Title GOV — California Gov. Code

When a local agency enters into an agreement pursuant to this article, the proportionate part of the costs required to be paid by it in the agreement may be raised by any legal means including the issuance and sale of the bonds of the local agency.

Upon the terms prescribed by its legislative body, a local agency may enter into an agreement with other local agencies for the joint construction, ownership, or use of sewage treatment plants and other sewage disposal works or for the purchase or sale of any percentage of the ca…

The contracts may provide for the maintenance and operation of the plant or works and the percentages of the maintenance and operation cost to be paid by the local agencies entering into the agreement.

Any local agency may issue bonds to pay all or part of the cost of construction of or ownership in the plant or works, or of purchasing capacity in the plant or works or a right to use them, as provided in the contract.

Bonds issued by a city pursuant to this article shall be issued substantially pursuant to Article 1, Chapter 4, Division 4, Title 4.

In chartered cities bonds shall be issued pursuant to the city charter.

Bonds issued by a sanitary district shall be issued substantially in the manner provided in the act under which the district is incorporated.

This chapter may be cited as the District Organization Law.

It is the purpose of this chapter to make available a procedure for the organization, operation and government of districts.

This chapter applies only when and to the extent that it is adopted or incorporated by reference in a law providing for a particular district or type of district.

As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires: (a) “District” means a tax or assessment district. (b) “Governing body” means the board of directors of a district or equivalent board or body. (c) “Principal act” means the law providing for the creation of a partic…

Whenever in this chapter a petition, order, resolution, complaint, or other document refers to a principal act, the name, if any, of the principal act, with its citation shall be set forth in such document.

When this chapter or the principal act requires publication of a notice, publication shall be in a newspaper of general circulation published and circulated within the district, or if there is none, in the newspaper of general circulation published nearest to the district.

Unless otherwise expressly provided, each notice shall be published once a week for three successive weeks prior to the date set for the event of which notice is given.

Proof of publication may be by affidavit of the owner, publisher, printer, or clerk of the newspaper. The affidavit is prima facie evidence of the facts stated in it.

If a district is situated in a county in which no newspaper of general circulation is published, the notice shall be posted in three public places in the district for the same period as if published.

Proof of posting may be by affidavit of the person posting the notice. The affidavit is prima facie evidence of the facts stated in it.

In case of a conflict between the provisions of this chapter and the provisions of the law providing for the creation of a particular district or type of district, the provisions of this chapter shall prevail.

When the principal act authorizes or requires a petition, formation proceedings shall be commenced by petition.

The petition shall be signed by the requisite number of petitioners and addressed to and filed with the supervising authority.

The petition may be filed in sections. Each section shall comply with all the requirements for a petition, except that it need not contain all the signatures required for the petition.

Before publication of the petition, a petitioner may withdraw his signature by filing with the clerk a signed statement of his intention to withdraw his signature from the petition.

The petition shall: (a) State the proposed name for the district. (b) Set forth the district boundaries or describe the land situated in the district. (c) Request that the district be formed pursuant to the principal act. (d) Describe generally the nature of the proposed project …

Upon presentation and filing of the formation petition the supervising authority shall fix a time and place for its hearing. The hearing shall not be less than 20 nor more than 40 days after presentation and filing.

If the principal act or any other law applicable to the formation of the district requires the making of an investigation of and a report on the project, the hearing may be continued from time to time to enable the making of such investigation and report. Such continuance shall n…

The supervising authority shall fix the time and place for the final hearing on the petition and shall order the clerk to give notice of the hearing.

The notice of final hearing shall state: (a) The name and nature of the district. (b) That the petition may be inspected at the clerk’s office. (c) The boundaries of the proposed district and the estimated initial annual special ad valorem tax rate to the taxable property within …

The clerk shall give notice of the final hearing.

The supervising authority is not deprived of jurisdiction to proceed with the hearing, and no action on the petition is invalid, because of clerical error in the notice.

If the notice is materially defective, the supervising authority shall reset the hearing and cause new notice to be given.

If the supervising authority determines that the petition does not comply with the law, the matter may be dismissed without prejudice to the right to present a new petition on the same matter.

A finding by the supervising authority in favor of the genuineness and sufficiency of the petition and notice is conclusive against all persons except the State in a proceeding brought by the Attorney General within one year after the order establishing and describing the boundar…

Oral or written protest may be made at the hearing by any person interested in the formation of the proposed district.

Any protest to the regularity or sufficiency of the proceedings shall be written and shall clearly set forth the defects to which objection is made.

Written protests shall be filed with the clerk on or before the time fixed for the final hearing.

The hearing may be continued from time to time not exceeding 60 days.

At the hearing any owner of land in the proposed district may present to the supervising authority a written request for exclusion of all or part of such land.

At the hearing any owner of land outside the proposed district may present to the supervising authority a written request for inclusion of such land.

If the supervising authority finds that protest has been made, prior to the supervising authority’s final determination for formation, by the owners of real property within the proposed district the assessed value of which, as shown by the last equalized assessment roll, constitu…

The supervising authority shall not consider a petition or other proceedings for the formation of the same district for the same project until after one year from the order of termination.

If at the final hearing the supervising authority determines that the project is feasible, economically sound, and for the public interest, it shall fix the boundaries of the proposed district.

If at the final hearing the supervising authority determines that the project, or the proposed district as its boundaries are described in the petition or as changed by the supervising authority as hereafter provided, is infeasible, not economically sound, or not for the public i…

At the final hearing the supervising authority shall exclude any land which it finds will not be benefited by the proposed project and shall make a specific finding as to each parcel of land with respect to which a written request for exclusion has been presented on the question …

The supervising authority may make such inclusion upon the owner’s application or upon giving him notice of and hearing on the inclusion.

The clerk shall publish notice of inclusion and mail it, postage prepaid, to the address of the owner of such land as shown by the last equalized county assessment roll and to any person who has filed with the clerk his name, address, and a description of land in which he has a l…

The notice shall describe the land proposed to be included and state the time and place at which objections to inclusion will be heard.

If the supervising authority determines that the district should be established, by resolution it shall fix and describe the boundaries, and designate a name for, the district. The name may be that proposed in the petition or any other name the supervising authority selects.

Within 20 days after the adoption of the resolution establishing the boundaries, the supervising authority shall call and give notice of an election to be held in the proposed district to determine whether the district shall be formed and to select the elective officers, if any, …

The election shall be called and conducted, and any candidates shall be nominated as in general district elections except: (a) The supervising authority shall establish election precincts, designate the polling places, publish notice, and appoint the election board. (b) The elect…

If a majority of the votes cast at the election favors the organization of the district, by resolution entered on its minutes the supervising authority shall declare the district duly organized under the principal act, give the designated name of the district, and describe its bo…