PART 1. GENERAL
Part 1 added by Stats. 1985, Ch. 541, Sec. 3.
§§ 56000–56160 · 129 sections
CHAPTER 1. Legislative Findings and Declarations §§ 56000–56001 · 2 sections
CHAPTER 2. Definitions §§ 56010–56081 · 87 sections
- § 56010 Unless the provision or context otherwise requires, the definitions contained in this chapter govern the construction of this division. The definition of a…
- § 56011 “Affected city” means any city that contains or would contain, or whose sphere of influence contains or would contain, territory for which a change of…
- § 56012 “Affected county” means any county that contains, or would contain, any territory for which a change of organization is proposed or ordered either singularly…
- § 56013 “Affected district” means any special district, as defined by Section 56036, that contains or would contain, or whose sphere of influence contains or would…
- § 56014 “Affected local agency” means any local agency that contains, or would contain, or whose sphere of influence contains or would contain, any territory for which…
- § 56015 “Affected territory” means any territory for which a change of organization, reorganization, or sphere of influence change is proposed or ordered, or any…
- § 56016 “Agricultural lands” means land currently used for the purpose of producing an agricultural commodity for commercial purposes, land left fallow under a crop…
- § 56017 “Annexation” means the inclusion, attachment, or addition of territory to a city or district.
- § 56017.1 “Applicant” means a local agency or person or persons that submits an application, as defined by Section 56017.2.
- § 56017.2 “Application” means any of the following: (a) A resolution of application or petition initiating a change of organization or reorganization with supporting…
- § 56019 “Board of directors” means the legislative body or governing board of a district.
- § 56020 “Board of supervisors” means the legislative body or governing board of a county.
- § 56020.5 “Certificate of completion” means the document prepared by the executive officer and recorded with the county recorder that confirms the final successful…
- § 56020.6 “Certificate of filing” means the document issued by the executive officer that confirms an application for a change of organization or reorganization has met…
- § 56020.7 “Certificate of termination” or “certificate of termination of proceedings” means the document prepared by the executive officer and retained by the commission…
- § 56021 “Change of organization” means any of the following: (a) A city incorporation. (b) A district formation. (c) An annexation to a city. (d) An annexation to a…
- § 56023 “City” means any incorporated chartered or general law city, including any city the name of which includes the word “town.”
- § 56024 “City council” means the legislative body or governing board of a city.
- § 56025 “City officer” means the mayor or a member of the city council.
- § 56026 “Clerk” means the clerk or secretary of a commission, county, city, or district, or the clerk or secretary of the legislative body of a county, city, or…
- § 56027 “Commission” means a local agency formation commission.
- § 56028 “Commission proceedings” means proceedings which are taken by a commission pursuant to Part 3 (commencing with Section 56650).
- § 56029 “Conducting authority” means the commission of the principal county, or the commission’s executive officer when authorized by the commission, when exercising…
- § 56030 “Consolidation” means the uniting or joining of two or more cities located in the same county into a single new successor city or two or more districts into a…
- § 56031 (a) “Contiguous” means territory that abuts or shares a common boundary with territory within a local agency. (b) Territory is not contiguous if the only…
- § 56032 “County officer” means a member of the board of supervisors.
- § 56032.5 “Dependent special district” or “dependent district” includes any special district that has a legislative body that consists, in whole or part, of ex officio…
- § 56033 “Detachment” means the exclusion, deletion, or removal from a city or district of any portion of the territory of that city or district.
- § 56033.5 “Disadvantaged unincorporated community” means inhabited territory, as defined by Section 56046, or as determined by commission policy, that constitutes all or…
- § 56034 “Disincorporation” means the dissolution, extinguishment, or termination of the existence of a city and the cessation of its corporate powers, except for the…
- § 56035 “Dissolution” means the disincorporation, extinguishment, or termination of the existence of a district and the cessation of all its corporate powers, except…
- § 56036 (a) “District” or “special district” are synonymous and mean an agency of the state, formed pursuant to general law or special act, for the local performance…
- § 56036.5 (a) For the purposes of Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 57000) to Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 57176), inclusive, of Part 4 or Part 5 (commencing with…
- § 56036.6 (a) For the purposes of Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 57000) to Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 57176), inclusive, of Part 4 or Part 5 (commencing with…
- § 56037.2 “Divestiture of power” means the termination of the power and authority to provide particular functions or classes of services within all or part of the…
- § 56037.5 “Elections official” shall have the same meaning as in Section 320 of the Elections Code.
