BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1318
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 1318 (Evans)
As Amended August 24, 2005
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |71-0 |(April 7, 2005) |SENATE: |33-0 |(August 29, |
| | | | | |2005) |
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Original Committee Reference: L. GOV.
SUMMARY : Authorizes the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors to
provide, by ordinance, that the public administrator be
appointed by the Board of Supervisors.
The Senate amendments :
1)Allow the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors to consolidate
the offices of the auditor-controller and the treasurer-tax
collector.
2)Allow the Solano and Tulare County Boards of Supervisors to
adopt an ordinance to allow the Director of Transportation in
each of these counties to directly appoint the county
surveyor.
3)Add chaptering out provisions to resolve a possible conflict
with SB 282 (Maldonado), pending in the Senate.
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 of Supervisors.
AB 1318
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4)Authorizes county boards of supervisors to consolidate the
offices of the auditor, controller, treasurer, tax collector,
and director of finance.
5)Requires a county board of supervisors to appoint the county
surveyor.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill authorized the Sonoma
County Board of Supervisors to provide, by ordinance, that the
public administrator be appointed by the Board of Supervisors.
FISCAL EFFECT : None
COMMENTS : 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. This bill 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.
County governments are 19th Century institutions struggling to
cope with 21st Century problems. Many county boards of
supervisors believe they can improve public service by
consolidating county departments and services. This bill gives
the Boards of Supervisors in
Solano and Sonoma counties the flexibility to better manage the
concerns of their residents and organize themselves in a way to
do so.
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
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County [AB 766 (Wiggins), Chapter 35, Statutes of 2000] and [SB
570 (Chesbro), Chapter 710, Statutes of 2003].
Analysis Prepared by : Katie Kolitsos / L. GOV. / (916)
319-3958
FN: 0012347