RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

Good morning. I'm Renee Montagne. Californians are getting a lesson in succession as the state gets four governors in four days. Governor Jerry Brown headed for Mexico yesterday on a trade mission. The lieutenant governor stepped up, but he's going East for the Special Olympics tomorrow, making the Senate President pro tem acting governor. But he's going to Chicago, leaving the assembly speaker in charge for an entire nine hours before Governor Brown returns. It's MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.