- § 56038 “Executive officer” means the person appointed by a commission pursuant to Section 56384.
- § 56038.5 “Feasible” means capable of being accomplished in a successful manner within a reasonable period of time, taking into account economic, legal, social, and…
- § 56039 “Formation” means the creation of a district.
- § 56040 “Function” means any power granted by law to a local agency to provide designated governmental or proprietary services or facilities for the use, benefit, or…
- § 56041 “Improvement district” means an area or zone formed for the sole purpose of designating an area which is to bear a special tax or assessment for an improvement…
- § 56042 “Inactive district” means a special district that meets all of the following: (a) The special district is as defined in Section 56036. (b) The special district…
- § 56043 “Incorporation” means the creation or establishment of a city. Any area proposed for incorporation as a city shall have at least 500 registered voters residing…
- § 56044 “Independent district” or “independent special district” includes any special district having a legislative body all of whose members are elected by registered…
- § 56045 “Independent special district officer” means the presiding officer or a member of the legislative body of an independent special district.
- § 56045.5 “Indirect cost” has the same meaning as used in paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 33338 of the Education Code.
- § 56046 “Inhabited territory” means territory within which there reside 12 or more registered voters. The number of registered voters, as determined by the elections…
- § 56047 “Initiate” or “initiation” means the issuance of a certificate of filing by the executive officer.
- § 56047.5 “Interested agency” means each local agency which provides facilities or services in the affected territory.
- § 56047.7 “Joint powers agency” or “joint powers authority” means an agency or entity formed pursuant to the Joint Exercise of Powers Act (Article 1 (commencing with…
- § 56048 “Landowner” or “owner of land” means any of the following: (a) A person or persons shown as the owner of land on the last equalized assessment roll prepared by…
- § 56049 “Landowner-voter” means any person entitled to vote in a landowner-voter district, or the legal representative of that person or, in the case of an election,…
- § 56050 “Landowner-voter district” means a district whose principal act provides that owners of land within the district are entitled to vote upon the election of…
- § 56050.5 “Latent service or power” means those services, facilities, functions, or powers authorized by the principal act under which the district is formed, but that…
- § 56051 “Last equalized assessment roll” means the listing in use by a county, city, or district for the purpose of the annual levy and collection of any taxes or…
- § 56052 “Legal representative” means an officer of a corporation, partnership, or limited liability company duly authorized to sign for, and on behalf of, the entity.…
- § 56053 “Legislative body” means the governing board of a city, county, or district.
- § 56054 “Local agency” means a city, county, or district.
- § 56055 “Member district” means any district which is included, in whole or in part, within another district, a metropolitan water district, or any of the entities…
- § 56056 “Merger” means the termination of the existence of a district when the responsibility for the functions, services, assets, and liabilities of that district are…
- § 56057 “Next equalized assessment roll” means the listing to be equalized and used by a city, county, or district for the purpose of the annual levy and collection of…
- § 56059 “Open space” means any parcel or area of land or water which is substantially unimproved and devoted to an open-space use, as defined in Section 65560.
- § 56060 “Open-space use” means any use as defined in Section 65560.
- § 56061 “Overlap” or “overlapping territory” means territory which is included within the boundaries of two or more districts or within one or more districts and a…
- § 56062 “Parent district” means any district, a metropolitan water district, or any of the entities enumerated in Section 56036.6, which includes all or any part of…
- § 56064 “Prime agricultural land” means an area of land, whether a single parcel or contiguous parcels, that has not been developed for a use other than an…
- § 56065 “Principal act” means, in the case of a district, the law under which the district was formed and, in the case of a city, the general laws or the city charter.
