Poli 103A, California Politics
Bargaining with Governors
- Reminder: Midterm is in
two weeks, Feb. 14th
- Study guide is coming
next week
Edmund G. “Jerry” Brown,
Governor 1975-1983
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

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.
• Cabinet members, agency officials
• Judges, board members
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?
Year
Governor
Chaptered Bills
1967
Reagan

1968
Reagan

1969
Reagan

1970
Reagan

1971
Reagan

1972
Reagan

1973
Reagan

1974
Reagan

1975
Brown

1976
Brown

1977
Brown

1978
Brown

1979
Brown

1980
Brown

1981
Brown

1982
Brown

1983
Deukmejian

1984
Deukmejian

1985
Deukmejian

1986
Deukmejian

1987
Deukmejian

1988
Deukmejian


Vetoes
4.59
3.97
4.60
4.40
7.80
10.27
8.08
7.15
6.77
7.87
5.26
3.31
4.74
4.43
2.87
9.48
14.69
12.23
17.29
13.31
18.42
1.79
1,317
Total Bills
1,725
Percent Vetoed
83
1,808
1,474
61
1,535
1,619
78
1,697
1,628
75
1,703
1,821
154
1,975
1,442
165
1,607
1,218
107
1,325
1,559
120
1,679
1,280
93
1,373
1,487
127
1,614
1,261
70
1,331
1,432
49
1,481
1,207
60
1,267
1,381
64
1,445
1,186
35
1,221
1,644
30
1,674
138
1,455
1,760
303
2,063
1,607
224
1,831
1,521
318
1,839
1,504
231
1,735
1,647
372
2,019
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:
Budget Bargaining
Declines in the Changes Made to the Governor’s Budget.
% Change in Governor's Budget
25.0%
20.0%
Before Term
Limits
19.5%
15.0%
10.0%
After Term
Limits
14.4%
8.4%
6.8%
5.0%
0.0%
Democratic Democratic
Governor,
Governor,
1980-81
2000-01
Republican
Governor,
1987-88
Republican
Governor,
1997-98
“% Changes” represents the ratio of the total line-by-line changes made by the Legislature to the total final
appropriation levels in health care, higher education, and business services.
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.
The Legislature vs. the Governor:
Everyday Oversight
Frequency and Scope of Supplemental Budget Requests.
300
250
200
150
100
50
19
85
-8
6
19
87
-8
8
19
89
-0
0
19
91
-9
2
19
93
-9
4
19
95
-9
6
19
97
-9
8
19
99
-0
0
20
01
-0
2
0
Data for this figure collected by Ann Bordetsky from Legislative Analyst’s Office records.
Number of
Supplemental
Budget Report
Requests
Number of
Agencies
Covered
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).