Title GOV — California Gov. Code

Any member of the board may administer oaths when necessary in the performance of his official duties.

Members may attend meetings of the California State Association of Counties.

Members shall be allowed their actual expenses in going to, attendance upon, and returning from state association meetings and their actual and necessary traveling expenses when traveling outside their counties on official business. Reimbursement for these expenses is subject to …

The members of the board of supervisors shall elect a chairman, who shall preside at all meetings of the board. If he is absent or unable to act, the members present shall select one of their number to act as chairman temporarily by an order entered on the records of the board.

Instead of selecting a temporary chairman whenever the chairman is absent or unable to act, the members of the board of supervisors may elect a vice chairman who shall preside at all meetings of the board when the chairman is absent or unable to act.

The chairman of the board shall perform such duties as are prescribed by law or by the board.

In any emergency affecting the interest of the county or when any defalcation or official misconduct comes to his knowledge, the chairman shall forthwith call a special meeting of the board to consider the matter if the board is not then in session.

Each member of the board of supervisors shall be elected by the district which he represents, and not at large, except in any county in which supervisorial districts have not been established by law or ordinance, and in which supervisors were on May 17, 1907, required to be elect…

In all other cases each member shall have been a registered voter of the district which he seeks to represent for at least 30 days immediately preceding the deadline for filing nomination documents for the office of supervisor, and shall reside in the district during his incumben…

Any supervisor who (a) refuses or neglects to perform any duty imposed on him, without just cause, or (b) wilfully violates any law provided for his government as a supervisor, or (c) fraudulently or corruptly performs any duty imposed on him, or (d) wilfully, fraudulently, or co…

(a) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply: (1) “Disclose” means to have information announced in an open and public meeting and noted in the official records of the board of supervisors. (2) “Family relationship” means a relationship by blood, adoption, ma…

Whenever a vacancy occurs in a board of supervisors, the Governor shall fill the vacancy. The appointee shall hold office until the election and qualification of his or her successor.

The election of a supervisor to fill the vacancy for the unexpired term shall be held at the next general election, unless the term expires on the first Monday after January 1st succeeding the election.

When a vacancy occurs from the failure of the person elected to file his or her oath or bond as provided by law, and the person elected is appointed to fill the vacancy, he or she shall hold office for the unexpired term.

Except as otherwise provided by state law, all meetings of the board of supervisors shall be public.

By ordinance the board shall provide for the holding of regular meetings of the board at the county seat. The board may change the place for the holding of one or more regular meetings of the board to a location within the county other than the county seat if both of the followin…

Whenever the board of supervisors of any county is required by law to canvass the votes of any local or special election on a day other than one on which the board regularly meets, such canvass may be commenced or made on the next following regular meeting day.

Whenever the board of supervisors of any county is required by law to receive proposals or bids after publication of a resolution or other public notice, the board may, by resolution, designate an officer or employee of the county to open, examine, and announce the proposals or b…

Unless otherwise provided by law, the county clerk is ex officio clerk of the board of supervisors of his county.

The board of supervisors of any county may provide by ordinance that the clerk of the board of supervisors may be appointed by the board in the same manner as other county officers are appointed. In such counties, the county clerk is not ex officio clerk of the board of superviso…

The clerk of the board shall: (a) Attend each session of the board of supervisors of his county and attend committee meetings when requested so to do. (b) Keep and enter in the minute book of the board a full and complete record of the proceedings of the board at all regular and …

The board shall cause to be kept: (a) Its minute book. (b) An ordinance book. (c) An “allowance book” in which shall be recorded all orders for the allowance of money from the county treasury, to whom made, and on what account. The orders shall be dated, numbered, and indexed thr…

In lieu of entering resolutions in full in the minute book, the clerk, with the approval of the board, may keep a resolution book in which he shall enter all resolutions in full. In such case, references in the minute book to resolutions may be made by number and subject referenc…

(a) The records and minutes of the board, acting in any capacity, shall be signed by the chairperson and the clerk. The board may authorize the use of a facsimile or electronic or digital signature of the chairperson of the board acting in any capacity, where the board sits as th…

The books, records, and accounts of the board shall be kept in the custody of the clerk and available for public inspection during normal business hours.

The board of supervisors may authorize the use of photographs, microphotographs, electronic data processing records, optical disks, or any other medium that is a trusted system and that does not permit additions, deletions, or changes to the original document, or photocopies of a…

The clerk of the board of supervisors may, without complying with any other provision of law, destroy records consisting of claims against the county and claims against special districts for which the board of supervisors is the governing body, whenever the claims have been retai…

The enacting clause of all ordinances of the board of supervisors shall be as follows: “The Board of Supervisors of the County of ____ ordains as follows.”

