ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses California's inability to succeed as a government for its citizens. The formal institutions of state government were intended as the heart of California's governing structure. The chapter focuses on independent offices that stand on their own and offices that duplicate their services with other components in California's bureaucracy. Gridlock is every bit as prevalent in the state legislature as it is within California's executive branch. But unlike the executive branch where power is defused because of overlap or contested by various office holders, the legislature struggles to manage in a power vacuum. Part of the legislature's weakness lies in the rules related to its lawmaking responsibilities. To begin with, the legislature lost its desire to challenge the governor and members of the executive branch on policy initiatives. The lieutenant governor's office has a history of underutilization, although the occupant is designated as "acting governor" when the governor exits the state.
