Title GOV, California Gov. Code

The head of a department has no authority to obligate the State for salaries in excess of money available by law for that purpose. (Added by Stats. 1945, Ch. 111.)

In addition to any bonds required by the Director of General Services the head of each department may require any officer or employee in his department to execute an official bond in such amount as he determines. (Amended by Stats. 1965, Ch. 371.)

The Attorney General is the legal adviser of each department in all matters relating to the department and to the powers and duties of its officers. Upon request of the head of a department, the Attorney General, or under his direction, the district attorney of any county in whic…

The sheriffs in the several counties shall execute all lawful orders of a department in their counties. (Amended by Stats. 1996, Ch. 872, Sec. 39. Effective January 1, 1997.)

Whenever a department succeeds to and is vested with the duties, powers, purposes, responsibilities and jurisdiction of a State agency, deputy, employee, or employment, the name or designation of the State agency, deputy, employee, or employment and of its several members, office…

Whenever a department is invested with the power and is charged with the duty of administering and enforcing any law which imposes a duty or jurisdiction or confers an authority upon any State agency, deputy or employee, to administer its provisions, the duty, jurisdiction, and a…

Every person is subject to the same obligations and duties, and has the same rights as if the rights, powers and duties imposed upon and transferred to a department were exercised by the State agency, deputy or employee designated in the laws administered by departments created i…

Every State officer, deputy and employee is subject to the same penalties, civil or criminal, for any offense as are prescribed by existing law for the same offense by any officer, deputy or employee whose powers or duties are devolved upon him under any law creating a new depart…

The Lieutenant Governor may appoint and, subject to the approval of the Director of Finance, fix the salaries of one secretary and such clerical assistants as the Lieutenant Governor deems necessary for the Lieutenant Governor’s office. (Amended by Stats. 2021, Ch. 50, Sec. 33. (…

(a) It is the intent of the Legislature in establishing the bureau to establish an initial framework and it is the intent of the Legislature that the scope and responsibilities of the bureau may expand as necessary to fulfill its mission and address additional harms as identified…

For purposes of this chapter: (a) “Bureau” means the Bureau for Descendants of American Slavery. (b) “Deputy director” means the Deputy Director of the Bureau for Descendants of American Slavery. (c) “Descendants” means individuals who can establish direct lineage to a person who…

(a) The Bureau for Descendants of American Slavery is hereby established within the department. The bureau shall be under the direct control of a deputy director who shall be responsible to the Director of Civil Rights. (b) The deputy director shall be appointed by the Governor a…

(a) As part of its duties, the bureau shall verify an individual’s status as a descendant. Proof of an individual’s descendant status shall be a qualifying criterion for benefits authorized by the state for descendants. The bureau shall create a Genealogy Division. (b) Following …

(a) The bureau shall create an Education and Outreach Division to develop and implement a public education campaign regarding all of the following: (1) The cycle of gentrification, displacement, and exclusion. (2) The connection between redlining and gentrification. (3) The histo…

The bureau shall create a Legal Affairs Division to do all of the following: (a) Provide legal advice, counsel, and services to the bureau and its officials. (b) Ensure that the bureau’s programs are administered in accordance with applicable legislative authority. (c) Advise the…

(a) Nonpublic personal and genetic information held under the bureau’s authority shall be collected, held, and disclosed only as relevant and necessary to accomplish the purposes set forth in this chapter and in a manner permitted by and consistent with federal and California dat…

The Civil Rights Department may adopt, promulgate, amend, and rescind suitable rules and regulations to implement this chapter. (Added by Stats. 2025, Ch. 586, Sec. 1. (SB 518) Effective January 1, 2026.)

(a) Notwithstanding any other law, the bureau may receive moneys from any federal, state, or local grant and from any nongovernmental entity, including from any private donation or grant, for the purposes of this chapter. (b) Receipt of funds pursuant to this section shall not co…

If any clause, sentence, paragraph, provision, part, or section of this chapter, or the application thereof, for any reason, is adjudged by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, that judgment shall not affect, impair, or invalidate the remainder of this chapter and the…

Every officer, the mode of whose appointment is not prescribed by law, shall be appointed by the Governor. (Enacted by Stats. 1943, Ch. 134.)

Every office, the term of which is not fixed by law, is held at the pleasure of the appointing power. (Enacted by Stats. 1943, Ch. 134.)

Every officer whose term has expired shall continue to discharge the duties of his office until his successor has qualified. (Enacted by Stats. 1943, Ch. 134.)

