BILL NUMBER: SB 235 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 14, 2011
INTRODUCED BY Senator Negrete McLeod
FEBRUARY 9, 2011
An act to add Division 4 (commencing with Section 61500)
to Title 6 of the Government Code, relating to districts.
An act to add Section 74209 to the Water Code, relating to
water.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 235, as amended, Negrete McLeod. Water and flood
districts: reorganization of district governing board.
Water conservation districts: reduction in number of directors.
The Water Conservation District Law of 1931 generally governs the
formation of water conservation districts and specifies the powers
and purposes of those districts.
This bill would authorize a water conservation district, except
districts within the County of Ventura, whose board of directors
consists of 7 directors, to reduce the number of directors to 5,
consistent with specified requirements.
Existing law provides for the formation of various special
districts to perform flood control, conservation, and water supply
functions. With respect to certain districts, existing law prescribes
the number of members on the governing board of the district and
provides for the election of those members by the voters of the
district.
This bill would authorize the governing board of a district, as
defined, to reorganize the district to reduce the total membership of
the governing board by a resolution adopted by a majority vote of
the board. The bill would prescribe procedures for the reorganization
of the governing board of the district, including procedures for the
reapportionment of division boundaries within the district in those
districts that elect directors based on their residence within a
division of the district, and procedures for the appointment of
members of the governing board to the remaining seats on a recognized
board. The bill would require a district that reorganizes its
governing board pursuant to these provisions to notify specified
local agencies.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 74209 is added to the
Water Code , to read:
74209. (a) A district whose board consists of seven directors may
reduce the number of directors to five pursuant to this section. A
reduction in the number of directors shall not be made within 180
days preceding the election of a director.
(b) In order to reduce the number of directors pursuant to this
section, the board shall adopt, by a recorded vote of a majority of
the total membership of the board, a resolution proposing to reduce
the number of directors from seven to five. The resolution shall
contain a map and description of the boundaries for the five
divisions proposed to be established.
(c) The secretary of the district shall set a date for a public
hearing on the proposal to reduce the number of directors, which
shall be not less than 30 days and not more than 60 days after the
date on which the board adopted the resolution described in
subdivision (b). The secretary shall give notice of the hearing,
which shall include a description of the proposal and shall contain a
map and general description of the proposed boundaries of the five
divisions. The secretary shall give notice of the hearing by
publishing a notice pursuant to Section 6063 of the Government Code
in at least one newspaper of general circulation within the
jurisdiction of the district at least 10 days before the hearing. In
addition, the secretary shall mail the notice to a person who has
filed a written request for notice with the secretary at least 10
days before the hearing.
(d) At the hearing, the board shall receive and consider any
written or oral comments regarding the proposed reduction in the
number of directors. After receiving and considering those comments,
the board, by a recorded vote of a majority of the total membership
of the board, shall do either of the following:
(1) Disapprove the proposal.
(2) Adopt a resolution that orders the reduction in the number of
members of the board.
(e) The adoption of a resolution that orders a reduction in the
number of members of the board pursuant to this section is a
legislative act that is subject to referendum pursuant to Article 2
(commencing with Section 9340) of Chapter 4 of Division 9 of the
Elections Code.
(f) A reduction in the number of directors and a change in
division boundaries pursuant to this section shall not affect the
term of office of any director. A director of a division whose
boundaries have been changed shall continue to be the director of the
division bearing the number of his or her division until the office
becomes vacant by means of term expiration or otherwise, whether or
not the director is a resident within the boundaries of the division
as changed. The successor to the office of a division whose
boundaries have been changed shall be a resident and voter of that
division.
(g) This section does not apply to districts within the County of
Ventura, which are subject to the provisions of Chapter 4 (commencing
with Section 74450) of Part 4.
SECTION 1. Division 4 (commencing with Section
61500) is added to Title 6 of the Government Code, to read:
DIVISION 4. Reorganization of District Governing Board
CHAPTER 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS
61500. The following definitions shall govern the construction of
this division:
(a) "Affected city" means any city that contains, or its sphere of
influence contains, all or any part of a district proposing to
reorganize pursuant to this division.
(b) "Affected county" means each county that contains all or any
part of a district proposing to reorganize pursuant to this division.
(c) "Board of directors" means the legislative body or governing
board of a district.
(d) "By divisions" means the election of a director by only the
voters within the division of the district that the director
represents.
(e) "Director" means a member of the legislative body or governing
board of a district.
(f) (1) "District" means any of the following agencies, formed
pursuant to general law or special act, for which the board of
directors is elected by the voters of the district:
(A) A flood control district.
(B) A flood control and flood water conservation district.
(C) A flood control and water conservation district.
(D) A conservation district.
(E) A water conservation district.
(F) A water replenishment district.
(G) A water agency.
(H) A California water storage district.
(I) A county water authority or a water authority.
(J) A county water district.
(K) A municipal water district.
(L) A California water district.
(2) "District" does not include any of the following:
(A) Any district listed in paragraph (1), all or part of the board
of directors of which is composed of local public officers serving
as ex officio directors, or individuals appointed by a local public
agency or a local public officer.
