In what ways does the executive branch of the state of California differ from the executive branch of the United States federal government?

California's legislature delegates authority to over 200 agencies to create regulations implementing state statutes. Regulations carry the same force of law as court decisions and legislation. But before an agency enforces any regulation, it must first be approved by the California Office of Administrative Law (OAL). Approved regulations are then filed with the Secretary of State's Office.

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HOW DOES A BILL BECOME A LAW?
Executive Branch
Legislative Branch
Judicial Branch
Local Government

The California Regulatory Notice Register ("Notice Register") contains notices of proposed regulatory actions by state regulatory agencies to adopt, amend, or repeal regulations contained in the California Code of Regulations. A state agency must complete its rulemaking and submit the rulemaking file to OAL within one year of the date of publication of a Notice of Proposed Action (“Notice”) in the Notice Register. (Government Code Section 11346.4(b))

The Official California Code of Regulations (CCR) incorporates all approved regulations. Since 1990, Barclays has been the CCR's official publisher. Over 26,000 pages long, the CCR is organized into twenty-eight separate Titles. For accuracy, the CCR is amended weekly, so all approved changes are incorporated into the regulations.

What is a Regulation?

A "regulation" means every rule, regulation, order, or standard of general application or the amendment, supplement, or revision of any rule, regulation, order or standard adopted by any state agency to implement, interpret, or make specific the law enforced or administered by it, or to govern its procedure. [Government Code, section 11342.600]

No state agency shall issue, utilize, enforced, or attempt to enforce any guideline, criterion, bulletin, manual, instruction, order, standard of general application, or other rule, which is a "regulation" under the Administrative Procedures Act unless it has been adopted as a regulation and filed with the secretary of state pursuant to the Administrative Procedures Act. [Government Code, section 11340.5(a)]

Just like the federal government, California has a state constitution and a three-branch system.

The Executive Branch comprises the Governor and other constitutional officers.
The State Assembly and Senate make up the Legislative Branch.
The Judicial Branch includes all of the state courts.

These three branches work together to govern California.

HOW DOES A BILL BECOME A LAW?

In order to create a new law in California, a state assemblymember or senator must introduce the idea by writing a bill. The bill goes through a series of readings and discussions before the Assembly and Senate vote on it. If both houses pass the bill, it is sent to the Governor.

The Governor has the option of signing the bill, rejecting it with a veto or allowing it to become law without his or her signature. If vetoed, the Legislature may override the Governor’s decision with a two-thirds vote in both houses. Bills that are passed by the Legislature and approved by the Governor are assigned a chapter number and go into effect on the first day of the next year.

Interested in more details on how a bill becomes a law? The Legislative Process diagram that illustrates how a bill becomes a law.

Powers not granted to the Federal government are reserved for States and the people, which are divided between State and local governments.

Most Americans have more frequent contact with their State and local governments than with the Federal Government. Police departments, libraries, and schools—not to mention driver’s licenses and parking tickets—usually fall under the oversight of State and local governments. Each state has its own written constitution, and these documents are often far more elaborate than their Federal counterpart. The Alabama Constitution, for example, contains 310,296 words—more than 40 times as many as the U.S. Constitution.

All State governments are modeled after the Federal Government and consist of three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial. The U.S. Constitution mandates that all States uphold a “republican form” of government, although the three-branch structure is not required.

Executive Branch

In every state, the Executive Branch is headed by a governor who is directly elected by the people. In most states, other leaders in the executive branch are also directly elected, including the lieutenant governor, the attorney general, the secretary of state, and auditors and commissioners. States reserve the right to organize in any way, so they often vary greatly with regard to executive structure.

Legislative Branch

All 50 States have legislatures made up of elected representatives, who consider matters brought forth by the governor or introduced by its members to create legislation that becomes law. The legislature also approves a State’s budget and initiates tax legislation and articles of impeachment. The latter is part of a system of checks and balances among the three branches of government that mirrors the Federal system and prevents any branch from abusing its power.

