1 / 35

Introduction

Introduction. California Government Chapter 1. California’s “Landscape”. Diverse geography & topography 770 miles long, 250 miles wide Highest peak (Mt. Whitney); lowest point (Death Valley) 840 miles of coastline Dense ancient forests; dry deserts; fertile farmlands

cecil
Download Presentation

Introduction

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Introduction California Government Chapter 1

  2. California’s “Landscape” • Diverse geography & topography • 770 miles long, 250 miles wide • Highest peak (Mt. Whitney); lowest point (Death Valley) • 840 miles of coastline • Dense ancient forests; dry deserts; fertile farmlands • Among the world’s 10 largest economies • $1.9 trillion GDP

  3. California’s “Landscape” • One of the world’s most diverse societies • 39 million people; 1 of 8 Americans live in California • 1 in 4 are immigrants • Largest city: Los Angeles, 3.8 million • Median household income: $57,700 • Persons living in poverty: 16.3%

  4. California Population by Race/Ethnicity 1970-2015

  5. CA compared to rest of US in 2010 18% of US 82% of US Black Black Asian Asian Latin@ Latin@ White White

  6. California’s Political Landscape • Citizens are generally distrustful of politicians and government • Massive scale of issues, problems, state budget • $96 billion general fund budget for 2013-2014 • Heavy use of initiative process • Dominated by big spenders • Growing prevalence of Independent voters: • 20%+ of registered voters are not affiliated with a political party

  7. Is California ungovernable? • How does the political culture in California make governing difficult? • High demand for public goods • Little willingness to pay higher taxes • General distrust of government • General faith in initiative process • What institutions and rules impede governing? • Initiative process doesn’t encourage compromise • One option only • “Take it or leave it” (can’t be amended) • No clear solutions to divisive issues that top the political agenda; no easy choices • Government spending

  8. California’s Political History California Government Chapter 2

  9. History matters • Earliest history still evident in today’s politics • Spanish conquest (1542-1821) • Way station to the far east (Philippines and rest of Asia) • Mexican rule (1821-1848) • Social and economic activity centralized in mission complexes located along El Camino Real • Ranchero era, “Ramona” Myth • Less than 10,000 Mexicans living in Alta California at the time of the Mexican-American war • Mexican government gave out large land grants to encourage settlement in Alta California • Other countries (US, England, France, Russia) eyeing Alta California

  10. California becomes a US State • Mexican-American War (1846-1848) map • US President Polk succeeds in declaring war • US wins, get’s the land including California • California as a US State • Gold rush encourages people to move to CA • CA becomes state in compromise of 1850 • CA constitution of 1849 in English, Spanish • New CA constitution of 1879 in English only • Independent spirit fostered by distance from Eastern U.S.

  11. California statehood: initial earthquakes • Admitted as a “free” state (no slavery) in1850 • Population grew rapidly with Gold Rush • Transcontinental Railroad completed 1869 • Connected California to the rest of the country • Continuing population boom • Led to concentration of political power • Millions of acres controlled by “SP” • The “Big Four” owners of the Southern Pacific Railroad company (“SP”) • Whole industries and political system controlled by “SP”

  12. Discrimination against Asians • Chinese • Chinese Exclusion Act (1882), passed by U.S. Congress as a result of agitation from California representatives, in effect until World War II • Chinese segregated in California, not allowed to immigrate (no family reunification), can’t marry whites, pop decline • Japanese and Koreans • Agitation for segregation of Japanese and Koreans • After winning the Russo-Japanese War in 1905 Japan pushed for better treatment of Japanese in U.S. • Gentlemen’s Agreement between U.S. and Japan • 1907-1924: Japan agreed to restrict laborers from coming to U.S. and U.S. pressured California to stop segregating Japanese • California Alien Land Law of 1913 • Residents ineligible for citizenship could not own land (Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Asian Indians), give to kids

  13. “Progressive” earthquake • Progressive political movement, late 1800s-mid 1910s • “Restore power to the people” • Make government more efficient; eliminate corruption; “Good Government” • Gov. Hiram Johnson’s ambitious electoral reforms • Direct Democracy: initiative, referendum, recall • Civil Service instead of patronage • Nonpartisan elections for local officials • Cross-filing • Candidates could seek nomination of all political parties

  14. Great Depression and California • Great Depression • Wave of migration from Dust Bowl states • Socialist journalist Upton Sinclair wins Democratic nomination for governor, fails to win the general election • 1934 “EPIC” campaign (End Poverty in California)

  15. Postwar Developments • Many African-Americans move to California during and after WWII • Many jobs in California • Restrictive covenants allowed by proposition 14 passed in 1964 (declared unconstitutional by CA Supreme Court) • Watts riots 1965, touched off similar throughout country • Tom Bradley first African-American LA Mayor (1973-1993) • LA Riots 1992 (maps of changing ethnic regions in LA) • Hispanics • Zoot suit riots, Bracero program, 1942-1964 • Organizing workers, Cesar Chavez • Population growth • Initiatives • 1994, Prop 187 – deny healthcare, services to undocumented (declared unconstitutional by US Supreme Court) • 1998, Prop 227 – requires all public education in English

  16. Postwar Developments • Rapid population & economic expansion • Infrastructure investments • Rise of Southern California with respect to Northern California • Growth of Defense Industry (esp. in Los Angeles and San Diego) • Water Projects (water from the north to the south) • Political parties weakened by Progressive reforms

  17. Postwar Political Earthquakes • Proposition 13 in 1978 • “Grassroots” political response to skyrocketing property values and tax rates • Capped property taxes at 1% of a property’s purchase price • Beginning of “tax revolt” across the country, important for Republican Party ideology • Boosted use of the initiative process • Decreased money for local government, especially for education • Requires 2/3’s vote to raise taxes • Gives minority party (Republicans) leverage

