Article 2.2. District Board Of Directors of California Public Utilities Code >> Division 10. >> Part 2. >> Chapter 3. >> Article 2.2.

On and after November 29, 1974, the governing body of the district shall be a board of directors consisting of nine members elected by election districts, except as provided in Section 28752.6. The nine election districts shall be established within the district as provided in this article by resolution adopted by the board.

The board, in dividing the district into election districts, shall establish and define the boundaries of the nine election districts within the territory of the district, and shall number the election districts from 1 to 9, inclusive. The boundaries of the election districts shall be defined so that the districts shall be as nearly equal in population as practicable, considering the factors specified in Section 28745.6.

In establishing the election districts, consideration shall be given to the following factors:
  (a) Community of interest of the population within an election district.
  (b) Cohesiveness, contiguity, integrity, and compactness of territory.
  (c) Topography.
  (d) Geography. Boundaries of the election districts need not conform to the boundaries of counties, cities, cities and counties, or districts, or of wards or election districts established for the nomination or election of any officers thereof, or of Assembly, Senate, or congressional districts.

The establishment of election districts shall be made on the basis of the population in the district as shown or estimated from the most recent of any of the following: the last federal decennial census; any census of a county, taken as provided in Section 26203 of the Government Code, or census of a city, taken as provided in Chapter 17 (commencing with Section 40200), Part 2, Division 3, Title 4 of the Government Code; any census or population estimate of a city or of a city and county, taken or made as provided in Section 2107.1 or 2107.2 of the Streets and Highways Code; or population estimates contained in any official document prepared by the Department of Finance and issued to the public.

The resolution establishing the election districts shall describe the boundaries of the election districts by reference to a map or maps on file with the district secretary. Immediately upon adoption of the resolution, the secretary shall file a certified copy of the map or maps describing all nine election districts with the Secretary of State and with the county elections official of each county with territory within the boundaries of the district.

All cities, counties, and cities and counties within the district shall provide such information, services, and facilities as may be required in apportioning the district into the nine election districts.

Until the election and qualification of the first elected board, the members of the board in office on January 1, 1974, shall remain in office, shall receive the compensation and expenses prescribed in this part for the office, and shall be the governing body of the district. The term of office of the nonelected board shall end at noon on November 29, 1974.

A general district election for the election of directors whose terms are to expire in that year shall be held and conducted on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November of each even-numbered year and shall be consolidated, where possible, with the general election held on that date.

Except as otherwise provided in this article, candidates for the board shall be nominated, the election held and conducted, and the ballots canvassed in accordance with the provisions of the Uniform District Election Law.

Each candidate for the board shall file a declaration of candidacy in the form and manner prescribed in the Uniform District Election Law (Part 4 (commencing with Section 10500) of Division 10 of the Elections Code) with the county elections official of the county in which the candidate resides. Candidates for the board shall be residents and voters of the district and of the geographical area making up the election district from which they are to be elected.

A candidate for election from any of the election districts shall be nominated and elected by the voters residing within the election district from which he is elected.

The county elections official of each county within the boundaries of the district shall conduct the election and canvass the returns for those election districts or portions of election districts which are within the county of his or her jurisdiction as county elections official. After the official canvass has been taken, the county elections official shall report the returns, by election district number, to the board. The board shall declare the results of the election. The secretary of the district shall issue certificates of election, signed by him or her and duly authenticated, to each candidate declared elected, immediately following determination of the results of the election by the board.

Members of the board shall be residents and voters of the district and of the geographical area making up the election district from which they are elected. The office shall be deemed to be vacant if a member ceases to meet these requirements.

The candidate from each election district receiving the highest number of votes cast for the board in that election district shall be declared elected.

If a tie vote makes it impossible to determine which of two or more candidates has been elected, the existing board shall resolve the tie by lot and declare the results thereof as provided in Section 10551 of the Elections Code.

Each member of the first elected board shall take office at noon on November 29, 1974. The term of office of the elected directors shall be four years, except that the term of office of the first elected board shall be either two years or four years. At the first regular meeting of the first elected board, the board shall determine, by lot, whether the directors elected from the even- or odd-numbered election districts shall have terms of office expiring at noon on the last Friday in November 1976 or November 1978, as the case may be.

Until November 29, 1974, any vacancy on the board shall be filled for the remainder of the unexpired term in the same manner as the vacating member was appointed. Thereafter, any vacancy on the board shall be filled by appointment for the remainder of the unexpired term by the remaining members of the board. Any person so appointed shall meet the requirements set forth in Section 28747.6.

(a) The board may by ordinance or resolution provide that each director shall be paid a sum that shall not exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000) for each calendar month that he or she serves as a director. The board may, by ordinance or resolution, provide for an adjustment to the monthly compensation based upon the percentage increase in the California Consumer Price Index, as calculated by the Department of Finance, for each calendar year following the operative date of the last adjustment. The adjustment shall not become effective until the next regular election of the directors following the adoption of the ordinance or resolution.
  (b) The ordinance or resolution to authorize a monthly stipend pursuant to subdivision (a), in lieu of per-meeting compensation, shall include a requirement that a member can receive a monthly stipend for a given month only if he or she attends all scheduled and noticed regular board meetings for that month. For those members meeting this attendance requirement, the amount of one hundred dollars ($100) shall be deducted from the stipend for failure to attend each meeting of a committee on which he or she serves that month. In any month that a member fails to meet these attendance requirements, that member may be compensated at the rate of one hundred dollars ($100) per board or committee meeting attended, not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500) for that month.
  (c) For the purpose of this section, a member who misses a scheduled and noticed meeting of the board or a committee while attending to official district business pursuant to authorization shall be construed as having attended the meeting.
  (d) The ordinance or resolution may provide for not more than two excused absences during a calendar year without disqualifying the member for a monthly stipend.
  (e) In addition to the compensation otherwise provided for in this section, each director may be allowed necessary traveling and personal expenses incurred solely as a result of the performance of his or her duties, in amounts as may be authorized by the board. Reimbursement for these expenses is subject to Sections 53232.2 and 53232.3 of the Government Code.