Title GOV — California Gov. Code

The city legislative body may impose fines, penalties, and forfeitures for violations of ordinances. It may fix the penalty by fine or imprisonment, or both. A fine shall not exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000). Imprisonment shall not exceed six months.

Imprisonment for violation of an ordinance shall be in the city jail, unless by ordinance the legislative body prescribes imprisonment in the county jail. If city prisoners are imprisoned in the county jail the expense is a charge against the city.

The legislative body may require persons imprisoned for violation of an ordinance to labor on public property or works within the city.

The enacting clause of ordinances shall be: “The city council of the City of ____ does ordain as follows:”.

(a) Ordinances shall be signed by the mayor and attested by the city 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 complies with the require…

(a) Within 15 days after its passage, the city clerk shall cause each ordinance to be published at least once, with the names of those city council members voting for and against the ordinance, in a newspaper of general circulation published and circulated in the city, or if ther…

Whenever a city having a population of less than 2,500 inhabitants adopts an ordinance code containing all ordinances and amendments previously adopted and amendments and new ordinances to bring the codification up to the date of adoption, instead of publishing such code, amendme…

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 …

Resolutions or orders for the payment of money shall be adopted or made only at a regular meeting or at a special meeting for which the notice of such special meeting specifies the business to be transacted.

Resolutions, orders for the payment of money, and all ordinances require a recorded majority vote of the total membership of the city council.

The rates of taxes to be levied or the amount of revenue required to be raised by taxation may be fixed either by ordinance or resolution. Where the tax rate or the amount of revenue required to be raised by taxation is fixed by resolution, such resolution shall be published in t…

Ordinances take effect 30 days after their final passage. An ordinance takes effect immediately, if it is an ordinance: (a) Relating to an election. (b) For the immediate preservation of the public peace, health or safety, containing a declaration of the facts constituting the ur…

A chartered city may provide, in a special assessment improvement procedure ordinance adopted pursuant to its charter, for the application of the supplemental remedy provisions of Part 13 (commencing with Section 8800) of Division 10 of the Streets and Highways Code.

It is the intent of this article to enable any city to adopt such a retirement system as is adaptable to its size and type.

By ordinance, any city may establish a retirement system for its officers and employees and provide for the payment of retirement allowances, pensions, disability payments, and death benefits, or any of them.

Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter to the contrary, separate rates of contribution for male and female employees shall not be maintained or established, nor shall different allowances or benefits be established for male and female employees.

Before the ordinance establishing a retirement system is adopted, the city legislative body shall adopt a resolution giving notice of intention to adopt the ordinance. The resolution shall contain a summary of the major provisions of the proposed retirement system.

The ordinance shall not be adopted unless an election is first held to permit the employees proposed to be included in the system to express by secret ballot their approval or disapproval of the retirement proposal.

The ballot used at the election shall include a summary of the retirement system as set forth in the resolution.

The election shall be conducted in a manner to be prescribed by the legislative body, and permit firemen, policemen, and other city employees included in the system, as separate groups, to express their approval or disapproval. The ordinance shall not include in the system any gr…

The ordinance establishing a retirement system may be adopted either by a majority vote of the electorate of the city or by approval of a two-thirds majority of the legislative body of the city. The ordinance shall not be repealed except by a vote of the electorate.

The ordinance shall provide for the appointment of a retirement board and for the delegation to the board of such powers and duties in relation to the system as are deemed advisable to carry out the intent and purpose of this article.

The legislative body may maintain its own pension and retirement fund or may contract with the legislative body of any city or county in the State, or any state department, for: (a) The performance of any service in connection with the establishment or administration of the retir…

All funds received by city retirement systems and not required for current disbursements shall be invested only in: (a) Securities which are legal for savings bank investments in this state, or which have been certified as legal investments for savings banks pursuant to Division …

Notwithstanding Section 45308.1 funds received by city retirement systems and not required for current disbursements may be invested in real property or improvements constructed or to be constructed on real property, when such real property or such improvements are acquired for s…

Notwithstanding Section 45308.1, funds received by city retirement systems and not required for current disbursements may be invested in bonds issued pursuant to the Improvement Bond Act of 1915; provided, that an ad valorem tax on all property taxable by the public agency which …

