Governor of California
head of the state and government of California
The governor of California is the head of government of the U.S. state of California. The governor is the commander-in-chief of the California National Guard and the California State Guard.
Established in the Constitution of California, the governor's responsibilities also include submitting the budget, ensuring that state laws are enforced, and making the annual State of the State address to the California State Legislature. The position was created in 1849, the year before California became a state.
The governor is now limited to two terms, regardless of whether they are consecutive. The current governor of California is Democrat Gavin Newsom, who was inaugurated on January 7, 2019. Jerry Brown was the longest serving governor in Californian history, serving from 1975 until 1983, and again from 2011 until 2019.
Responsibilities
Article 5 of the State Constitution lists the Powers & Responsibilities of the Office of Governor of California:
Chief Executive of the State
Ensures State Laws are faithfully enforced & executed
Supreme Authority over State Agencies & Departments
Appoints Officials to State Agencies, Boards & commissions
Appoints state judges to vacant judicial seats
Commander-In-Chief of the California National Guard (when not federalized) & California State Guard
Can sign bills into law
Can veto bills entirely (override by 2/3 majority in Legislature)
Use a line-item veto on budget bills
Prepares & submits the statement budget every year
Has Authority to approve or reject funding levels for government programs
Convene the State Legislature if needed
Deliver the State of the State Address to the State Legislature every year
Can grant pardons, commute sentences or issue reprieves (cannot grant clemency involving impeachment, requires California Supreme Court approval)
If a U.S. Senate seat become vacant due to death or resignation, the Governor can appoint a replacement
Can use the “Bully Pulpit" to influence Public Opinion or Legislative Priorities
Gubernatorial elections, oath, and term of office
Qualifications
A candidate for governor must be a U.S. citizen and a registered voter within the state, must not have been convicted of a felony involving bribery, embezzlement, or extortion, and must not have served two terms since November 6, 1990.
Election and oath of office
Governors are elected by popular ballot following a nonpartisan primary and serve terms of four years, with a limit of two terms, if served after November 6, 1990. Governors take the following oath:
I (Governor) do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of California against all enemies foreign and domestic, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of California, that I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties upon which I am about to enter.Governors take office on the first Monday after January 1 after their election.
The public source identifies “Governor of California” as head of the state and government of California. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Governor, California and head.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Governor of California”, the useful work is to connect “head of the state and government of California” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
The record creator and administrative purpose are central evidence, because official documentation reflects both action and institutional priorities. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 7, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q887010. 1 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1849, 2019, 1975 and 1983.
Later summaries often reconcile disputed chronology or motive more neatly than the contemporary record permits. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “Governor of California” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.