CALIFORNIA CONSTITUTION
ARTICLE 11 LOCAL GOVERNMENT
SEC. 3. (a) For its own government, a county or city may adopt a charter by majority vote of its electors voting on the question. The
charter is effective when filed with the Secretary of State. A charter may be amended, revised, or repealed in the same manner. A
charter, amendment, revision, or repeal thereof shall be published in the official state statutes. County charters adopted pursuant to
this section shall supersede any existing charter and all laws inconsistent therewith. The provisions of a charter are the law of
the State and have the force and effect of legislative enactments.
(b) The governing body or charter commission of a county or city may propose a charter or revision. Amendment or repeal may be
proposed by initiative or by the governing body.
(c) An election to determine whether to draft or revise a charter and elect a charter commission may be required by initiative or by
the governing body.
(d) If provisions of 2 or more measures [charters] approved at the same election conflict, those of the measure receiving the highest
affirmative vote shall prevail.
CA Government Code
34453. At an election the voters shall vote first on the question "Shall a charter commission be elected to propose a new charter?" and, secondly, for the candidates of the office of charter commissioner. If the first question receives a majority of the votes of the qualified voters voting thereon at the election, the 15 candidates for the office of charter commissioner receiving the highest number of votes shall forthwith organize as a charter commission. However, if the first question receives less than a majority of the votes of the qualified voters voting thereon at the election no charter commission shall be deemed to have been elected.
CALIFORNIA CONSTITUTION
ARTICLE 11 LOCAL GOVERNMENT
SEC. 6. (a) A county and all cities within it may consolidate as a charter city and county as provided by statute.
(b) A charter city and county is a charter city and a charter county. Its charter city powers supersede conflicting charter county powers.
GOVERNMENT CODE
SECTION 23700-23714
23700. Counties may enact charters or revise existing charters according to the provisions of this chapter.
23701. Proceedings to enact or revise a charter may be initiated by ordinance, adopted by a majority vote of the members of the governing body of each county. The ordinance shall declare that the public interest requires the election of a charter commission composed of 15 qualified electors of the county, to be elected by the qualified electors of the county, at a general or special election.
Proceedings to enact or revise a charter may also be initiated by a petition of qualified electors of the county as provided in this chapter.
23702. Petitions to propose or revise a charter shall be subject to Article 1 (commencing with Section 9100) of Chapter 2 of Division 9 of the Elections Code.*
23705. Upon the adoption of such ordinance, or the presentation of such petition, the governing body shall order the holding of a special election for the purpose of electing a charter commission, which special election shall be held on the next established election date not less than 88 days after the adoption of the ordinance or the presentation of the petition to the governing body.
23706. Candidates for election as members of the charter commission shall be nominated substantially in the same manner provided by general law for the nomination of candidates for county offices.
23707. At such election the electors shall vote first on the question "Shall a charter commission be elected to propose or revise a charter?" and secondly, for the candidates for the office of charter commissioner. If the first question receives a majority of the votes of the qualified voters voting at such election, the 15 candidates for the office of charter commissioner receiving the highest number of votes shall forthwith organize as a charter commission, but if the first question receives less than a majority of the votes of the qualified voters voting at such election, no charter commission shall be deemed to have been elected.
23708. It shall be the duty of the charter commission to prepare and propose a charter or revised charter for the county, which shall be signed in duplicate by the members of the charter commission, or a majority of them, and be filed, one copy in the office of the county clerk and the other in the office of the county recorder.
23709. The county elections official shall cause the complete text of the proposed charter or revised charter to be printed. A copy of the proposed charter shall be made available to any voter upon request.
The impartial analysis prepared pursuant to Section 9160 of the Elections Code shall include a statement notifying voters that they may call the elections official's office and request that a copy of the proposed or revised charter be mailed to them at no cost.
23710. The proposed charter or revised charter shall be submitted by the governing body to the eligible registered voters of the county at a special election held on the next established election date not less than 88 days after the completion of the publication, or posting provided for in Section 23709.