- § 56066 “Principal county” means the county having the greater portion of the entire assessed value, as shown on the last equalized assessment roll of the county or…
- § 56067 “Proceeding,” “proceeding for a change of organization,” or “proceeding for a reorganization” means proceedings taken by the commission for a proposed change…
- § 56069 “Proposal” means a desired change of organization or reorganization initiated by a petition or by resolution of application of a legislative body or school…
- § 56069.5 “Protest proceedings” means proceedings taken by a commission, or its executive officer when authorized by the commission, as the conducting authority pursuant…
- § 56070 “Public agency” means the state or any state agency, board, or commission, any city, county, city and county, special district, or any agency, board, or…
- § 56071 “Registered voter” means any elector registered under, and pursuant to, the Elections Code.
- § 56072 “Registered-voter district” means a district whose principal act provides that registered voters residing within the district are entitled to vote for the…
- § 56073 “Reorganization” means two or more changes of organization contained within a single proposal.
- § 56073.1 “Resolution of application” means the document adopted by a local agency or school district initiating a change of organization or reorganization pursuant to…
- § 56074 “Service” means a specific governmental activity established within, and as a part of, a function of a local agency.
- § 56074.5 “Service review” means an analysis conducted by the commission documenting and analyzing the services in a particular geographic region or jurisdictional area…
- § 56075 “Special assessment district” or “assessment district” means an area fixed, established, and formed by a city, county, district, or the state, pursuant to…
- § 56075.5 “Special reorganization” means a reorganization that includes the detachment of territory from a city or city and county and the incorporation of that entire…
- § 56076 “Sphere of influence” means a plan for the probable physical boundaries and service area of a local agency, as determined by the commission.
- § 56077 “Subject agency” means each district or city for which a change of organization or reorganization is proposed or provided in a plan of reorganization.
- § 56078 “Subsidiary district” means a district in which a city council is designated as, and empowered to act as, the ex officio board of directors of the district.
- § 56078.5 “Successor Agency” means the local agency the commission designates to wind up the affairs of a dissolved district.
- § 56079.5 “Uninhabited territory” means territory within which there reside fewer than 12 registered voters. The number of registered voters, as determined by the…
- § 56080 “Urban service area” means developed, undeveloped, or agricultural land, either incorporated or unincorporated, within the sphere of influence of a city, which…
- § 56081 “Voter” means a landowner-voter or a registered voter.
CHAPTER 3. Introductory and General Provisions §§ 56100–56134 · 29 sections
- § 56100 (a) Except as otherwise provided in Section 56036.5 and subdivision (b) of Section 56036.6, this division provides the sole and exclusive authority and…
- § 56100.1 (a) Contributions and expenditures for political purposes related to a proposal or proceeding shall be disclosed and reported pursuant to Article 2.5…
- § 56102 For the purpose of any action to determine or contest the validity of any change of organization or reorganization, the change of organization or…
- § 56103 An action to determine the validity of any change of organization, reorganization, or sphere of influence determination completed pursuant to this division…
- § 56103.5 Any action brought in the superior court relating to this division may be subject to a mediation proceeding conducted pursuant to Chapter 9.3 (commencing with…
- § 56104 If any provision of this division or the application of any provision of this division in any circumstance or to any person, city, county, district, the state,…
- § 56105 Any protest or objection pertaining to the regularity or sufficiency of any proceedings or commission proceedings shall be in writing, clearly specify the…
- § 56106 Any provisions in this division governing the time within which an official or the commission is to act shall in all instances, except for notice requirements…
- § 56107 (a) This division shall be liberally construed to effectuate its purposes. No change of organization or reorganization ordered under this division and no…
- § 56116 The Legislature declares that the doctrine of automatic merger of a district with a city or the merger by operation of law of a district with a city has no…
- § 56117 A district may be either merged with, or established as, a subsidiary district of a city in the manner provided in this division. A mutual service agreement…
