California

B

Legislative

The California legislature is made up of a Senate and an Assembly. State senators are elected to four-year terms and members of the assembly to two-year terms. California’s legislature convenes for one of the longest terms of any state legislature. Sessions begin on the first Monday in December of each even-numbered year and last until the end of November in the next even-numbered year. The governor may also call for a special session of the legislature. California’s citizens can pass laws directly or through their power of initiative, or they can prevent a law from being enacted by calling for a referendum.

C

Judicial

The Supreme Court, the highest state court, is made up of a chief justice and associate justices. Supreme court justices, as well as the justices of the state’s district courts of appeal, serve 12-year terms. They are initially appointed by the governor with the approval of the commission on judicial appointments, and at the expiration of their terms they can run unopposed for election to another term. In addition to these appellate courts, California has superior courts, municipal courts, and various lower courts, with judges elected to six-year terms.

D

Local Government

Most of the 58 counties in California are governed by a board of supervisors whose members are elected to four-year terms. Most of the municipalities have the council and city manager form of government.

E

National Representation

California elects two U.S. senators and 53 members of the U.S. House of Representatives. The state casts 55 electoral votes in presidential elections.

---

---

VIII

History of California

A

Original Inhabitants

Prehistoric inhabitants of California practiced complex religions, hunted with arrowheads made of flint, and subsisted largely on the abundant available acorns supplemented by numerous small animals; coastal peoples ate fish and shellfish. California has many different local climates. Native houses varied accordingly. Indigenous Californians often lived in small communities of about 150 people whom the Spanish called rancherias. Within the boundaries of present-day California there were once 22 different linguistic families with 135 regional dialects. By the time European explorers and missionaries arrived, there may have been 100,000 to 150,000 native inhabitants in California, but diseases brought by the Europeans markedly reduced the population.

	More from Encarta
	•  Important Notice: MSN Encarta to be discontinued. Learn more. •  Presidential Myths Quiz •  Coffee break: Recharge your brain