Frequently Asked Questions about California’s Other Constitutional Officers

Frequently Asked Questions about California’s Other Constitutional Officers By Chris Micheli

How are California’s constitutional officers elected? They are elected by the statewide voters.

How many constitutional officers are there? There are a total of nine constitutional offices.

Which two constitutional officers are usually gubernatorial appointees in other states? The two offices that are normally appointees of a governor in most other states are the Superintendent of Public Instruction and Insurance Commissioner.

Does any constitutional office contain more than one official? Yes, even though there are four members of the Board of Equalization, they are described here as one statewide office.

When are statewide officials elected? All of these constitutional offices are subject to election every four years at the same time as the governor is on the statewide ballot.

When do constitutional officers take their oath of office? They take office on the first Monday following January 1.

Do the Governor and Lt. Governor run as one ticket like the President and Vice President at the federal level? No, the Lt. Governor runs separately (i.e., the Lt. Governor is not on the same ticket as the governor).

What is the official legislative role of the Lt. Governor? She or he serves as the President of the State Senate (casting a vote in the case of a tie).

What else does the Lt. Governor serve on? She or he serves on a number of boards and commissions, such as the Chair of the State Lands Commission.

When does the Lt. Governor take over for the Governor? Under California’s Constitution, the Lieutenant Governor serves as Acting Governor whenever the Governor is absent from the state and automatically becomes Governor if a vacancy occurs in the Office of Governor.

What role does the Lt. Governor play in education policy? The Lieutenant Governor serves as a voting member of the Board of Regents of the University of California and a voting member of the Board of Trustees of the California State University system.

            What is the official role of the Attorney General? The Attorney General is the chief law enforcement officer of the state.

What is the Department of Justice headed by the AG? The DOJ includes over 4,500 employees who are engaged in a variety of law enforcement and legal services and has main offices in Sacramento, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Oakland and Fresno.

            Who is the chief fiscal officer of California? The State Controller, who is responsible for accountability and disbursement of the state’s financial resources, and conducts independent audits of government agencies that spend state funds.

What other roles does the Controller have? The Controller also administers the payroll system for state government employees and California State University employees, and the Controller serves on 70 boards and commissions with authority ranging from state public land management to crime victim compensation.

What role does the Controller have with state authorities? The Controller sits on several boards including the Franchise Tax Board and Board of Equalization, as well as the boards of the nation’s two largest public pension funds.

            What role does the State Treasurer have? The Treasurer has broad responsibilities and authority in the areas of investment and finance and serves as the State’s lead asset manager, banker and financier.

What entities does the Treasurer serve on? The Treasurer serves as a member of numerous State authorities, boards and commissions including the Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) and State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS), as well as Chair of the Tax Credit Allocation Committee that awards hundreds of millions of dollars in tax credits for affordable housing and as a member of the Board of the California Housing Finance Agency, which finances affordable housing.

What role is played by the Secretary of State? The Secretary of State oversees the campaign and lobbying filings in its Political Reform Division.

How large is the Secretary of State’s office? It is comprised of nearly 500 people whose responsibilities include making government more transparent and accessible in the areas of elections, business, political campaigning, legislative advocacy, and historical treasures.

What is the power of the Insurance Commissioner? The Commissioner regulates almost all lines of insurance (with the notable exception of workers’ compensation).

Which entity does the Commissioner oversee? The Commissioner heads the Department of Insurance (CDI), which was created in 1868 as part of a national system of state-based insurance regulation.

What does the CDI do? Nearly 1,400 employees work at CDI to oversee more than 1,300 insurance companies and license more than 410,000 agents, brokers, adjusters, and business entities. CDI annually processes more than 8,000 rate applications, issues approximately 190,000 licenses (new and renewals), and performs hundreds of financial reviews and examinations of insurers doing business in California.

            Which constitutional officer does not run with a party affiliation? The State Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) is the nonpartisan (originally partisan) elected executive officer of the California Department of Education.

What role does the Superintendent play? The SPI directs all functions of the Department of Education, executes policies set by the California State Board of Education, and also heads and chairs the Board.

            Who comprises the Board of Equalization (BOE)? It actually has five members (the Controller by his or her position, plus the four elected BOE members) and they represent four districts for the entire state.

What are the roles of the BOE? Their job is primarily regarding local property tax assessments, but there are some areas of taxation that are under its purview as set forth in the state Constitution, such as aircraft assessment and insurance taxation.

How is the BOE established? Established in 1879 by a constitutional amendment, the BOE was initially charged with responsibility for ensuring that county property tax assessment practices were equal and uniform throughout the state.

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