(a) Every ordinance shall be signed by the chairperson of the board and attested by the clerk. When attesting to an electronic or digital signature, the clerk may presume that the signature is genuine and attributable to the signatory if the electronic or digital signature compli…

On the passage of all ordinances the votes of the several members of the board shall be entered on the minutes, and all ordinances shall be entered at length in the ordinance book.

All ordinances shall become effective 30 days from the date of final passage, except the following ordinances, which shall take effect immediately: (a) Those calling or otherwise relating to an election. (b) Those specifically required by this code or by any other law to take imm…

Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 25123, that portion of any ordinance which changes supervisorial salaries shall become effective 60 days after its adoption.

(a) Except as provided in subdivision (c), within 15 days after the passage of an ordinance it shall be published once, with the names of the members voting for and against the ordinance, in a newspaper published in the county if there is one, and if there is no newspaper publish…

No county ordinance passed prior to September 13, 1941, is void solely by reason of the fact that it was not published for a full week within 15 days after its passage, if the first actual publication of the ordinance was within the 15-day period, and thereafter actual publicatio…

Any or all ordinances of any county which have been enacted and published in accordance with the provisions of its charter or this article, and which have not been repealed, may be compiled, consolidated, revised, indexed, including such restatement and substantive change as is n…

The ordinance code may be adopted by reference by the passage of an ordinance for the purpose, which shall be adopted and approved in the manner provided by charter or this article for the passage of ordinances for the county.

The ordinance code itself need not be published in the manner required for other ordinances, but not less than three copies of the code shall be filed for use and examination by the public in the office of the clerk of the county prior to the adoption thereof.

After the code has been adopted all ordinances thereafter adopted pertaining to the subjects in the code shall be amendatory or revisory of the code. No section or subsection of the code shall be revised or amended by reference. The ordinance section or subsection revised or amen…

An ordinance code adopted and fully published, or adopted by reference as provided in this article, may be subsequently recompiled, recodified and indexed, including such restatement and substantive change as is necessary in the interest of clarity, in the same manner as prescrib…

Ordinances shall not be passed within five days of their introduction, nor at other than a regular meeting or at an adjourned regular meeting. However, an urgency ordinance may be passed immediately upon introduction and either at a regular or special meeting. Except when, after …

(a) Violation of a county ordinance is a misdemeanor unless by ordinance it is made an infraction. The violation of a county ordinance may be prosecuted by county authorities in the name of the people of the State of California, or redressed by civil action. (b) Every violation t…

(a) Except as otherwise provided in subdivision (b), within 10 days after each session of the board of supervisors, it shall cause to be published a fair statement of all its proceedings. (b) In lieu of the requirements imposed by subdivision (a), the board of supervisors may pro…

(a) All public notices of proceedings of or to be had before the board, not otherwise specifically provided for, shall be posted at the meeting place of the board in a location that is freely accessible to the public. (b) In addition to the posting required by subdivision (a), th…

Whenever the board of supervisors deems it necessary or important to examine any person as a witness upon any subject or matter within the jurisdiction of the board, or to examine any officer of the county in relation to the discharge of his official duties as to the receipt or d…

Whenever the board appoints any of its members a committee upon any subject or matter of which it has jurisdiction and confers upon the committee power to send for persons and papers, the chairman of the committee has all the powers and duties of the chairman of the board of supe…

The sheriff of the county to whom the subpena is delivered shall serve it by reading it to the person named therein, and at the same time delivering to him a copy thereof. The official return of the sheriff upon the subpena, showing the time and place of service is prima facie ev…

Whenever any person duly subpenaed to appear and give evidence or to produce any books and papers before the board or a committee neglects or refuses to appear, or to produce any books and papers, as required by the subpena, or refuses to testify or to answer any questions which …

Upon receipt of the report, the judge of the superior court shall issue an attachment directed to any sheriff, marshal, or police chief in the State of California, commanding him or her to attach that person and forthwith bring him or her before the judge who ordered the attachme…

On the return of the attachment and the production of the body of the defendant, the judge has jurisdiction of the matter. The person charged may purge himself of the contempt in the same way, and the same proceeding shall be had, and the same penalties may be imposed, and the sa…

Witnesses subpenaed to testify on behalf of the county in matters of public concern before the board of supervisors are not entitled to have their fees prepaid, but the board shall allow them the reasonable expenses of their attendance.