How does the legislature "check" the governor and executive branch?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Varies. The "separation of powers" structure of state government provides a system of checks and balances so that one branch does not dominate. The legislature is composed of representatives from every part of California, and they bring their own districts' concerns to state government, whereas the governor generally looks out for the interests of the entire state. Together, they are expected to write laws and establish policies that balance these competing perspectives. Bills also reflect research that is performed by legislative staff (personal and committee), and their perspectives help counterbalance the perspectives of those who serve in the administration, especially career civil servants. Certain rules also help the legislature to "check" the executive branch. The legislature may override a gubernatorial veto of a bill and line-item vetoes (but overrides are a rarity). The Senate has the right to confirm (or not confirm) the governor's appointees to administrative positions, and legislative leaders have the right to appoint directly some high-level officials to important boards and commissions. The legislature has the responsibility of passing the state budget bill, which is based on the governor's version but is amended throughout the process to reflect the legislature's (possibly competing) priorities. Together, the two branches must compromise to produce a final version. Finally, the legislature may actively exercise "oversight" by holding hearings at which administrative branch officials must testify about their activities, ordering agencies to report on their activities, threatening to reduce (or actually reducing) the budgets of government agencies, including reducing the number of positions in an agency.