Chapter 1. General of California Government Code >> Division 1. >> Title 3. >> Chapter 1.

A county is the largest political division of the State having corporate powers.

The State is divided into counties, named, bounded, and constituted as provided in this title.

The several existing counties of the State and such other counties as are hereafter organized are legal subdivisions of the State.

A county is a body corporate and politic, has the powers specified in this title and such others necessarily implied from those expressed.

A county may:
  (a) Sue and be sued.
  (b) Purchase, receive by gift or bequest, and hold land within its limits, or elsewhere when permitted by law.
  (c) Make contracts and purchase and hold personal property necessary to the exercise of its powers.
  (d) Manage, sell, lease, or otherwise dispose of its property as the interests of its inhabitants require.
  (e) Levy and collect taxes authorized by law.

(a) Subject to the provisions of Section 23004.3, in any case in which the county is authorized or required by law to furnish hospital, medical, surgical, or dental care and treatment, including prostheses and medical appliances, to a person who is injured or suffers a disease, under circumstances creating a tort liability upon some third person to pay damages therefor, the county shall have a right to recover from said third person the reasonable value of the care and treatment so furnished or to be furnished, or shall, as to this right, be subrogated to any right or claim that the injured or diseased person, his guardian, personal representative, estate, or survivors has against such third person to the extent of the reasonable value of the care and treatment so furnished or to be furnished.
  (b) The county may, to enforce such rights, institute and prosecute legal proceedings against the third person who is liable for the injury or disease in the appropriate court, either in its own name or in the name of the injured person, his guardian, personal representative, estate, or survivors. Such action shall be commenced within the period prescribed in Section 340 of the Code of Civil Procedure. In the event that the injured person, his guardian, personal representative, estate, survivors, or either of them brings an action for damages against the third person who is liable for the injury or disease, the county's right of action shall abate during the pendency of such action, and continue as a first lien against any judgment recovered by the injured or diseased person, his guardian, personal representative, estate, or survivors, against the third person who is liable for the injury or disease, to the extent of the reasonable value of the care and treatment so furnished or to be furnished. When the third person who is liable is insured, the county shall notify the third person's insurer, when known to the county, in writing of the lien within 30 days following the filing of the action by the injured or diseased person, his guardian, personal representative, estate, or survivors, against the third person who is liable for the injury or disease; provided, however, that failure to so notify the insurer shall not prejudice the claim or cause of action of the injured or diseased person, his guardian, personal representative, estate, or survivors, or the county.

(a) The county may (1) compromise, or settle and execute a release of, any claim which the county has by virtue of the rights established by Section 23004.1; or (2) waive any such claim, in whole or in part, for the convenience of the county, or if the governing body of the county determines that collection would result in undue hardship upon the person who suffered the injury or disease resulting in care or treatment described in Section 23004.1.
  (b) No action taken by the county in connection with the rights afforded under Section 23004.1 or this section shall be a bar to any action upon the claim or cause of action of the injured or diseased person, his guardian, personal representative, estate, or survivors against the third person who is liable for the injury or disease, or shall operate to deny to the injured person the recovery for that portion of his damage not covered hereunder.

Sections 23004.1 and 23004.2 shall become operative in a county only if the board of supervisors of that county, by resolution, elects to be governed by the provisions of such sections.

A county may provide insurance coverage for persons operating foster home facilities licensed pursuant to Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 16000) of Part 4 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code against any third-party liability for injuries or damages resulting from the acts or omissions of any child placed in such facility by the county.

Health care facilities, including, but not limited to, hospitals and clinics licensed under Division 2 (commencing with Section 1200) of the Health and Safety Code, that are owned or operated by counties may establish, maintain, and carry on their activities through one or more corporations, joint ventures, or partnerships for the direct benefit of those health care facilities and the health services that they provide. Nothing in this section shall be construed to exempt facilities conducting their activities in accordance with this section from the licensure requirements set forth in Division 2 (commencing with Section 1200) of the Health and Safety Code, when those requirements are applicable. Nothing in this section shall be construed to eliminate the necessity of prior approval by the county's board of supervisors, at a noticed public hearing, of any transfer of the assets of a county health system and the consideration therefor.

A county may exercise its powers only through the board of supervisors or through agents and officers acting under authority of the board or authority conferred by law.

Any contract, authorization, allowance, payment, or liability to pay, made or attempted to be made in violation of law, is void, and shall not be the foundation or basis of a claim against the treasury of any county.

Except as specified in this chapter, a county shall not, in any manner, give or loan its credit to or in aid of any person or corporation. An indebtedness or liability incurred contrary to this chapter is void.

