Structure of California’s Government
Headed by the governor of the state, the state govt. of CA replicates the Federal govt. It has three branches that perform their assigned tasks and keep within the limits set by the constitution. These branches are:
Legislature
Executive
Judiciary
While this division has been created to give structure to the government and ensure its smooth and effective functioning, there is, more importantly, the need to keep the power of the branches in check and to make them accountable to each other. There is a system of ‘checks and balances’ that comes into play with this segregation of duties and separation of power. This system’s inception has been attributed to Montesquieu. (Wikipedia.org)

Governor
In the face of the economic crisis, drought situations, and emergencies, the governor of CA has issued several orders. http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/2008/07/schwarzenegger_81.html
December 20, 2008
Controller John Chiang today issued the following statement in response to Governor Schwarzenegger’s executive order to implement furloughs and layoffs:
“This is one of many painful results stemming from the inability of the Governor and Legislature to agree on responsible solutions….” (Giving a clear view of difference of opinion between the executive and the legislature.)
The order was implemented and the offices are closed on the 1st and 3rd Friday of every month. http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/2008/12/democrats_respo.html March 12, 2009
The California Universal Health Care Act is nearly identical to legislation (SB 840) that was introduced in 2007 by former Senator Sheila Kuehl. The California Legislature passed SB 840 in 2008, but it was vetoed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. (This legislation would be along the lines of the Obama administration’s plans for healthcare. It will be interesting to watch the outcome since the earlier veto held good.) http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/2009/03/new_bill_by_mar.html July 31, 2008 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_order_(United_States) In an executive order that is part of the 2009-10 proposed budget, Arnold Schwarzenegger plans to cut down the salaries of 200,000