23711. As an alternative to the procedure provided for in Sections 23700 through 23710 of this article, the governing body of any county, on its own motion may propose or cause to be proposed or revise or cause to be revised, a proposed charter and submit the proposal for adoption to the voters at either a special election called for that purpose or at any general or special election. Any charter so submitted shall be advertised in the same manner as provided for the advertisement of a charter proposed by a charter commission; and the election on such charter shall be held on the next established election date not less than 88 days after the completion of the advertising in the official paper.
23712. If the electors, voting at a general or special election, shall vote in favor of the charter proposed or revised by a charter commission or the governing body of a county, it shall be deemed to be ratified, but shall not take effect until accepted and filed by the Secretary of State pursuant to the provisions of Section 23713.
23713. Two copies of the complete text of a charter proposal or of any revised, amended, or repealed section ratified by the electors of a county shall be certified and authenticated by the chairperson and clerk of the governing body and attested by the county elections official, setting forth the submission of the charter to the electors of the county, and its ratification by them. One copy shall be recorded in the office of the recorder of the county and then shall be filed in the office of the county elections official.
The county elections official shall file the second copy with the Secretary of State along with the following:
(a) Certified copies of all publications and notices required of the county by this chapter or by the laws of this state in connection with an election to propose or revise a county charter.
(b) Certified copies of any arguments for or against the charter proposal or revision that were mailed to voters pursuant to Sections 9162 and 13303 of the Elections Code.
(c) A certified abstract of the vote at the election at which the charter proposal or revision was approved by the voters.
23714. A charter proposal or revision ratified by the voters of a county and submitted to the Secretary of State in compliance with the provisions of this chapter shall be accepted and filed by the Secretary of State. The charter shall be published in the statutes in a charter chapter series under the designation "Statutes of ____ (year), Charter Chapter ____." Under the chapter number, the date of the ratification election and the date of filing with the Secretary of State shall be indicated.
A charter accepted and filed by the Secretary of State shall be the charter of such county and shall become the organic law thereof relative to the matters provided therein, and supersede any existing charter, and shall supersede all laws inconsistent with such charter relative to the matters provided in such charter.
* Article 1 (commencing with Section 9100) of Chapter 2 of Division 9 of the Elections Code.
County Elections: Section 1, The Initiative:
9100. In addition to any other method provided by law, ordinances may be enacted by any county pursuant to this article.
9101. Any proposed ordinance may be submitted to the board of supervisors by filing an initiative petition with the county elections official, signed by not less than the number of voters specified in this article.
Each petition section shall comply with Sections 100 and 9020 and contain a full and correct copy of the notice of intention and accompanying statement including the full text of the proposed ordinance.
9102. Any proposal to enact, amend, or otherwise revise a county charter by initiative petition may be submitted to the board of supervisors and shall be subject to this article. However, nothing in this article shall be construed to allow a board of supervisors to enact, amend, or otherwise revise a county charter without submitting the proposal to the voters.
9103. (a) Before circulating any initiative petition in a county, or any petition relating to the annexation of territory by a county, the consolidation of counties, or the dissolution of a county, its proponents shall file with the county elections official a notice of intention to do so. The notice shall include the names and business or residence addresses of at least one but not more than five proponents of the petition, and shall be accompanied by the written text of the initiative and a request that a ballot title and summary be prepared.
(b) Any person filing a notice of intent with the county elections official shall pay a fee to be established by the board of supervisors not to exceed two hundred dollars ($200) to be refunded to the filer if, within one year of the date of filing the notice of intent, the county elections official certifies the sufficiency of the petition.