- § 56118 Except for a proposal for the merger of a then existing subsidiary district, any proposal for a merger or establishment of a subsidiary district authorized by…
- § 56119 It is not necessary for the principal act of any district to adopt or incorporate this division by reference and any change of organization or reorganization…
- § 56120 Where the principal act of any parent district provides that the boundaries of the parent district shall be automatically changed in the event of a change in…
- § 56121 No change of organization or reorganization, or any term or condition of a change of organization or reorganization, shall impair the rights of any bondholder…
- § 56122 Section 56886 and any term and condition provided by, or made pursuant to, that section shall be enforceable by, between, among, and against any public agency…
- § 56123 Except as otherwise provided in Section 56124, if a proposed change of organization, reorganization, or determination of a sphere of influence applies to two…
- § 56124 If a proposed change of organization, reorganization, or determination of a sphere of influence applies to two or more affected counties, for purposes of this…
- § 56125 If any reorganization provides for the formation of any new district or districts, the district or districts shall be deemed to have been formed upon…
- § 56126 Upon request by the executive officer or the clerk of any county or district, the assessor of any city, county, or district shall furnish estimated assessed…
- § 56127 If the legislative body of any of the districts, agencies, or authorities enumerated in subdivision (a) of Section 56036.6 desires a determination by the…
- § 56128 (a) Upon presentation of any application filed pursuant to Section 56127, the commission shall determine that the applicant district, agency, or authority is…
- § 56129 (a) If a public utility has been granted a certificate of public convenience and necessity authorizing and requiring it to furnish gas or electric service…
- § 56130 Voter approval within the territory, as required by Section 56129, shall be given at an election. The question submitted at the election shall identify the…
- § 56131 The executive officer shall file with the Public Utilities Commission a certified copy of any proposal for a change of organization or a reorganization which…
- § 56131.5 (a) Upon the filing of an application for the formation of, annexation to, detachment from, consolidation of, or dissolution of a local health care district…
- § 56131.7 Upon the filing of an application for the formation of, consolidation of, or dissolution of a recreation and park district formed pursuant to the Recreation…
- § 56133 (a) A city or district may provide new or extended services by contract or agreement outside its jurisdictional boundary only if it first requests and receives…
- § 56134 (a) (1) For the purposes of this section, “fire protection contract” means a contract or agreement for the exercise of new or extended fire protection services…
CHAPTER 4. Notice §§ 56150–56160 · 11 sections
- § 56150 Unless the provision or context otherwise requires, whenever this division requires notice to be published, posted, or mailed, the notice shall be published,…
- § 56151 Notice authorized or required to be given by publication, posting, or mailing shall be given by the clerk or executive officer and shall contain all matters…
- § 56152 Whenever any notice is required to be given and the duty of giving that notice is not specifically enjoined upon some officer, agency, or person, the clerk or…
- § 56153 Notice required to be published shall be published pursuant to Section 6061 in one or more newspapers of general circulation within each affected county,…
- § 56154 If the published notice is a notice of a hearing, publication of the notice shall be commenced at least 21 days prior to the date specified in the notice for…
- § 56155 Except as otherwise provided in this division, mailed notice shall be sent first class and deposited, postage prepaid, in the United States mails and shall be…
- § 56156 If the mailed notice is notice of a hearing, the notice shall be mailed at least 21 days prior to the date specified in the notice for hearing.
- § 56157 When mailed notice is required to be given to: (a) A county, city, or district, it shall be addressed to the clerk of the county, city, or district. (b) A…
- § 56158 Notice required to be posted shall be posted on or near the doors of the meeting room of the legislative body or commission or upon any official bulletin board…
- § 56159 Posted notice shall remain posted for not less than five days. If the posted notice is notice of a hearing, posting shall be commenced at least 21 days prior…
- § 56160 The failure of any person or entity to receive notice given pursuant to this division shall not constitute grounds for any court to invalidate any action taken…