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law:
  (1) A county shall not grant credit for service to an elective officer or member of the board of supervisors for service that the elective officer or member has not performed.
  (2) A county shall not pay contributions for credit for service if an elective officer or member has not performed the service, regardless of the fact that the elective officer or member of the board of supervisors may personally elect to contribute for additional credit for service.
  (b) The prohibition provided by this section does not preclude an elective officer or member of the board of supervisors from choosing to receive credit for service in a retirement system by paying his or her own contributions for that purpose pursuant to the applicable provisions of the retirement system.

Whenever it is economical and satisfactory to do so, a county may lease equipment, perform work, or furnish goods for any district or municipal corporation within the county, if before the work is done or the goods are ordered or furnished by the county, an amount equal to the cost, or an amount 10 percent in excess of the estimated cost, is so reserved from the funds of the district or municipal corporation to be charged that it may be transferred to the county, when the work is completed or the goods are supplied.

In such event, charges for work done or goods supplied may be made by claims and warrants upon the district or municipal corporation or by properly approved bill, in such form and manner as the auditor directs, from the department, division, or account supplying the goods or service to the district or municipal corporation supplied, and payment may be made by transfer of funds upon the books of the auditor and treasurer, on order of the board of supervisors, without the formality of claim and warrant.

(a) Pursuant to a resolution adopted by its board of supervisors, a county may lend any of its available funds to any community services district, county waterworks district, mosquito abatement district, pest abatement district, fire protection district, flood control and water conservation district, recreation and park district, regional park district, regional park and open-space district, regional open-space district, resort improvement district, or public cemetery district located wholly within the county, if its funds are or when available will be in the custody of the county or any officer of the county, in order to enable the district to perform its functions and meet its obligations. The loan shall not exceed 85 percent of the district's anticipated revenue for the fiscal year in which it is made or for the next ensuing fiscal year, and shall be repaid out of that revenue prior to the payment of any other obligation of the district.
  (b) Pursuant to a resolution adopted by its board of supervisors, a county may loan any of its available funds to a special district, in order to enable the district to perform its functions and meet its obligations. The loan shall not exceed 85 percent of the special district's anticipated property tax revenue projected to be generated for the fiscal year in which it is made or for the next ensuing fiscal year within that portion of the district's territory which is located within the county. The loan shall be repaid out of any available revenue of the special district prior to the payment of any other obligation of the district. For purposes of this subdivision, "special district" means a special district, as defined in Section 54775, which is located in more than one county.
  (c) The board of supervisors may borrow funds from the county or from other garbage disposal districts, not to exceed 85 percent of the district's anticipated revenue for the fiscal year in which they are borrowed or for the next ensuing fiscal year. In levying taxes or prescribing and collecting fees or charges as authorized by this division, the board of supervisors may raise sufficient revenues to repay the loans. The board of supervisors may lend available district funds to another garbage disposal district, subject to the terms and conditions set forth in this section. Nothing contained in this section shall prohibit the board of supervisors from borrowing funds from banks or other financial institutions when the best interests of the district are served thereby.
  (d) Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, funds, when borrowed by a garbage disposal district pursuant to subdivision (c), shall forthwith increase the appropriations of the district for which they are needed. The governing body of the entity from which the funds are borrowed may specify the date and manner in which the funds shall be repaid. The loan shall not exceed 85 percent of the district's anticipated revenue for the fiscal year in which it is made or for the next ensuing fiscal year, and shall be repaid out of that revenue prior to the payment of any other obligation of the district.
  (e) The district shall pay interest on all funds borrowed from the county at the same rate that the county applies to funds of the district on deposit with the county.

Pursuant to a resolution adopted by its board of supervisors, a county may lend any of its available funds to any fire protection district located wholly within the county if the funds of the fire protection district are or, when available, will be in the custody of the county treasurer, for the acquisition of real or personal property and the construction of structures needed for district purposes. The board of supervisors in the resolution shall specify the date and manner in which the funds shall be repaid. The resolution may require the repayment of the loan in equal annual installments. The loan shall be repaid within the time specified in the resolution which shall not in any event exceed 10 years.

The board of supervisors may loan to any city within its limits which has been incorporated for less than one year an amount not exceeding eighty-five percent (85%) of the city's anticipated revenues for the fiscal year in which such loan is made. Such loans shall be repaid within the fiscal year in which made.

