Chapter 6: The Governor and Executive Branch

Which of the following is not part of the plural executive?

a.) the chancellor of CSU
b.) the secretary of state
c.) the attorney general
d.) the controller

A. the chancellor of CSU

Which of these powers does the governor have that the president does not have?

a.) legislative veto
b.) line-item veto
c.) power to appoint the secretary of state
d.) power to appoint judges

B. line-item veto

Which of the following activities of the governor would be considered part of his or her role as head of government?

a.) proposing a budget
b.) vetoing legislation
c.) proposing new air quality standards
d.) all of the above

D. all of the above

Which of the following groups of employees are under administrative control and report ultimately to the governor?

a.) legislative aides
b.) supreme court clerks
c.) highway patrol
d.) professors at CSU Fullerton

C. highway patrol

How many state boards and commissions are there?

a.) less than 50
b.) 50-150
c.) 150-300
d.) 300+

D. 300+

The CA governor is “invisible” under normal conditions for all of the following reason except

a.) CA governors appear in events where they are visible to the public, but for the most part there is little public interest in those event
b.) for almost every recent governor, there has been little media interest in Sac
c.) the governor splits their power with other state executives, who are also trying to attract the media
d.) the governor’s star power is of interest only to those who like superhero movies

D. the governor’s star power is of interest only to those who like superhero movies

The governor manages the executive branch, but this power is limited by all of the following except

a.) there are many appointees of the governor, many of who belong to agencies the governor doesn’t know much about
b.) some of CA gov is outside the governor’s pwoer to supervise, such as the UoC and CSU
c.) the boards and commission whose members the governor appoints are mostly, except in extreme cases, outside of the governor’s power
d.) the attorney general must approve appointments to many boards and commissions, and that appointment approval is difficult for the governor to obtain

D. the attorney general must approve appointments to many boards and commissions, and that appointment approval is difficult for the governor to obtain

True or False

The line-item veto allows the governor to adjust any appropriations item up or down, including reducing it to zero

B. false

All of the following are true of the governor’s appointments to the cabinet except

a.) most cabinet appointments are routine, usually given to the governor’s political supporters and campaign contributors
b.) the cabinet as a while has no official policy function, unless the governor wants to give it a role
c.) some cabinet and subcabinet positions require an appointment of someone with qualifications that are spelled out in law
d.) the superagency heads are usually considered part of the governor’s cabinet

A. most cabinet appointments are routine, usually given to the governor’s political supporters and campaign contributors

True or False

The job of the lieutenant governor, one columnist wrote not entirely in jest, consists of getting up in the morning, checking that the governor is still alive, then making arrangements for lunch

B. False