Notwithstanding Section 45308.1, funds received by city retirement systems and not required for current disbursements may be invested in any of the following: (a) First liens on real property if the loan is fully guaranteed or insured or covered by a commitment to guarantee or in…

Notwithstanding Section 45308.1, in addition to any other investments as are authorized by this article, city retirement systems may in their discretion under the advice of proper counsel invest the assets of the retirement fund in an amount, determined on the basis of cost, not …

Notwithstanding Section 45308.1 the board may also invest in any stocks or shares of a diversified management investment company registered under the “Investment Company Act of 1940” which has total assets of at least fifty million dollars ($50,000,000); except that the total inv…

For purposes of Section 45308.5, city retirement systems shall employ investment counsel or trust companies or trust departments of banks to render service in connection with the city retirement system’s investment program.

The city retirement board, if there is one, or the city treasurer with the approval of the city council, may enter into security loan agreements with broker-dealers and with California or national banks for the purpose of prudently supplementing the income normally received from …

Among other matters, the ordinance establishing the system shall provide for: (a) The amount of benefits to be paid to any officers or employees, or their beneficiaries, and the terms and conditions upon which the benefits will be paid. (b) The contribution to be paid by the offi…

A member of a pension or retirement system established pursuant to this chapter shall not receive credit for service or contributions for credit for service in violation of the prohibitions provided in Section 34095 or Section 50033.

The ordinance may provide that: (a) The amount of the retirement, compensation, or pension may be predicated, in part, upon services rendered the city by an officer or employee prior to the establishment of the system. (b) The contribution of officers and employees included in th…

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a person ceases to be a member for any portion of his or her service as an elected public officer that is forfeited pursuant to Section 1243.

The ordinance may provide for a modification of rights and benefits of a member because of membership in a reciprocal system similar to and under the same conditions as those provided under the County Employees’ Retirement Law of 1937 and the Public Employees’ Retirement Law beca…

When a city has established a reciprocal retirement system under this chapter, the following shall apply: (a) Any former member who left service under that system and became a member of a reciprocal retirement system or a retirement system established under the Public Employees’ …

(a) On and after January 1, 2003, a member who is credited with less than the number of years of service required for vesting shall have the right to elect to leave accumulated contributions on deposit in the retirement fund of the city’s retirement system. Failure to make an ele…

(a) It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this section to recognize a public obligation to all those whose duties as local prosecutors, local public defenders, and local public defender investigators expose them to more than ordinary risks in their contribution to an ef…

Nothing in this article prohibits the enhancement of the pension and retirement fund by private or voluntary contributions, nor the transfer to the fund of any surplus funds of the city which in the sound discretion of the legislative body may properly be used for such purpose.

The retirement board shall require competent medical proof before retiring any officer or employee for physical disability.

After the retirement of a person for disability, if it appears that the disability has diminished, the board shall reduce the retirement payment to correspond with the degree of disability. The retirement payment shall cease when the disability has fully ceased.

The determination of the retirement board is final and shall not be modified or set aside except for fraud or abuse of discretion.

This article provides an alternative procedure for the establishment of retirement systems in cities.

Any regularly established fire or police protection district may adopt a retirement system for its employees pursuant to this article.

The legislative body may establish a pension plan and provide retirement and death benefits for city employees in order to effect economy and efficiency in the public service and provide a means by which employees who become superannuated or otherwise incapacitated may, without h…

Any pension or retirement system adopted shall be on a sound actuarial basis and provide for contributions by both the city and the employee members of the system which shall be based on percentages of pay roll to be changed only by adjustments on account of experience under the …

Contributions shall be in amounts which will accumulate at retirement a fund sufficient to carry out the promise to pay benefits to the individual on account of his service as a member of the system, without further contributions from any source.

Benefits based on service rendered prior to membership in the system shall be met by additional contributions of the employer. Such prior service liability may be funded over a fixed period of years.

As an alternate method of providing a retirement system, the city may contract with the Board of Administration of the State Employees’ Retirement System and enter all or any portion of its employees under such system pursuant to law and under the terms and conditions of such con…