Except for one State, Nebraska, all States have a bicameral legislature made up of two chambers: a smaller upper house and a larger lower house. Together the two chambers make State laws and fulfill other governing responsibilities. (Nebraska is the lone state that has just one chamber in its legislature.) The smaller upper chamber is always called the Senate, and its members generally serve longer terms, usually four years. The larger lower chamber is most often called the House of Representatives, but some states call it the Assembly or the House of Delegates. Its members usually serve shorter terms, often two years.

Judicial Branch

State judicial branches are usually led by the State supreme court, which hears appeals from lower-level State courts. Court structures and judicial appointments/elections are determined either by legislation or the State constitution. The supreme court focuses on correcting errors made in lower courts and therefore holds no trials. Rulings made in State supreme courts are normally binding; however, when questions are raised regarding consistency with the U.S. Constitution, matters may be appealed directly to the United States Supreme Court.

Local Government

Local governments generally include two tiers: counties, also known as boroughs in Alaska and parishes in Louisiana, and municipalities, or cities/towns. In some States, counties are divided into townships. Municipalities can be structured in many ways, as defined by State constitutions, and are called, variously, townships, villages, boroughs, cities, or towns. Various kinds of districts also provide functions in local government outside county or municipal boundaries, such as school districts or fire protection districts.

Municipal governments—those defined as cities, towns, boroughs (except in Alaska), villages, and townships—are generally organized around a population center and in most cases correspond to the geographical designations used by the United States Census Bureau for reporting of housing and population statistics. Municipalities vary greatly in size, from the millions of residents of New York City and Los Angeles to the few hundred people who live in Jenkins, Minnesota.

Municipalities generally take responsibility for parks and recreation services, police and fire departments, housing services, emergency medical services, municipal courts, transportation services (including public transportation), and public works (streets, sewers, snow removal, signage, and so forth).

Whereas the Federal Government and State governments share power in countless ways, a local government must be granted power by the State. In general, mayors, city councils, and other governing bodies are directly elected by the people.

The Governor is elected by the people to a four-year term and if elected can serve a second four-year term. Only citizens of the United States that are residents of California and over the age of 18 can be elected as Governor of California. 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.

Under the leadership of the Governor, the executive branch is responsible for administering and enforcing the laws of California. In practice the executive branch works closely with the legislative branch in shaping proposed legislation.

There are many state departments included in the executive branch. Officials who are publicly elected, appointed by the Governor, or hired into the state’s civil service system, direct these executive departments.

The legislative branch of government is composed of the State Assembly, the State Senate, and several other departments. Together they are the principle law-making powers in the state. The Legislature will propose, analyze, and debate over 6,000 bills in a single two-year session.

The State Assembly is made up of 80 members and are elected to two-year terms while the State Senate is made up of 40 members and are elected to four-year terms with one-half reelected every two years. Assembly and Senate districts are apportioned on the basis of population.

Prior to their election, Legislative candidates must be over the age of eighteen, United States citizens, a resident of California for at least three years, and live in the district which they represent for one year.

California’s court system is made up of the Supreme, appellate, and superior courts. The California court system serves as a check against legislative and executive powers by making sure those branches do not create laws that are in conflict with the state constitution. The judiciary is responsible for seeing that laws are justly and equitably applied in all matters brought before the courts. The Supreme Court is headquartered in San Francisco, however it holds sessions regularly in Sacramento and Los Angeles.

As the final interpreter of the laws of the State of California, its decisions may only be reversed by the U.S. Supreme Court where it is determined that the California law conflicts with the U.S. Constitution.

The Supreme Court is composed of a Chief Justice and six Associate Justices. When a vacancy arises on the Supreme Court, justices are initially appointed by the Governor. Thereafter the justices appear on the ballot at the statewide elections and are elected to 12-year terms. All appointees to the California Supreme Court must be a member of the California State Bar or served as a judge of a court of record of the State of California for ten years immediately preceding his or her appointment or election.