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Government
Main article: Government of California
The California State Capitol building in Sacramento
California is organized into three branches of government – the executive branch consisting of the Governor and the other independently 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 ballot propositions: direct participation of the electorate by initiative, referendum, recall, and ratification. Before the passage of California Proposition 14 (2010), California allowed each political party to choose whether to have a closed primary or a primary where only party members and independents vote. After June 8, 2010 when Proposition 14 was approved, excepting only the United States President and county central committee offices,[195] all candidates in the primary elections are listed on the ballot with their preferred party affiliation, but they are not the official nominee of that party.[196] At the primary election, the two candidates with the top votes will advance to the general election regardless of party affiliation.[196] If at a special primary election, one candidate receives more than 50% of all the votes cast, they are elected to fill the vacancy and no special general election will be held.[196]
- Executive branch
- Legislative branch
- Judicial branch
California's judiciary system is the largest in the United States (with a total of 1,600 judges, while the federal system has only about 840). At the apex is the seven Justices of the Supreme Court of California, while the California Courts of Appeal serve as the primary appellate courts and the California Superior Courts serve as the primary trial courts. Justices of the Supreme Court and Courts of Appeal are appointed by the Governor, but are subject to retention by the electorate every 12 years. The administration of the state's court system is controlled by the Judicial Council, composed of the Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court, 14 judicial officers, four representatives from the State Bar of California, and one member from each house of the state legislature.
Local government
Main article: Local government in California
Counties
See also: List of counties in California
California is divided into 58 counties. Per Article 11, Section 1, of the Constitution of California,
they are the legal subdivisions of the state. The county government
provides countywide services such as law enforcement, jails, elections
and voter registration, vital records, property assessment and records,
tax collection, public health, health care, social services, libraries,
flood control, fire protection, animal control, agricultural
regulations, building inspections, ambulance services, and education
departments in charge of maintaining statewide standards.[200][201] In addition, the county serves as the local government for all unincorporated areas. Each county is governed by an elected board of supervisors.[202]City and town governments
Incorporated cities and towns in California are either charter or general-law municipalities.[102] General-law municipalities owe their existence to state law and are consequently governed by it; charter municipalities are governed by their own city or town charters. Municipalities incorporated in the 19th century tend to be charter municipalities. All ten of the state's most populous cities are charter cities. Most small cities have a council-manager form of government, where the elected city council appoints a city manager to supervise the operations of the city. Some larger cities have a directly-elected mayor who oversees the city government. In many council-manager cities, the city council selects one of its members as a mayor, sometimes rotating through the council membership—but this type of mayoral position is primarily ceremonial.The Government of San Francisco is the only consolidated city-county in California, where both the city and county governments have been merged into one unified jurisdiction. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors also acts as the city council and the Mayor of San Francisco also serves as the county administrative officer.
School districts and special districts
See also: List of school districts in California
About 1,102 school districts, independent of cities and counties, handle California's public education.[203]
California school districts may be organized as elementary districts,
high school districts, unified school districts combining elementary and
high school grades, or community college districts.[203]There are about 3,400 special districts in California.[204] A special district, defined by California Government Code § 16271(d) as "any agency of the state for the local performance of governmental or proprietary functions within limited boundaries", provides a limited range of services within a defined geographic area. The geographic area of a special district can spread across multiple cities or counties, or could consist of only a portion of one. Most of California's special districts are single-purpose districts, and provide one service.
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