  18. Recent earthquakes triggered by direct democracy • Prop 98 (passed 1988) requires 40% of state budget for K-14 (response to prop 13) • Term Limits (passed1990) imposed on state elected officials • Three strikes (passed 1994) requires 25+ years for third felony after two violent felonies • Recall of Governor Davis and replacement by Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2003 • Open primary system and districts drawn by citizen commission (passed 2010) • Raise taxes for schools, Prop 30 (passed 2012)

  19. Rolling Earthquakes • Continuing growth and diversification of population • People move from US states (“rust belt”) to CA • Waves of immigrants from Mexico, Korea, Vietnam, China, and Central/South American countries • California very diverse • California will be majority Latino state by 2050 • Latinos will be the largest group in the next few years • Pattern shown in slide at start of Chapter 1 likely to continue

  20. Direct Democracy California Government Chapter 3

  21. Direct Democracy in California • Initiative, referendum and recall first instituted as part of Los Angeles city charter in 1903 • In 1911 California voter’s approved the following referenda put forward by the state legislature (the legislature was dominated by progressives at the time) • Proposition 7: Initiative and Referendum • Proposition 8: Recall • These apply to state and local governments • At the same election proposition 4 gave Women the right to vote

  22. California’s Hybrid Political System • Representative Democracy is combined with Direct Democracy • Elected representatives in the legislature and executive branch make laws & public policies • Voters also directly participate in making laws • At state and local levels

  23. Three Aspects of Direct Democracy • Initiative Process • Citizens may propose laws or constitutional amendments and vote on them • Referendum (plural = “referenda”) • Two Types: • 1) Bills passed by the legislature which must be approved by the people (compulsory referenda) • 2) Voters may reject a law passed by the legislature and signed by the governor (petition referenda) • Recall • Voters may remove an elected official from office

  24. Initiative Process Generally • Californians use it more than any other state (but Oregon and Colorado are close rivals) • Expensive to qualify measures: about $2 million • Many subjects: • Government structure and processes • Taxation • Immigration • Social welfare • Public morality (drugs; abortion) • Criminal justice • Etc.

  25. Stages of the Initiative Process • Preparation Stage • Write initiative, submit to Attorney General (AG) with $200 • AG’s office assigns it a title and writes objective summary of initiative • Qualification Stage • Gather signatures: about 1 million to ensure enough are valid (more signatures required for constitutional initiative than statute initiative) • Secretary of State reports county verification of signatures & certifies measure for ballot • Campaigning Stage

  26. Enacting an Initiative • Majority (50% + 1) Yes vote needed to pass • Theoretically goes into effect immediately, • But if there is a powerful opposition, they often challenge the initiative in court and the initiative may be “stayed” until the court (State and sometimes U.S.) reaches a decision • Courts can • Remove “stay”: state that initiative is constitutional • Nullify all or part of an initiative • Example: Proposition 187, prohibiting illegal immigrants from receiving social services (1994) • Most provisions of the law were declared unconstitutional because they conflicted with the U.S. Constitution • Opponents may attempt to pass an initiative in the future to nullify it

  27. Referenda: Two Types • Compulsory Referenda: Most common are bonds or constitutional amendments proposed by the legislature • Voters must approve state borrowing over $300,000 • Tend to be in the BILLIONS of dollars to fund large infrastructure projects • Example High speed rail in 2008: $9.9 billion • Petition Referenda: Citizens may reject all or parts of a law passed by legislature and signed by governor • Signatures must be collected and verified • Same signature requirement as an initiative to create a law

  28. The Recall • Voters may remove state and local officials • Proponents must gather signatures equal to a percentage of votes cast in last election for that official’s office • Proponents have 5 months to collect signatures • Very rare statewide: succeeded only once in California (Gray Davis, 2003) • More common at local level (school board and city council are the most common)

  29. Local Direct Democracy • Citizens may propose local laws • For cities or municipalities, and for counties • Most common local initiatives pertain to: • Government & political processes • Taxation and bonds • Business & labor regulations • Land Use • Unlike state initiatives, local officials may avoid a vote (which can be costly) by adopting the initiative

  30. Consequences of Hybrid Democracy • Piecemeal reforms target parts of a problem rather than the whole system • Results in fragmented, incomplete solutions • Compromise is difficult • Initiatives do not encourage negotiation; they represent a “take it or leave it” choice to voters • Well-funded special interests are empowered • Initiative process is costly

  31. Consequences of Hybrid Democracy • People have more governing power • Citizens do have the power to take action on issues the legislature might avoid • Example: Term Limits • Citizens have power to act on issues the parties are “stalemated” over • Example: Open Primaries and Redistricting

  32. Consequences of Hybrid Democracy • The California Constitution is much longer than the U.S. Constitution • The California constitution is more detailed • California Constitution is easier to amend than the U.S. Constitution • Link to California Constitution table of contents: • http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/const-toc.html

  33. Landmark Initiatives 1966-2010

  34. Recent Initiatives and Upcoming Elections • Results from previous elections • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_California_ballot_propositions_2010-2019 • If two proposition covering similar subjects pass, the one with more votes goes into effect • Example: the 11/6/12 election had two initiatives on school funding • Initiatives in circulation and for future elections: • http://sos.ca.gov/elections/elections_j.htm

  35. The Continuing Controversy over Direct Democracy • Criticisms • Excessively Complicated and Fragmented • Those with Money Have Too Much Power • “Take It or Leave It” Nature • Sometimes Declared Unconstitutional • Even so, direct democracy is popular with voters in California

More Related