The California executive branch consists of elected officers and other offices and officers. The elected executive officers are: File:Gavin Newsom official photo (cropped).jpg,

Gavin Newsom Gavin Christopher Newsom (born October 10, 1967) is an American politician and businessman who has been the 40th governor of California since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 49th lieutenant governor of California fr ...

(D)

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

File:Eleni Tsakopoulos Kounalakis (cropped).jpg,

Eleni Kounalakis Eleni Kounalakis (née Tsakopoulos; born March 3, 1966) is an American politician, businesswoman, and former diplomat serving as the 50th lieutenant governor of California since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, she is the first woman elect ...

(D)

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

File:Shirley Weber (cropped).jpg, Shirley Weber (D)
Secretary of State File:Fiona Ma (cropped).jpg,

Fiona Ma Fiona Ma (born March 4, 1966) is an American accountant and politician. She has been serving as the California state treasurer since January 7, 2019. She previously served as a member of the California Board of Equalization from 2015 to 2019, t ...

(D)

State Treasurer In the state governments of the United States, 48 of the 50 states have the executive position of treasurer. New York abolished the position in 1926; duties were transferred to New York State Comptroller. Texas abolished the position of Texas ...

File:Betty Yee official photo (cropped).jpg,

Betty Yee Betty T. Yee (born October 19, 1957) is an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who has served as California State Controller since 2015. She previously served as a member of the California Board of Equalization from 2004 to 201 ...

(D)

State Controller A comptroller (pronounced either the same as ''controller'' or as ) is a management-level position responsible for supervising the quality of accountancy, accounting and financial reporting of an organization. A financial comptroller is a senior- ...

File:Assemblymember Tony Thurmond (cropped).jpg,

Tony Thurmond Tony Krajewski Thurmond (born August 21, 1968) is an American politician and educator who is the 28th and current California State Superintendent of Public Instruction. Thurmond was narrowly elected Superintendent of Public Instruction in 2018 ...

(D)
State Superintendent of Public Instruction File:Ricardo Lara official portrait (cropped).png,

Ricardo Lara Ricardo Lara (born November 5, 1974) is an American politician who is currently serving as the 8th Insurance Commissioner of California. Lara was elected during the 2018 election, defeating former California insurance commissioner Steve Poizne ...

(D)

Insurance Commissioner An insurance commissioner (or commissioner of insurance) is a public official in the executive branch of a state or territory in the United States who, along with his or her office, regulate the insurance industry. The powers granted to the office ...

File:Bonta_headshot.jpg, Rob Bonta (D) Attorney General of California

Employees

Total number of employees is 227,536 excluding California State Universities. In 2004, there were 4,462 job classifications, many of which had no employees occupying the position, as a workaround for certain hiring practices. As part of a civil service reform initiative beginning in 2013, 700 job titles were eliminated. The

California Department of Human Resources The California Department of Human Resources (CalHR) is the California government agency responsible for human resource management of state employees, including issues related to salaries and benefits, job classifications, training, and recruitment ...

primarily oversees the state's civil service system, with some additional functions handled by the California State Personnel Board.

1979 Little Hoover Commission report

In 1979, then-Governor Jerry Brown requested a report on the State's personnel system from the Little Hoover Commission, an independent government oversight agency, which resulted in several recommendations of which some were implemented, including the creation of the Department of Personnel Administration but other recommendations such as the dissolution of the California State Personnel Board were not. In the 1980s, a recommendation to decentralize hiring to departments was implemented.

2010s modernization initiative

In 2012, California Department of Human Resources was created by combining the functions the former Department of Personnel Administration (DPA) with most of the operations of the State Personnel Board, largely implementing recommendations by experts in the prior decades. In 2012, the

California Government Operations Agency The Government Operations Agency (CalGovOps) is the California government agency responsible for administering state operations including procurement, real estate, information technology, and human resources. Amy Tong was appointed Secretary of Gov ...

was created under Governor Jerry Brown. Its director, Marybel Batjer, launched an initiative of civil service reform intended to make state employment more attractive to talented employees relative to the private sector. In 2015, the first engagement survey of state employees was conducted using a sample of 5,000. The survey showed that employees largely believed that their work was important, but did not strongly believe that workers were held accountable or that they received proper recognition for good work. In 2016, the state rolled out a new hiring website, for the first time allowing for electronic job applications for state jobs. Unusually, it was programmed by state employees rather than an external contractor.

Governor

Agencies under the direction of a secretary that report directly to the governor are cabinet-level agencies. Some agencies such as the

state controller A comptroller (pronounced either the same as ''controller'' or as ) is a management-level position responsible for supervising the quality of accountancy, accounting and financial reporting of an organization. A financial comptroller is a senior- ...

attorney general In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

, and

insurance commissioner An insurance commissioner (or commissioner of insurance) is a public official in the executive branch of a state or territory in the United States who, along with his or her office, regulate the insurance industry. The powers granted to the office ...

are headed by independent elected officials. The

state auditor State auditors (also known as state comptrollers, state controllers, state examiners, or inspectors general) are fiscal officers lodged in the executive or legislative branches of U.S. state governments who serve as external auditors, financial ...

is appointed by the governor with confirmation by the legislature, but operates independently of both. One relatively new top-level agency,

, was created in 2012 to help modernize the government.

Independent entities

* State Board of Education ** State Superintendent of Public Instruction ***

California Department of Education The California Department of Education is an agency within the Government of California that oversees public education. The department oversees funding and testing, and holds local educational agencies accountable for student achievement. Its st ...

California Department of Insurance The California Department of Insurance (CDI), established in 1868, is the agency charged with overseeing insurance regulations, enforcing statutes mandating consumer protections, educating consumers, and fostering the stability of insurance marke ...

* Secretary of State *

* State Board of Equalization *

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

** Department of Justice * Board of Governors, Community Colleges * California Postsecondary Education Commission *

California Student Aid Commission California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

* Trustees of State Universities *

University of California Board of Regents The Regents of the University of California (also referred to as the Board of Regents to distinguish the board from the corporation it governs of the same name) is the governing board of the University of California (UC), a state university sy ...

* Fair Political Practices Commission * California Gambling Commission * State Lands Commission * California Lottery Commission * Public Employment Relations Board * California Public Utilities Commission * California Transportation Commission

Overview

Generally, a Cabinet-level head of an agency in California holds the title of "secretary", while the head of a department holds the title of "director." Exceptions include the head of the Department of the California Highway Patrol, whose title is actually "commissioner." The vast majority of state government agencies and departments are headquartered in Sacramento or in parts of Sacramento County near the city of Sacramento; in turn, the larger agencies and departments also have local offices around the state which report to headquarters in Sacramento. Notable exceptions include the California Public Utilities Commission and the California Department of Industrial Relations, which are both headquartered in San Francisco.

History

Other defunct statewide elected offices that no longer exist include the comptroller (which became controller in 1862), the surveyor general (1849–1926), and the clerk of the Supreme Court. In June 2012, Governor Jerry Brown obtained approval from the legislature to proceed with a reorganization plan.Office of the Governor
Governor Brown's Government Reorganization Plan Becomes Law
, 3 July 2012. By July 2013, the business and housing components of BTH will be consolidated with the consumer components of SCSA to form the new Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency; the remainder of SCSA and the Technology Agency will merge into the new Government Operations Agency; and the transportation components of BTH along with the formerly separate California Transportation Commission will become part of the new Transportation Agency.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:California Executive Branch Politics of California *