Local government in California

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The city halls of some of the major California cities. Left to right, top to bottom: San Francisco City Hall, Los Angeles City Hall, San Jose City Hall, Sacramento City Hall, Fresno City Hall, Oakland City Hall

The

municipal utility districts, transit districts, health care districts
, vector control districts, and geologic hazard abatement districts.

Due to geographical variations in property tax and sales tax revenue (the primary revenue source for cities and counties) and differing attitudes towards priorities, there are variations in the levels of various services from one city to the next.

Article 2, Section 6, of California's constitution provides that elections for county, city, school, and judicial offices are officially non-partisan and political party affiliations are not included on local election ballots.

Counties

See also: List of counties in California

The basic political subdivision of California are the 58

infraction.[4]

County government

Major county governments
County Government
Alameda Government of Alameda County
Fresno Government of Fresno County
Los Angeles Government of Los Angeles County
Sacramento Government of Sacramento County
San Diego Government of San Diego County
San Francisco Government of San Francisco
San Joaquin Government of San Joaquin County
Santa Clara
Solano Government of Solano County
Stanislaus Government of Stanislaus County

Fourteen counties

jail and for most jail bookings.[7]) All counties elect all of their supervisors by district (San Francisco had at-large supervisors from 1980 to 2000, but in 2000 the county was once again divided into 11 districts, whose updated borders roughly followed those of the old 1970s-era districts, although the districts themselves were renumbered). All counties elect their treasurers except Los Angeles, Sacramento, Santa Clara, and Glenn.[6] Forty-seven counties have an appointed county administrative officer, while five counties have a more powerful official such as a county manager, chief executive officer, or county mayor, and five rural counties do not have a full-time county administrative officer.[6] All counties elect their district attorneys and their sheriffs.[citation needed] Counties may also have an assessor, a recorder, an auditor, a controller, a treasurer, a tax collector, a county clerk, a registrar of voters, a coroner, and/or a medical examiner.[citation needed] Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, and Santa Clara counties are the only counties that have a coroner or a medical examiner that are independent from the sheriff.[8][9][10]

County congestion management agencies or designees are responsible for comprehensive transportation improvement programs that reduces traffic congestion and transportation-related air pollution. Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino counties have county transportation commissions responsible for planning and coordinating transportation services and projects.[11]

The Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration, where the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors meets

County courts

Further information: Judiciary of California

California's judicial system is organized along county lines, but the

Superior Courts of California (there is one superior court for each county), even though the superior courts were actually divisions of the state government, not the county governments. This unfunded mandate
was a perennial source of frustration for both the superior courts and the counties. The Legislature finally responded by enacting the Trial Court Funding Act of 1997 and then the Trial Court Facilities Act of 2002 to transfer all courthouses to the state government and to relieve the counties of the burden of providing facilities to state courts. However, because the state government was not prepared to assume the burden of developing its own statewide courthouse security force, the superior courts were allowed to establish agreements with county sheriffs by which the courts would reimburse counties for continuing to provide deputy sheriffs to serve as bailiffs in the courthouses.

County grand juries

The San Diego County Administration Building, where the San Diego County Board of Supervisors meets

California also uses grand juries, with at least one per county.[12] These county-level grand juries are often called civil grand juries because their primary focus is on oversight of government institutions at the county level and lower. They meet at least once per year.

LAFCOs

Because of historical problems with fragmentation of local government as a result of the formation of too many special districts by enthusiastic local officials, all counties currently have a corresponding

Legislature
.

History

On January 4, 1850, the California constitutional committee recommended the formation of 18 counties. They were Benicia, Butte, Fremont, Los Angeles, Mariposa, Monterey, Mount Diablo, Oro, Redding, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Jose, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Sonoma, and Sutter. On April 22, the counties of Branciforte, Calaveras, Coloma, Colusi, Marin, Mendocino, Napa, Trinity, and Yuba were added. Benicia was renamed Solano, Coloma to El Dorado, Fremont to Yolo, Mt. Diablo to Contra Costa, San Jose to Santa Clara, Oro to Tuolumne, and Redding to Shasta. One of the first state legislative acts regarding counties was to rename Branciforte County to Santa Cruz, Colusi to Colusa, and Yola to Yolo. The last county in California to be established is Imperial County on August 7, 1907.