9103.5. From the time materials pertaining to an initiative petition are filed pursuant to Section 9103 until the day after the county elections official determines that the initiative petition does not contain the minimum number of signatures required, the day after the election at which the initiative measure is put before the voters, or the day after the proposed ordinance is adopted by the board of supervisors after being submitted to the board of supervisors pursuant to Section 9101, as applicable, the county elections official shall do both of the following:
(a) Keep on file at his or her office the notice of intention, written text of the initiative, and request for a ballot title and summary that the proponents of the initiative measure filed with the county elections official pursuant to Section 9103.
(b) Furnish copies of the materials he or she is required to keep on file pursuant to subdivision (a) to any person upon request. The county elections official may charge a fee to a person obtaining copies pursuant to this subdivision. The fee may not exceed the actual cost incurred by the county elections official in providing the copies.
9104. The notice of intention shall contain the printed name, signature, and business or residence address of at least one but not more than five proponents, and may include a printed statement, not exceeding 500 words in length, stating the reasons for the proposed petition. The notice shall be in substantially the following form:
Notice of Intention to Circulate Petition
Notice is hereby given by the persons whose names appear hereon of their intention to circulate the petition within the County of ____ for the purpose of ____. A statement of the reasons of the proposed action as contemplated in the petition is as follows: (optional statement).
9105. (a) The county elections official shall immediately transmit a copy of any proposed measure to the county counsel. Within 15 days after the proposed measure is filed, the county counsel shall provide and return to the county elections official a ballot title and summary for the proposed measure. The ballot title may differ from any other title of the proposed measure and shall express in 500 words or less the purpose of the proposed measure. In providing the ballot title, the county counsel shall give a true and impartial statement of the purpose of the proposed measure in such language that the ballot title shall neither be an argument, nor be likely to create prejudice, for or against the proposed measure.
(b) The county elections official shall furnish a copy of the ballot title and summary to the proponents of the proposed measure. The proponents shall, prior to the circulation of the petition, publish the Notice of Intention, and the ballot title and summary of the proposed measure in a newspaper of general circulation published in that county, and file proof of publication with the county elections official.
(c) The ballot title and summary prepared by the county counsel shall appear upon each section of the petition, above the text of the proposed measure and across the top of each page of the petition on which signatures are to appear, in roman boldface type not smaller than 12 point. The ballot title and summary shall be clearly separated from the text of the measure. The text of the measure shall be printed in type not smaller than 8 point.
The heading of the proposed measure shall be in substantially the following form:
Initiative Measure to be Submitted Directly to the Voters
The county counsel has prepared the following title and summary of the chief purpose and points of the proposed measure:
(Here set forth the title and summary prepared by the county counsel. This title and summary must also be printed across the top of each page of the petition whereon signatures are to appear.)
9106. Any elector of the county may seek a writ of mandate requiring the ballot title or summary prepared by the county counsel to be amended. The court shall expedite hearing on the writ. A peremptory writ of mandate shall be issued only upon clear and convincing proof that the ballot title or summary is false, misleading, or inconsistent with the requirements of Section 9105.
9107. The county elections official shall ascertain the number of signatures required to sign the petition by obtaining the number of votes cast within the county for all candidates for Governor at the last gubernatorial election preceding the publication of the notice of intention to circulate the initiative petition.
9108. The proponents may commence to circulate the petitions among the voters of the county for signatures by any registered voter of
the county after publication of the title and summary prepared by the county counsel. Each section of the petition shall bear a copy of the notice of intention, and the title and summary prepared by the county counsel.
9109. Each petition section shall have attached to it an affidavit to be completed by the circulator. The affidavit shall be substantially in the same form as set forth in Section 104.
9110. Signatures shall be secured and the petition shall be presented to the county elections official for filing within 180 days from the date of receipt of the title and summary, or after termination of any action for a writ of mandate pursuant to Section 9106 and, if applicable, after receipt of an amended title or summary or both, whichever occurs later.
9111. (a) During the circulation of the petition or before taking either action described in subdivisions (a) and (b) of Section 9116, or Section 9118, the board of supervisors may refer the proposed initiative measure to any county agency or agencies for a report on any or all of the following:
(1) Its fiscal impact.