Every person who exercises any function of a public office without taking the oath of office, or without giving the required bond, is guilty of a misdemeanor. This section does not affect the validity of acts done by a person exercising the functions of a public office in fact, w…

(a) The Speaker of the Assembly or the Senate Committee on Rules may appoint a Member of the Legislature or legislative staff to serve as an alternate for a Member of the Legislature appointed to a state board or commission within the Natural Resources Agency in the Member’s abse…

(a) Commencing January 1, 2027, the office of the Governor shall maintain on its internet website a list of each state board or commission, as well as the board or commission’s membership list, stated purpose, duties, meeting frequency, internet website, and any vacancies in its …

(a) Commencing January 1, 2027, the Secretary of the Senate and the Chief Clerk of the Assembly shall maintain on their respective internet websites, or include a link on their respective internet websites to any available resources that contain, a list of each state board or com…

The department has general powers of supervision over all matters concerning the financial and business policies of the State and whenever it deems it necessary, or at the instance of the Governor, shall institute or cause the institution of such investigations and proceedings as…

The department shall ensure the state carries out its responsibilities in accordance with the federal Single Audit Act (31 U.S.C. Sec. 7501 et seq.). For that purpose, the department shall do all of the following: (a) Act as the liaison between state agencies, the California Stat…

The Director of Finance shall be responsible for coordinating state agency internal audits and identifying when agencies are required to comply with federally mandated audits. The Director of Finance, in coordinating the internal auditors of state agencies, shall ensure that thes…

Within the Department of Finance, there is the Demographic Research Unit. The purposes of the unit include, but are not limited to, the following: (a) Providing adequate demographic data to aid effective state and local planning and policymaking. (b) Serving all levels of governm…

Whenever the department issues reports containing population breakdowns or analyses based on race or ethnicity, it shall report Asian-Pacific Islanders as a distinct category, and not combine Asian-Pacific Islanders into any other category. (Added by Stats. 1994, Ch. 1013, Sec. 1…

The Legislature finds and declares that: (1) population size and distribution patterns in California exert a major influence on the physical, social, and economic structure of the state and on the quality of the environment generally; (2) sound and current data and methods to est…

Notwithstanding subdivision (g) of Section 1798.24 of the Civil Code, data collected, received, or prepared by the Demographic Research Unit for purposes specified in Section 13073.5 that contains personal information, as defined by subdivision (a) of Section 1798.3 of the Civil …

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any revision, subsequent to the first revision, of the annual provisional county population estimates, made by the Department of Finance, shall not be the basis for a change in the amount of state funds received by local agencies or fun…

(a) If the Department of Finance is required by law to make a calculation related to cost of living or annual adjustment factors and necessary data is unavailable, the department may use a reasonable estimate of that data to perform the calculation. (b) A calculation made pursuan…

(a) When authorized or required by the Legislature in the Budget Act, the Department of Finance may exercise control over the adoption of regulations as provided in this section. The Legislature shall not authorize or require the Department of Finance in the Budget Act to review …

The director shall visit or cause to be visited from time to time every public institution maintained in whole or in part by State appropriations, to ascertain their condition, and their wants and requirements. (Added by Stats. 1945, Ch. 112.)

Whenever a nonprofit corporation or foundation enters into a contract with a state educational institution, maintained in whole or in part by state appropriation, under the terms of which services are to be performed for the state educational institution, the books and records of…

The director may exempt from his approval or from approval of the department any transactions involving not more than twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) for which such approval is required by statute whenever, in his judgment, such exemption is appropriate and in the best int…

With the consent of the Legislature, the director may make application for and accept loans of funds made available by the federal government or a federal department or agency to aid in financing the costs of engineering and architectural surveys, designs, plans, working drawings…

Such amount as may be necessary to pay monthly the amount required for liquidation of the investment, with interest at the rate agreed upon between the parties, in any agreements entered into between the State Department of the California Highway Patrol and the Governor and any o…

Such amount as may be necessary to pay monthly the amount required for liquidation of the investment, with interest at the rate agreed upon between the parties, in any agreements entered into between the State Department of Motor Vehicles or the State Department of California Hig…

The Department of Finance may increase or decrease funding appropriated to the Department of Transportation’s capital outlay support program using funding made available to the program from both the annual Budget Act and any other appropriation, provided the combined adjustments …

The department shall contract with qualified architects and engineers for the performance of work when it is determined by the Director of Transportation, with the approval of the Director of Finance, that the obtainable staff is unable to perform the particular work within the t…

The State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, in consultation with the department, shall study the potential cost-effectiveness and energy efficiency of utilizing retroreflective sheeting materials on highway signs. In completing the study, that commission s…

The department may prepare, publish, and issue such printed pamphlets and bulletins as the director deems necessary for the dissemination of information to the public concerning the activities of the several divisions of the department. Funds available for the support of the seve…