Since 1911, counties in California have been allowed limited

home rule, with the Government of Los Angeles County the first in the nation to be granted home rule by charter in 1912.[13][14][15] The county governments were originally molded around property recording and assessment, law enforcement, judicial administration, and tax collection, but more recently other functions have been added by the state such as public welfare, public health, water conservation, and flood protection.[13] In 1933, county supervisors gained authority to fix salaries for all county officers other than themselves.[16]

Municipalities

See also:
List of cities and towns in California

As of Jan 26, 2022, there were 482 incorporated municipalities in the state.[17] Under California law, the terms "city" and "town" are explicitly interchangeable; the name of an incorporated municipality in the state can either be "City of (Name)" or "Town of (Name)".[18] Counties exercise the powers of cities in unincorporated areas.[3]

Municipal government

Major city governments
City Government
Los Angeles Government of Los Angeles
San Francisco Government of San Francisco
San Jose
Government of San Jose
Sacramento Government of Sacramento

California municipalities are either charter or general-law. General-law municipalities have powers defined by the state's Government Code;[note 3] charter municipalities may have increased powers, but the adoption or amendment of a city charter requires a popular vote. Most small cities have a council–manager government, where the elected city council appoints a city manager to supervise the operations of the city. Some larger cities have a mayor–council government, with a directly-elected mayor who oversees the city government. In many council–manager cities, the city council selects one of its members as a mayor, sometimes rotating through the council membership—but this type of mayoral position is primarily ceremonial.

Municipal services

Incorporated cities and towns have the power to levy taxes.

infraction.[20]

Residents of a sufficiently large piece of unincorporated county land can incorporate a city. The city government then takes some of the tax revenue that would have gone to the county, and can impose additional taxes on its residents. It can then choose to provide almost all the services usually provided by the county (and more), or provide only a few and pay the county to do the rest. A city in this last arrangement is called a contract city; this type of contract is generally known among lawyers as the "Lakewood Plan", because it was pioneered by the city of Lakewood in 1954.[21]

School districts

Primary and secondary

See also: List of school districts in California

Public education of children is provided by school districts, which are governed independently from cities. Each county has a board of education and superintendent that oversee school districts within the county. There are about 1,102 school districts.[22]

The Los Angeles Unified School District headquarters

California school districts may be organized as elementary districts, high school districts, unified school districts combining elementary and high school grades, or community college districts.[22] Union districts are formed by joining two or more elementary districts.[22] School districts are governed by an elected school board (sometimes called a "board of education" or "board of trustees"), which manages the schools within its jurisdiction.[22] There are also county special service schools and regional occupational programs provide vocational and technical education.[22] Historically, school districts were organized at the primary level (Kindergarten through 8th grade, approximately ages 5–13), and the secondary (high school) level (9th through 12th grade, approximately ages 14–17).

School district and community college district boards may determine their own fiscal requirements—the counties levy and collect the taxes required, possibly subject to constitutional tax limitations and voter approval.[22] Historically, school districts were funded through local property tax revenue, but due to Serrano v. Priest, school districts are funded through the State government through various funding formulas that allocate local property tax revenues and other revenue.

Community colleges

Main article:
California Community Colleges System
See also: List of colleges and universities in California

The State of California operates the University of California and the California State University as statewide systems. However, community colleges, which provide the first two years of post-secondary education and adult vocational courses, are organized in community college districts, which operate one or more community colleges within their jurisdiction. Community college districts in California are governed by elected boards.

The main building of Mission College of the West Valley-Mission Community College District in Santa Clara

California's first community colleges were established as extensions of high schools.

California Community Colleges System, requiring all areas of the state to be included within a community college district.[23]

Special districts

A

special district is defined as "any agency of the state for the local performance of governmental or proprietary functions within limited boundaries"[24] and provides a limited range of services within a defined geographic area. Most of California's special districts are single-purpose districts, and provide one service. Most special districts have no police powers. Notable exceptions are harbor and port districts and police protection districts. All counties have a corresponding Local Agency Formation Commission
(LAFCO) that regulates the creation of special districts.