(2) Its effect on the internal consistency of the county's general and specific plans, including the housing element, the consistency between planning and zoning, and the limitations on county actions under Section 65008 of the Government Code and Chapters 4.2 (commencing with Section 65913) and 4.3 (commencing with Section 65915) of Division 1 of Title 7 of the Government Code.
(3) Its effect on the use of land, the impact on the availability and location of housing, and the ability of the county to meet its regional housing needs.
(4) Its impact on funding for infrastructure of all types, including, but not limited to, transportation, schools, parks, and open space. The report may also discuss whether the measure would be likely to result in increased infrastructure costs or savings, including the costs of infrastructure maintenance, to current residents and businesses.
(5) Its impact on the community's ability to attract and retain business and employment.
(6) Its impact on the uses of vacant parcels of land.
(7) Its impact on agricultural lands, open space, traffic congestion, existing business districts, and developed areas designated for revitalization.
(8) Any other matters the board of supervisors request to be in the report.
(b) The report shall be presented to the board of supervisors within the time prescribed by the board of supervisors, but no later than 30 days after the county elections official certifies to the board of supervisors the sufficiency of the petition.
9112. On or before April 1 of each odd-numbered year, the county elections official of each county shall file a report with the Secretary of State containing the following information:
(a) The number of county initiative petitions circulated during the preceding two calendar years that did not qualify for the ballot, and the number of these proposed initiatives for which reports were prepared pursuant to Section 9111.
(b) With respect to county initiative measures that qualified for the ballot in the preceding two calendar years, the number that were approved by the voters, and the number of these ballot measures for which reports were prepared pursuant to Section 9111.
(c) With respect to county initiative measures that qualified for the ballot in the preceding two calendar years, the number which were not approved by the voters, and the number of these ballot measures for which reports were prepared pursuant to Section 9111.
9113. The petition shall be filed by the proponents, or by any person or persons authorized in writing by the proponents. All sections of the petition shall be filed at one time. Any sections of the petition not so filed shall be void for all purposes. Once filed, no petition section shall be amended except by order of a court of competent jurisdiction.
When the petition is filed, the county elections official shall determine the total number of signatures affixed to the petition. If, from this examination, the county elections official determines that the number of signatures, prima facie, equals or is in excess of the minimum number of signatures required, the county elections official shall examine the petition in accordance with Section 9114 or 9115. If, from this examination, the county elections official determines that the number of signatures, prima facie, does not equal or exceed the minimum number of signatures required, no further action shall be taken.
9114. Except as provided in Section 9115, within 30 days from the date of filing of the petition, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays, the elections official shall examine the petition, and from the records of registration ascertain whether or not the petition is signed by the requisite number of voters. A certificate showing the results of this examination shall be attached to the petition.
In determining the number of valid signatures, the elections official may use the duplicate file of affidavits maintained, or may check the signatures against facsimiles of voters' signatures, provided that the method of preparing and displaying the facsimiles complies with law.
The elections official shall notify the proponents of the petition as to the sufficiency or insufficiency of the petition.
If the petition is found insufficient, no further action shall be taken. However, the failure to secure sufficient signatures, shall not preclude the filing of a new petition on the same subject, at a later date.
If the petition is found sufficient, the elections official shall certify the results of the examination to the board of supervisors at the next regular meeting of the board.
9115. (a) Within 30 days from the date of filing of the petition, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays, if, from the examination of petitions pursuant to Section 9114 shows that more than 500 signatures have been signed on the petition, the elections official may use a random sampling technique for verification of signatures. The random sample of signatures to be verified shall be drawn so that every signature filed with the elections official shall be given an equal opportunity to be included in the sample. The random sampling shall include an examination of at least 500, or 3 percent of the signatures, whichever is greater.
