Political Power Versus Legislative Power

Is there a difference between “political power” and “legislative power” under the California Constitution?

According to Article II, Section 1, “All political power is inherent in the people.” Article II contains the three forms of direct democracy and voting, which are found in the state Constitution. There is also the lawmaking powers of initiative and referendum contained in Article II.

According to Article IV, Section 1, “The legislative power of this State is vested to the California Legislature…, but the people reserve to themselves the powers of initiative and referendum. ” This provision means the legislative power is shared between the legislative branch of state government (i.e., our 120 elected legislators) and the people.

This language is similar to what is contained in the federal Constitution in Article I, Section 1, which states: “All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States…”

With these two provisions of the state Constitution, what is the difference between “political power” and “legislative power”? How can we distinguish between political power and legislative power? We assume they are different as they are used in separate Articles to convey two types of powers under the state Constitution.

The issue is that, while political power can cover voting and the three forms of direct democracy, which are set forth in Article II, the two political powers of initiative and referendum are also deemed legislative powers under Article IV. So, are the initiative and referendum both political and legislative powers that are exercised by the people? It would appear that is the case.

So while political power generally refers to politically-related activities, such as voting and direct democracy, the legislative powers of initiative and referendum also constitute political powers. And, it is only the people of this state that exercise both political and legislative powers under the California Constitution.