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Poli 103A, California Politics Bargaining with Governors. - Reminder: Midterm is in two weeks, Feb. 14 th - Study guide is coming next week. Edmund G. “Jerry” Brown, Governor 1975-1983. Bargaining with Governors. Formal Powers of Governors Informal Powers of Governors
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Poli 103A, California PoliticsBargaining with Governors - Reminder: Midterm is in two weeks, Feb. 14th - Study guide is coming next week
Bargaining with Governors • Formal Powers of Governors • Informal Powers of Governors • The Legislature vs. the Governor • Budget Bargaining • Everyday Oversight
The Formal Powers a Governor Does Have • Propose a budget • Gov’s budget due in early January • Constitutional deadline June 15
The Formal Powers a Governor Does Have • Thousands of Appointments • Cabinet members, agency officials • Judges, board members • But California has a plural executive, which means that the executive branch is split into many (8) elected offices. The Lt. Governor, Treasurer, Controller, etc. do not serve the Gov.
The Formal Powers a Governor Does Have • Executive Orders – car tax • Veto powers • The governor can veto any bill passed by the legislature, and it takes a 2/3 vote to override the veto. • The governor can line item veto some portion of a bill, striking a clause or, more often, a dollar figure.
How Often Do Governors Say No? • YearGovernorChaptered BillsVetoesTotal BillsPercent Vetoed • 1967 Reagan 1,725 83 1,808 4.59 • 1968 Reagan 1,474 61 1,535 3.97 • 1969 Reagan 1,619 78 1,697 4.60 • 1970 Reagan 1,628 75 1,703 4.40 • 1971 Reagan 1,821 154 1,975 7.80 • 1972 Reagan 1,442 165 1,607 10.27 • 1973 Reagan 1,218 107 1,325 8.08 • 1974 Reagan 1,559 120 1,679 7.15 • 1975 Brown 1,280 93 1,373 6.77 • 1976 Brown 1,487 127 1,614 7.87 • 1977 Brown 1,261 70 1,331 5.26 • 1978 Brown 1,432 49 1,481 3.31 • 1979 Brown 1,207 60 1,267 4.74 • 1980 Brown 1,381 64 1,445 4.43 • 1981 Brown 1,186 35 1,221 2.87 • 1982 Brown 1,644 30 1,674 1.79 • 1983 Deukmejian 1,317 138 1,455 9.48 • 1984 Deukmejian 1,760 303 2,063 14.69 • 1985 Deukmejian 1,607 224 1,831 12.23 • 1986 Deukmejian 1,521 318 1,839 17.29 • 1987 Deukmejian 1,504 231 1,735 13.31 • 1988 Deukmejian 1,647 372 2,019 18.42 • 1989 Deukmejian 1,467 276 1,743 15.83 • 1990 Deukmejian 1,707 436 2,143 20.35 • 1991 Wilson 1,231 259 1,490 17.38 • 1992 Wilson 1,374 336 1,710 19.65 • 1993 Wilson 1,306 229 1,535 14.92 • 1994 Wilson 1,299 311 1,610 19.32 • 1995 Wilson 982 93 1,075 8.65 • 1996 Wilson 1,171 114 1,285 8.87 • 1997 Wilson 951 197 1,148 17.16 • 1998 Wilson 1,080 351 1,431 24.53 • 1999 Davis 1,025 246 1,271 19.35 • 2000 Davis 1,092 362 1,454 24.91 • 2001 Davis 948 169 1,117 15.13 • 2002 Davis 1,170 263 1,433 18.35 • 2003 Davis 909 58 967 6.00 • 2004 Schwarzenegger 954 311 1,265 24.58 • 2005 Schwarzenegger 729 232 961 24.14 • 2006 Schwarzenegger 910 262 1,172 22.35
The Formal Powers a Governor Does Not Have • Propose legislation. The governor cannot author a bill. • Put an initiative on the ballot. Can’t do it. • Enact a budget without reaching an agreement with the Legislature. Nope. • Increase funding through a line item veto. Not happening.
Informal Powers of Governors • The Power of Initiation. (Alan Rosenthal, Governors and Legislatures: Contending Powers) • Inaugural address and State of the State allow governors to argue for change. • Executive orders can get part of a proposal done. • Governors can call special sessions for particular purposes
Informal Powers of Governors • The Power of Provision. • “Any legislator who says he needs nothing from the Governor’s office is either lying or stupid.” • Appointments are legislators’ patronage as well as governors’. • Roads and other state projects. • Social events.
Informal Powers of Governors • The Power of Publicity • Governors are almost always more popular than the Legislature • This gets them on TV, etc. • Ever-elusive “political capital”
The Legislature vs. the Governor:Budget Bargaining • After the governor proposes a budget, the Legislature does whatever it wants. • Senate and Assembly both hold subcommittee hearings, Budget Committee hearings, and pass bills. • Then the real bargaining begins. • The budget needs to pass with a 2/3 majority, giving minority party a voice.
The Legislature vs. the Governor:Budget Bargaining • “The Big Five” often negotiate the real budget deal: • The Governor: Arnold Schwarzenegger • Assembly Speaker: Fabian Nunez • Assembly Minority Leader: Kevin McCarthy • Senate President Pro Tempore: John Burton • Senate Minority Leader: Jim Brulte
The Legislature vs. the Governor:Everyday Oversight • Types of Oversight Activity: • Oversight hearings in the interim between sessions. • Audits performed by the Joint Legislative Audit Committee and the Bureau of State Audits. • Senate approval of appointments. • Informal communication between legislative and executive staff.
Discussion Questions • John Jacobs and A.G. Block contrast four governors’ styles. Can these styles help to explain their power? • Do you think that the tax shares paid by different income quintiles in California (Decker, p.23) are fair? • What about the Big Five (Johnston, pp. 10-11).