(b) If the statistical sampling shows that the number of valid signatures is within 95 to 110 percent of the number of signatures of qualified voters needed to declare the petition sufficient, the elections official shall, within 60 days from the date of the filing of the petition, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays, examine and verify the signatures filed. If the elections official determines, prior to completing the examination of each signature filed, that the petition is signed by the requisite number of qualified voters to declare the petition sufficient, the elections official may terminate the verification of the remaining unverified signatures.
(c) In determining from the records of registration, what number of valid signatures are signed on the petition, the elections official may use the duplicate file of affidavits maintained, or may check the signatures against facsimiles of voters' signatures, provided that the method of preparing and displaying the facsimiles complies with law.
(d) The elections official shall attach to the petition a certificate showing the result of this examination and shall notify the proponents of either the sufficiency or insufficiency of the petition.
(e) If the petition is found insufficient, no action shall be taken on the petition. However, the failure to secure sufficient signatures shall not preclude the filing later of an entirely new petition to the same effect.
(f) If the petition is found to be sufficient, the elections official shall certify the results of the examination to the board of supervisors at the next regular meeting of the board.
9116. If the initiative petition is signed by voters not less in number than 20 percent of the entire vote cast within the county for all candidates for Governor at the last gubernatorial election preceding the publication of the notice of intention to circulate an initiative petition, and contains a request that the ordinance be submitted immediately to a vote of the people at a special election, the board of supervisors shall do one of the following:
(a) Adopt the ordinance without alteration either at the regular meeting at which the certification of the petition is presented, or within 10 days after it is presented.
(b) Immediately call a special election pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 1405, at which the ordinance, without alteration, shall be submitted to a vote of the voters of the county.
(c) Order a report pursuant to Section 9111 at the regular meeting at which the certification of the petition is presented. When the report is presented to the board of supervisors, it shall either adopt the ordinance within 10 days or order an election pursuant to subdivision (b).
9118. If the initiative petition is signed by voters not less in number than 10 percent of the entire vote cast in the county for all candidates for Governor at the last gubernatorial election preceding the publication of the notice of intention to circulate an initiative petition, the board of supervisors shall do one of the following:
(a) Adopt the ordinance without alteration at the regular meeting at which the certification of the petition is presented, or within 10 days after it is presented.
(b) Submit the ordinance, without alteration, to the voters pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 1405, unless the ordinance petitioned for is required to be, or for some reason is, submitted to the voters at a special election pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 1405.
(c) Order a report pursuant to Section 9111 at the regular meeting at which the certification of the petition is presented. When the report is presented to the board of supervisors, it shall either adopt the ordinance within 10 days or order an election pursuant to subdivision (b).
9119. Whenever any ordinance is required by this article to be submitted to the voters of a county at any election, the county elections official shall cause the ordinance to be printed. A copy of the ordinance [charter] shall be made available to any voter upon request.
9120. Article 3 (commencing with Section 9160) shall govern the procedures for submitting arguments for county initiatives.
9121. Any number of proposed ordinances may be voted upon at the same election.
9122. If a majority of the voters voting on a proposed ordinance vote in its favor, the ordinance shall become a valid and binding ordinance of the county. The ordinance shall be considered as adopted upon the date the vote is declared by the board of supervisors, and shall go into effect 10 days after that date.
9123. If the provisions of two or more ordinances adopted at the same election conflict, the ordinance receiving the highest number of affirmative votes shall control.
9124. The enacting clause of an ordinance submitted to the voters of a county shall be substantially in the following form: "The people of the County of ____ ordain as follows:"
9125. No ordinance proposed by initiative petition and adopted either by the board of supervisors without submission to the voters or adopted by the voters shall be repealed or amended except by a vote of the people, unless provision is otherwise made in the original ordinance. In all other respects, an ordinance proposed by initiative petition and adopted shall have the same force and effect as any ordinance adopted by the board of supervisors.
9126. This article does not apply to any statewide initiative measure.
