BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  AB 1318
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   March 30, 2005

                       ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT
                                Simon Salinas, Chair
                 AB 1318 (Evans) - As Introduced:  February 22, 2005
           
          SUBJECT  :   County officers: public administrators.

           SUMMARY  :   Authorizes the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors to  
          provide, by ordinance, that the public administrator be  
          appointed by the board.

           EXISTING LAW  : 

          1)Provides that the county officers to be elected by the people  
            are the treasurer, county clerk, auditor, sheriff, tax  
            collector, district attorney, recorder, assessor, public  
            administrator, and coroner.

          2)Allows a county office to change from an elected office to an  
            appointed office if the county board of supervisors presents  
            the change to the voters and it is approved by a majority of  
            the votes cast on the proposition.

          3)Provides that in spite of the aforementioned vote eight  
            specified counties may, by ordinance, provide that the public  
            administrator shall be appointed by the board.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :   None

           COMMENTS  :   

          1)In July 2004, the operational staff that performs the work of  
            the Public Administrator in Sonoma County was moved to the  
            Human Services Agency while the elected  
            Assessor/Recorder/County Clerk retained the title of Public  
            Administrator.  In addition to consolidating the elected  
            positions, Sonoma County also consolidated the offices of  
            Public Guardian and Public Conservator.  These positions were  
            all placed in the Human Services Agency because individuals  
            requiring such services are typically already receiving other  
            services from the Human Services Agency.  AB 1318 would allow  
            the removal of the office of Public Administrator from the  
            combined department of Assessor/Recorder/County Clerk, which  
            is headed by an independently elected person.








                                                                  AB 1318
                                                                  Page  2


          2)AB 1318 gives Sonoma County the flexibility to better manage  
            its public administrator's duties by allowing local officials  
            to organize themselves to respond to local circumstances.

          3)The Legislature has made accommodations affording small  
            counties  the flexibility to appoint county officers:   
            Mendocino County [SB 1814 (Keene), Chapter 1577, Statutes of  
            1982]; Lake County [SB 650 (Nielsen), Chapter 151, Statutes of  
            1985]; Madera County [AB 3524 (Costa), Chapter 153, Statutes  
            of 1990]; Trinity County [AB 3352 (Gotch), Chapter 1152,  
            Statutes of 1994]; Glenn County [AB 209, (Dickerson), Chapter  
            13, Statutes  of 2001]; Tuolumne County [AB 2717 (House),  
            Chapter 227, Statutes of 2000]; Solano County [AB 766  
            (Wiggins), Chapter 35, Statutes of 2000] and [SB 570  
            (Chesbro), Chapter 710, Statutes of 2003].
           REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION  :   

           Support 
           
          Sonoma County Board of Supervisors [SPONSOR]

           Opposition 
           
          None on file
           

          Analysis Prepared by  :    Katie Kolitsos / L. GOV. / (916)  
          319-3958