The A Line of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority

Independent special districts have elected boards. Dependent special districts are governed by the city or county that created them. Regional bodies have boards appointed by the city and county governments they encompass. Some districts, often referred to as assessment districts, have voting based on the assessed values of the property contained within the district, rather than a popular vote; that practice was ruled constitutional for districts that provide benefits to the land in rough proportion to the value of the land, rather than to people within the district.[note 4] Districts are categorized as enterprise districts and non-enterprise districts. Enterprise districts operate as a business, and obtain most of their revenue from user fees or sales of a product or service. Enterprise districts include those that provide water, waste disposal, electric power, hospitals, public transit, and similar services.

The most common type of special district is the utility district, which provides

HOV lanes, and other road improvements. By contrast, BART
(a transit district) only operates a commuter rail service and buses to locations beyond the range of the rail service.

Sonoma County Water Agency

As of 2017, there are 2,894 special districts in California. A majority, 86 percent, provide a single function. Fire protection, water supply, natural resources, and cemeteries are the most abundant.[25] In Fiscal Year 2019-20, special districts reported $79.67 billion in revenues and $76.29 billion in expenditures.[26] A partial list of the types of special districts includes:[27]

Commonly independent
Dependent
  • Mello-Roos (community facilities districts)
  • County service areas
  • County water districts
  • County waterworks districts
  • Improvement districts
  • Joint power agencies
  • Joint highway districts
  • Local agency formation commissions
  • Permanent road divisions
  • Public cemetery districts
  • Reclamation districts
  • Redevelopment agencies
  • Regional water quality control boards
  • Separation of grade districts
  • Service authority for freeways and expressways (SAFE), responsible for call boxes
  • Service zones of special districts
  • Sewer maintenance districts
  • Special assessment districts
  • Unified or union high school library districts

See also

Notes

  1. consolidated city–county
    , and its government has the powers of both.
  2. ^ Twenty-two cities in California style themselves "town" but this distinction has no legal significance.
  3. ^ "California Government Code". California Law. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
  4. ^ The case was Salyer Land Company v. Tulare Lake Basin Water Storage District (1972).

References

  1. LCCN 97032806
    .
  2. LCCN 2011007585
    .
  3. ^ a b Baldassare 1998, pp. 67–68.
  4. ^ California Government Code § 25132
  5. ^ "County Structure & Powers".
  6. ^ a b c d e Baldassare 1998, p. 50.
  7. ^ "California immigration holds drop". The Washington Post. AP. 6 April 2014. Archived from the original on 7 April 2014.
  8. ^ Aron, Hillel (6 January 2022). "Push on to separate coroners from law enforcement in California". Courthouse News Service. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  9. California Legislature
    , 2021–2022 regular session
  10. ^ April 2023 California remains 1 of 3 states that doesn't require independent coroner and sheriff
  11. ^ Public Utility Code § 130050
  12. ISBN 978-0-547-04193-3
    .
  13. ^
    OCLC 3118795
    .
  14. S2CID 146979113
    .
  15. ISBN 0-19-508209-5
    .
  16. ^ Crouch et al. 1952, p. 172.
  17. ^ "Member Cities". League of California Cities. Retrieved 26 Jan 2022.
  18. ^ "California Government Code § 34502". California Office of Legislative Counsel. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
  19. ^ "California City and County Sales and Use Tax Rates". California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. ca.gov. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  20. ^ California Government Code § 36900 et seq.
  21. ^ Reynolds, 48-49.
  22. ^ a b c d e f Individual State Descriptions: 2007 (PDF), 2007 Census of Governments, United States Census Bureau, November 2012, pp. 25–26
  23. ^ a b c d Little Hoover Commission (February 2012). Serving Students, Serving California: Updating the California Community Colleges to Meet Evolving Demands. Little Hoover Commission. pp. 5–6. Archived from the original on 2013-01-19. Retrieved 2012-10-23.
  24. ^ "California Government Code § 16271(d)". California Law. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
  25. ^ "From Municipalities to Special Districts, Official Count of Every Type of Local Government in 2017 Census of Governments". U. S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  26. ^ "Special Districts Financial Data". California State Controller's Office. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  27. California Senate, archived from the original
    (PDF) on 2013-02-03
  28. ^ "What is a Community Services District?". Twain Harte Community Services District. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
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