(B) A metropolitan water district.
(g) "From divisions" means the election of a director who is a
resident of the division that he or she represents but who is elected
by the voters of the entire district.
(h) "Principal act" means the general law or special act under
which the district is formed.
(i) "Reorganize" and "reorganization" means the process of
reducing the total membership of the board of directors, and
includes, in the case of directors elected by division, the
reapportionment of division boundaries within the district for that
purpose.
61502. Notwithstanding any other law, including the principal act
of the district, a district may use the applicable procedures set
forth in this division to reorganize the district's board of
directors.
CHAPTER 2. REORGANIZATION OF BOARD OF DIRECTORS
61510. (a) Notwithstanding any other law, the board of directors
of a district that is not divided into divisions but instead provides
for the election of each of the directors by the voters of the
entire district, may reduce the total membership of the board of
directors to a number of members that is less than the number
established pursuant to the principal act. A reorganization pursuant
to this section shall comply with the following procedures in the
following order:
(1) The board of directors, by a majority vote of its membership,
shall adopt a resolution reducing the number of directors to serve on
the board of directors to three, five, seven, or any greater odd
number that is less than the existing number of directors.
(2) As soon as practicable after the effective date of the
resolution adopted pursuant to paragraph (1), the directors shall
classify themselves by lot to determine which of the existing
directors shall comprise the remaining membership of the board. The
board of directors, by resolution, shall determine the unexpired term
of office of each of the remaining directors in such a manner as to
keep as nearly equal as practicable the number of directors to be
elected at each subsequent district election, but that unexpired term
shall not be greater than the term of office prescribed pursuant to
the principal act.
(3) The existing board of directors, by resolution, shall appoint
the remaining members to the remainder of their respective unexpired
terms, as determined pursuant to paragraph (2). The term of office of
a director who is not selected by lot to remain on the board shall
expire upon the appointment of the remaining members of the board.
(b) The election of successors to the directors appointed pursuant
to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) shall be performed pursuant to
the principal act, except that the total membership of the board of
directors shall remain as reorganized pursuant to subdivision (a).
(c) Upon adoption of a resolution pursuant to paragraph (1) of
subdivision (a), the district shall notify the city council of every
affected city, and the board of supervisors and county elections
official of every affected county, of the resolution. Upon the
appointment of the remaining membership of the board of directors
pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a), the board of directors
shall notify the city council of every affected city, and the board
of supervisors and county elections official of every affected
county, of the new membership of the board.
61520. (a) Notwithstanding any other law, the board of directors
of a district that is divided into divisions and that provides for
the election of directors either by divisions or from divisions, may
reduce the total membership of the district board of directors to a
number of members that is less than the number established pursuant
to the principal act. A reorganization pursuant to this section shall
comply with the following procedures in the following order:
(1) The board of directors, by a majority vote of the members of
the board, shall adopt a resolution reducing the number of divisions
within the district to three, five, seven, or any greater odd number
that is less than the existing number of divisions. Notwithstanding
any other law, the resolution shall divide the district into the new
number of divisions and reapportion those divisions in the same
proportion as required pursuant the principal act or the measure
establishing the divisions, whichever is applicable.
(2) As soon as practicable after the effective date of the
resolution adopted pursuant to paragraph (1), the existing directors
residing within each new district established pursuant to paragraph
(1) shall classify themselves by lot to determine which of the
directors residing within each new district shall comprise the
remaining membership of the board. If there is any new district in
which no incumbent director resides, any directors representing a
district that, prior to reapportionment pursuant to paragraph (1),
included any area within the new district, shall classify themselves
by lot to determine the representative of that district. The board of
directors, by resolution, shall determine the unexpired term of
office of each of the remaining directors in such a manner as to keep
as nearly equal as practicable the number of directors to be elected
at each subsequent district election, but that unexpired term shall
not be greater than the term of office prescribed pursuant to the
principal act.
(3) The existing board of directors, by resolution, shall appoint
the remaining members of the board of directors to serve the
remainder of their respective unexpired terms of office, as
determined pursuant to paragraph (2). The term of office of a
director who is not selected by lot to remain on the board shall
expire upon the appointment of the remaining members of the board.
(b) The election of successors to the directors appointed pursuant
to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) shall be conducted pursuant to
the principal act, except that the total membership of the board of
directors and the divisions of the district shall remain as
reorganized pursuant to subdivision (a).
(c) Upon adoption of a resolution pursuant to paragraph (1) of
subdivision (a), the district shall notify the city council of every
affected city, and the board of supervisors and county elections
official of every affected county, of the resolution. Upon the
appointment of the remaining members of the board of directors
pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a), the board of directors
shall notify the city council of every affected city, and the board
of supervisors and county elections official of every affected
county, of the new membership of the board.
61530. Notwithstanding any other law, for a district that is
reorganized pursuant to this division, a quorum for the transaction
of the business of the reorganized district shall be equal to a
number of directors that is in as nearly the same proportion as
possible to the quorum set forth in the principal act.
61535. A resolution adopted pursuant to this division is subject
to referendum in accordance with the methods provided by the
Elections Code.