ... 2005 (MMV) is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The Federal House of Representatives districts are even more biased, with only three out of 53 congressional districts being won with less than 60 percent majority. To some extent this reflects the coastal versus inland and urban versus suburban political divisions within the state, but the nearly complete lack of competitiveness results in little necessity for congresspersons to consider their duty to represent other than their core supporters. This portion of the official California returns may be found here.

Combined with the state's term limits, the effect on state legislative offices is to move the action from the general election to the primaries, which restricted to members of particular political parties. This excludes from effective electoral participation the great fraction of voters who 'decline to state' any party affiliation (independents). As party primary participation tends to be largely by those with opinions and viewpoints away from the center, the effect will likely lead to a greater partisanship by holders of these offices – in only a few areas could either a Republican or a Democrat win a primary with a declaration that they are somewhere in the middle of the political spectrum. Previously, candidates would usually move to centrist positions after the primary, and would sometimes have to moderate their primary positions so that their own statements would not be used against them by an opponent in the general election. Clip of Image:Ca11 108. ...

That this situation can lead to a disconnect from the electorate is not mere conjecture; the Representative from one of the most circuitously drawn districts in California (the 11th, Republican Richard Pombo) was recently challenged about his direction of over 25 percent of his campaign funds to the campaign employment of two close relatives (his wife and son). Rather than respond to this, his office simply refused to release any comment concerning the matter. (This 'technically legal' conversion of corporate contributions to household income was largely enabled by the safety of his seat owing to the gerrymander.) Richard Pombo Richard William Pombo (born January 8, 1961), American politician, has been a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives since 1993, representing the 11th District of California (map). ...

Considering the adjoining 10th CD, in earlier elections the almost evenly divided district was a focus of national attention, owing to its balanced electorate with a slight Republican edge in registration and a Republican advantage in electoral participation. The district had been held since its creation in 1990 by a Republican, Congressman Bill Baker, a former State Assembly member, for whom the district was designed. After several weak challenges to the seat by Democrats, the election was hotly contested in 1996 by a newcomer to politics, Ellen Tauscher, a candidate with sufficient funds of her own to be competitive against the incumbent. Receiving a great amount of grass roots support from local Democratic clubs and votes from moderate Republican women, her defeat of Congressman Baker was considered a great victory for what many consider a 'middle of the road' Democrat. Her district is now 'safe' (she won reelection with 65.8 percent of the vote in 2004) and the recent congressional election drew no national attention to California. Clip of Image:Ca38 108. ... Clip of Image:Ca38 108. ... For the Temptations album, see 1990 (Temptations album) MCMXC redirects here; for the Enigma album, see MCMXC a. ... Ellen OKane Tauscher (born November 15, 1951), American politician, has been a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives since 1997, representing the 10th District of California. ... Grassroots democracy is the political processes which are driven by groups of ordinary citizens, as opposed to larger organisations or wealthy individuals with concentrated vested interests in particular policies. ...

The safest seat is undoubtedly that of Congresswoman Grace Flores Napolitano, who in her unopposed reelection in California's 38th CD obtained 100 percent of the vote with a mere 116,851 votes cast.[1]

The redistricting was successful in accomplishing its evident goal of maintaining the status quo. There was no change of political party in any of the district elected offices at either the State or Federal level - no member of the State Assembly, State Senator, or U. S. Representative was not of the same party as their predecessor.

