For a bill to become law in California, it undergoes several steps reflected in two ways. In the state’s legislative process, bills can originate either from Senate or the Assembly (“The Essential Guide” 3). The process starts when an Assembly member or a Senator authors a bill, and Assembly Desk or Senate assigns a number to a correct bill form (“The Essential Guide” 4). After the bill is read for the first time, it is sent to the Office of State Publishing to be printed and is then transmitted to a committee to be reviewed (“The Essential Guide” 4-5). The bill undergoes several readings, and once it is approved by its house of origin and the second house, it is sent to the Governor (“The Essential Guide” 6). If the Governor authorizes it, the bill is transmitted to the Secretary of State and is turned into law (“The Essential Guide” 6). Overall, before a bill becomes law, it has to go through multiple important steps.
Furthermore, it is important to consider initiatives and referendums in the legislative process. When it comes to the initiative, one of the problems revolves around the proponents’ inability to make amendments during the initiative process (Romero and Puza 8). However, in California, citizens can propose and enact laws and not have to go through the legislature (Romero and Puza 5). With that being said, referendum affects the law-making process by allowing people to rescind laws that have already been passed by the legislature (Romero and Puza 2). Both referendum and the initiative were first introduced in California by Proposition 7, enacting the initiative process to the state’s citizens (Romero and Puza 3). The initiative and referendum are integral components of the law and can affect the legislative process.
Term limits can cause active debates in public, discussing positive and negative aspects. On the one hand, term limits are crucial for the protection of democracy, as it is questionable whether the same person should hold power for a long period (Ginsburg 6). On the other hand, research suggests that the relationship between democracy and term limits is more positive since it prevents a person from having too much power (Ginsburg 12). Personally, I do not fully support term limits because I believe that diversity is important in any area. However, I also think that each person and situation are unique, but the authorities should remain in power as long as they benefit the nation.
The comparison between US Congress and California’s legislature can be done by comparing the roles of the US President and California Governor in the legislative process. First, they can propose, sign, and veto legislation and budgets, as well as make appointments to administrative agencies and departments (Micheli). However, the Governor has more power to address specific policy issues (Micheli). Second, as the two have different legislative bodies, they participate in the operations of separate departments. For instance, in the legislature’s review of the budget, the Governor addresses the Department of Finance, and the President engages with the Office of Management and Budget (Micheli). The President and the Governor’s duties reflect the similarities and differences between Congress and California’s structures.
As the initiative process can affect legislature, it has both positive and negative characteristics. At first, the initiative process was meant to promote direct democracy by giving citizens the chance to promote and enact laws without going through the legislature (Romero and Puza 2). However, in California, recently, people suggested reformation of the process due to lack of transparency, poor legislative involvement, and public disclosure (Romero and Puza 4). Despite that, since the establishment of the initiative process in California only, citizens have been able to make significant changes, including resolving various social issues like discrimination and concerns about taxes (Romero and Puza 3). While the initiative process has some constraints, it can also provide people with opportunities to make life better.
Works Cited
Ginsburg, Tom. “The Machinery of International Law and Democratic Backsliding: The Problem of Term Limits.” The Law & Ethics of Human Rights, vol. 14, no. 1, 2020, pp. 1-18.
Micheli, Chris. “Comparing California’s Governor and the US President.” Capimpact, Web.
Romero, Mindy, and Jennifer Puza. “The Ballot Initiative Transparency Act: Examining its Impact on Legislative Compromise in California.” California Journal of Politics and Policy, vol. 10, no. 1, 2018, 1-11.
The Essential Guide to California Legislation. Web.