Article 2. Initiation Of Proceedings of California Government Code >> Division 1. >> Title 3. >> Chapter 3. >> Article 2.

Proceedings for the creation of a proposed county shall be initiated by petition. Any such petition shall contain the following:
  (a) An accurate description of the boundaries of the proposed county.
  (b) A statement that such boundaries do not pass through or divide the territory of any incorporated city other than a city with a population greater than that of the proposed new county.
  (c) A statement of the population of the proposed county, as near as may be determined.
  (d) A statement of the population which will remain in the affected county or counties if the territory of the proposed county is detached therefrom, as near as may be determined.
  (e) A statement of the area in square miles which will remain in the affected county or counties if the territory of the proposed county is detached therefrom.
  (f) The name of the proposed county.
  (g) The name of the affected county or counties.
  (h) A request that proceedings for creation of the proposed county be initiated.

(a) Where the population of the proposed county is less than 5 percent of the total population of the affected counties, a petition initiating proceedings shall be signed by qualified electors residing within the territory of the proposed county as described in the petition equaling in number not less than 25 percent of the number of electors of the territory of the proposed county registered within the territory on the date of the last preceding gubernatorial election and by not less than 10 percent of the electors registered within the balance of the affected counties on the date of the last preceding gubernatorial election.
  (b) Where the population of the proposed county is 5 percent or more of the total population of the affected counties, a petition initiating proceedings shall be signed by qualified electors residing within the territory of the proposed county as described in the petition equaling in number not less than 25 percent of the number of electors of the territory of the proposed county registered within the territory on the date of the last preceding gubernatorial election. Each elector, after signing a petition, shall add the name of the county in which the elector resides, the elector's place of residence, giving a street and number or a designation sufficient to enable the place of residence to be readily ascertained, and the date the elector signed the petition.

A petition may consist of a single instrument or several counterparts.

A petition may designate not more than three persons as chief petitioners setting forth their names and mailing addresses.

(a) Before circulating any petition pursuant to this article, the proponents shall file with the clerk as provided in Section 23325, a notice of intention to do so. The notice shall be accompanied by a printed statement not exceeding 500 words in length, stating the objectives to be achieved by creating the new county. The notice shall also specify the date of a public hearing, which shall be set not less than 30 days nor more than 60 days after filing of the notice, to be held in an appropriate place, as determined by the clerk of the county from which the new county is to be formed or the clerk of the principal county, as the case may be, for purposes of discussing the placement of the boundaries of the proposed county.
  (b) The notice of intention required pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be published by the clerk at least once in a newspaper of general circulation in each affected county. It shall also be posted by the clerk in such appropriate public places as determined by the clerk.
  (c) The clerk shall also act as an impartial moderator of the public hearing required by this section.
  (d) No petition shall be accepted for filing pursuant to this article unless the signatures thereon shall have been secured within six months of the date on which the first signature on the petition was affixed and such petition is submitted for filing as provided in Section 23325 within 60 days after the last signature is affixed. If the time between the date on which the last signature is affixed and the date on which the petition is submitted for filing exceeds 60 days, or, if any signature on the petition has been secured more than six months from the date on which the first signature was affixed, the petition shall be considered insufficient and shall be filed by the clerk as a public record without prejudice to the filing of a new petition.
  (e) No petition shall be circulated pursuant to this article until 60 days after the filing of the notice of intention pursuant to this section.

All petitions shall be filed with (a) the clerk of the county from which the new county is to be formed if it is to be formed from but one county, or (b) the clerk of the principal county if it is to be formed from portions of two or more counties. All counterparts of a petition shall be filed at the same time.

Within 30 days after the date of filing of a petition, the clerk of the principal county shall examine the petition and determine whether it is signed by the requisite number of signers. When the clerk has completed his examination, he shall certify the results of his examination.

If the clerk certifies a petition to be insufficient he shall give mailed notice thereof to each of the chief petitioners, if any, and file the petition as a public record without prejudice to the filing of a new petition.

If the clerk certifies a petition to be sufficient, he shall immediately transmit a copy of his certification to the board of supervisors of each affected county and to each of the chief petitioners, if any.

In certifying the sufficiency of a petition, the clerk shall compare the name of each person signing the petition with the registration records of the county in which the person signing the petition resides.

Upon certification of a petition, the board of the principal county shall forthwith transmit a copy of the petition certification to the Governor.

No person shall file a petition pursuant to this article within five years of the date of certification, pursuant to Section 23328, of a prior petition which included in its description of boundaries for the proposed county any territory which is the subject of the new petition. The provisions of this section shall not apply to any new petition where the population of any affected county exceeds 5,000,000; however, the provisions of Section 23373 shall be applicable to such a new petition.