LOS ANGELES - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has been out of state all or part of 163 days since his inauguration in November 2003 — nearly one of every five days he's been in office.

The celebrity governor always promised to promote California, and he's traveled as far as China to pitch everything from avocados to zinfandel.

While many of Schwarzenegger's trips on official business are extensively publicized, he also can slip away on a private jet with an e-mail from his office: "Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has left the state."

Schwarzenegger's regular and sometimes unexplained jaunts expose him to criticism that he's shirking responsibility at home, which his office strongly disputes.

"He's always in touch with the office, and we're always in touch with him," said Margita Thompson, the governor's chief spokeswoman.

Schwarzenegger has traveled overseas on trade missions, to Washington seeking federal funds and to Dallas to urge the NFL to return to Los Angeles, Thompson noted. He has "the stature to fight for the state on a national and international basis," she said.

Others say Schwarzenegger's travel can conflict with his public duties, with taxpayers footing at least some of the bill.

In April, an emergency flood declaration sought by Merced County was held up when he left for several days on unexplained business, according to the office of Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante.

The Republican governor is required to surrender his powers to the Democratic lieutenant governor when he leaves California. Notices to Bustamante contain when Schwarzenegger is leaving and when he's expected to return — but not where he is going or why.

"We elect the governor to represent the state full-time. If we don't know what he's doing, it makes it tough to know if he's meeting his job description," said Theis Finlev of the public watchdog group California Common Cause.

Schwarzenegger's predecessor was out of the state all or part of 113 days in his roughly five years in office, according to the Bustamante's office. By his own account, in about half that time, Schwarzenegger has been away all or part of 163 days through Sunday.

His daily schedules provide scattershot information: some entries give minute-by-minute lists of meetings and travel times, others are blank. His travel plans are disclosed when they involve state business, or if he is attending a public event. Political fundraisers are generally not disclosed.

Schwarzenegger is not the only governor with an active — and sometimes off-the-record — travel schedule.

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson's office did not disclose a recent trip to watch a Las Vegas prize fight for which Richardson had ringside seats. The trip became known after Richardson was seen on pay-for-view TV.

In Massachusetts, Gov. Mitt Romney has spent almost half his business days outside the state this year as he pursues his presidential ambitions and serves as chairman of the Republican Governors Association. And in New York, Gov. George Pataki has been traveling to Iowa and New Hampshire as he mulls a presidential run.

California's governor has been gone all or part of 20 days this year, including a two-day trip to Ohio to attend the Arnold Classic bodybuilding competition. On at least seven days his schedules are marked "private," including the four days in April when Bustamante claims Schwarzenegger's absence delayed the disaster order.

The governor's office disputes that there was a delay in the emergency declaration, which accelerated state aid to Merced and other counties. Merced officials sought the declaration April 5, a day when the governor left the state around 8 p.m. Schwarzenegger signed it April 10, a day after returning.

The wait was part of "a process that had to be followed," said Merced County spokeswoman Elaine Post. Bustamante spokesman Stephen Green said with rising water forcing people from their homes, the emergency order clearly was warranted — and the lieutenant governor would have signed the request had he known about it.

While the governor funds his own air travel through a private jet service, the public pays airfare, hotels and other expenses for Schwarzenegger's security detail.

Word of Schwarzenegger's travel often comes after he has left. On Saturday, April 29, his office disclosed that he'd departed California but provided no details. The following Monday, Schwarzenegger's photograph appeared in the New York Post as he browsed clothing racks in Manhattan, and local media reported he had been the beneficiary of a fundraiser at the home of billionaire Ron Perelman.