Congressional Representation

Many leading members of Congress are from California. Among the Republicans representing California in the House in the 109th Congress are Rules Committee Chairman David Dreier from the 26th District, Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bill Thomas from the 22nd District, Appropriations Committee Chairman Jerry Lewis from the 41st District, Homeland Security Committee Chairman Chris Cox from the 48th District, Armed Services Committee Chairman Duncan Hunter from the 52nd District, Resources Committee Chairman Richard Pombo from the 11th District. Cox also chairs the Republican Policy Committee, making him the 4th ranking member in the House Republican leadership. Among the Democrats are Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi from the 8th District, Education and the Workforce Committee ranking member George Miller from the 7th District, and Intelligence Committee ranking member Jane Harman from the 36th District. The Committee on Rules, or (more commonly) Rules Committee, is a committee of the United States House of Representatives. ... David Dreier David Timothy Dreier (born July 5, 1952), American politician, has been a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives since January 1981, representing the 26th District of California (map). ... The Committee on Ways and Means is a committee of the United States House of Representatives. ... Bill Thomas For other people named William Thomas, see William Thomas. ... The Committee on Appropriations, or Appropriations Committee (often referred to as simply Appropriations, as in Hes on Appropriations) is a committee of the United States House of Representatives. ... Charles Jeremy Jerry Lewis (born October 21, 1934), American politician, has been a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives since 1979, representing the 41st District of California. ... The U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives, the lower house of Congress. ... For other people named Chris Cox, see Chris Cox (disambiguation). ... The U.S. House Committee on Armed Services, commonly known as the House Armed Services Committee, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives, the lower house of Congress. ... Duncan Lee Hunter (born May 31, 1948), American politician, has been a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives since 1981, representing the 52nd Congressional District of California in northern and eastern San Diego County. ... // Jurisdiction Fisheries and wildlife, including research, restoration, refuges, and conservation. ... Richard Pombo Richard William Pombo (born January 8, 1961), American politician, has been a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives since 1993, representing the 11th District of California (map). ... Representative Nancy Pelosi Nancy Pelosi (born March 26, 1940) is the highest-ranking Democrat in the United States House of Representatives. ... The Committee on Education and the Workforce is a committee of the United States House of Representatives. ... Ranking member, in American politics, is a term used to refer to the member of a committee in Congress who is the longest-serving member of the party not in the majority (the longest-serving member of the majority is the chairman). ... George Miller (born May 17, 1945), American politician, has been a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives since 1975, representing the 7th District of California. ... The U.S. House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence is a committee of the United States House of Representatives, currently chaired by Peter Hoekstra. ... Jane Harman Jane Lakes Harman (born June 28, 1945), American politician, has been a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives since 2001, representing the 36th District of California (map). ...

Political Parties

The two major political parties in California that currently have representation in the State Legislature and U.S. Congress are the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. However, there are five other parties that qualify for official ballot status: American Independent Party, Green Party, Libertarian Party, Natural Law Party and Peace & Freedom Party. ... Republican Party is a name used by many political parties. ... American Independent Party is a United States American political party. ... This article is about the green parties around the world. ... Libertarian Party can refer to several libertarian political parties, including: United States Libertarian Party Libertarian Party of Canada Movimiento Libertario of Costa Rica The Libertarianz of New Zealand Libertarian Society of Iceland There are also political parties that hold some of the same policies as the above parties but do... The Natural Law Party is a trans-national political party with national branches in over 80 countries. ... United States Peace and Freedom Party logo The Peace and Freedom Party (PFP) is a United States political party founded in 1967 as a leftist organization opposed to the Vietnam War. ...

Electoral System

Due to the first-past-the-post electoral system used in California, only the Democratic Party and Republican Party currently have representation in the State Legislature. However, for a brief period in the 1990s, the Green Party elected a member of the State Assembly from the eastern San Francisco Bay Area. The first-past-the-post electoral system is a voting system for single-member districts, variously called first-past-the-post (FPTP or FPP), winner-take-all, plurality voting, or relative majority. ... USGS Satellite photo of the San Francisco Bay Area. ...

California does not currently use a form of proportional representation in its elections, but some municipalities such as San Francisco and Berkeley have opted to use a system of preferential voting, currently used in Australia and Ireland, more popularly known in the United States as instant runoff voting or ranked choice voting. Proportional representation (PR) is any election system which ensures a proportionally representative result of a democratic election, x% of votes should be represented by x% in the democratic institutions, parliament or congress. ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ... Berkeley as seen from the Claremont Canyon Regional Preserve Berkeley is a city in the San Francisco Bay Area of northern California, in the United States. ... A how-to-vote card from the Australian federal election of 2004, showing voters how to fill in the squares on the ballot paper if they wish to vote for the Liberal Party of Australia. ... When the single transferable vote voting system is applied to a single-winner election it is sometimes called instant-runoff voting (IRV), as it is much like holding a series of runoff elections in which the lowest polling candidate is eliminated in each round until someone receives majority vote. ... Term preferential voting (also known as the preference voting) has several different meanings: (1) A ranked ballot or preferential voting system is a type of voting system in which each voter casts their vote by ranking candidates in order of preference. ...

Local elections in California at the county and city level are officially non-partisan and political party affiliations are not included on local election ballots.

Contents

Constitution var ACE_AR = {Site: '756743', Size: '300250'};