Upon adoption of an authorizing resolution by the board of supervisors, in connection with the construction of any sanitary sewer, storm sewer, or drainage improvements, a county may expend any of its available funds for any additional cost of construction of any conveyance works in excess of the construction required for the current project, or for a portion of the cost of conveyance works directly benefiting properties in an area outside the area to be served by the current project, if the board of supervisors first finds and declares in that resolution, that there is an area outside the area to be served by the current project which may in the future utilize the conveyance works; that additional construction of conveyance works for the current project is necessary to serve the outside area in the future; and that the board of supervisors will have the right in the future to use, or to permit the use of, the conveyance works and the additional construction which will benefit the outside area. In lieu of a county contribution of funds for additional construction or for a portion of the cost of the conveyance works where an outside area is directly benefited, the board of supervisors may agree to reimburse, from future connection fees, any entity or person described in subdivisions (a) to (g), inclusive. The provisions of this section shall be applicable in cases in which improvements are to be constructed by any of the following:
  (a) A county pursuant to the "The Improvement Act of 1911," Division 7 (commencing with Section 5000) of the Streets and Highways Code.
  (b) A county pursuant to the "Municipal Improvement Act of 1913," Division 12 (commencing with Section 10000) of the Streets and Highways Code.
  (c) A county in any other manner.
  (d) Any district which is governed by the board of supervisors of the county in which the work is to be performed.
  (e) Any district, not governed by the board of supervisors of the county in which the work is to be performed, with which the board of supervisors has contracted so as to assure the right of the county to use the conveyance works and the additional construction, for the future benefit of the outside area.
  (f) Any incorporated city with which the board of supervisors has contracted so as to assure the right of the county to use the conveyance works and the additional construction, for the future benefit of the outside area.
  (g) Any person, if the works when completed are to be dedicated or conveyed to the county or to a district governed by the board of supervisors of the county in which the work is to be performed. The board of supervisors may impose a connection fee upon any person or district in the outside area to be paid to the county as a condition to connecting to any conveyance works which have been augmented by additional construction, or which have been found by the board of supervisors to directly benefit the outside area, pursuant to this section. The connection fee shall be a prorated share of the total cost of the additional construction, or of the portion of the costs of the conveyance works where an outside area is directly benefited. The fee may include a reasonable amount for administrative costs associated with the collection of the fee and to provide reimbursement to an entity or person described in subdivisions (a) to (g), inclusive. In computing the total cost of the additional construction, or of the portion of the costs of the conveyance works where an outside area is directly benefited, the board of supervisors shall include an amount attributable to interest from the date of completion of the construction to the date of connection and, in the event the board of supervisors agrees to reimburse, from future connection fees, any entity or person described in subdivisions (a) to (g), inclusive, all accrued interest shall be payable to that entity or person. This section shall not decrease or limit any other power vested in counties or boards of supervisors.

Upon receipt of an application from the governing body of any school district maintaining a school within a county, requesting to borrow funds from the county for the purpose of removing or replacing asbestos-derived materials used in constructing, insulating, or furnishing one or more of those schools, and declaring the existence of such asbestos-derived material to be potentially detrimental to the health of pupils, teachers, and others using the school, the county board of supervisors may loan, and the school district may borrow, the requested county funds upon such terms and conditions as are mutually agreed upon by the respective governing bodies, provided that the loan shall be repaid only from the school district's deferred maintenance fund established pursuant to Section 39618 of the Education Code.

The name of a county designated in this chapter is its corporate name, and it shall be designated thereby in any action or proceeding touching its corporate rights, property, and duties.

The names of the counties of the State are:

Alameda Marin San Luis Obispo Alpine Mariposa San Mateo Amador Mendocino Santa Barbara Butte Merced Santa Clara Calaveras Modoc Santa Cruz Colusa Mono Shasta Contra Costa Monterey Sierra Del Norte Napa Siskiyou El Dorado Nevada Solano Fresno Orange Sonoma Glenn Placer Stanislaus Humboldt Plumas Sutter Imperial Riverside Tehama Inyo Sacramento Trinity Kern San Benito Tulare Kings San Bernardino Tuolumne Lake San Diego Ventura Lassen San Francisco Yolo Los Angeles San Joaquin Yuba Madera

The board of supervisors of any county may, by resolution, establish a department of corrections, to be headed by an officer appointed by the board, which shall have jurisdiction over all county functions, personnel, and facilities, or so many as the board names in its resolution, relating to institutional punishment, care, treatment, and rehabilitation of prisoners, including, but not limited to, the county jail and industrial farms and road camps, their functions and personnel. The boards of supervisors of two or more counties may, by agreement and the enactment of ordinances in conformity thereto, establish a joint department of corrections to serve all the counties included in the agreement, to be headed by an officer appointed by the boards jointly.

Pursuant to a resolution adopted by its board of supervisors by a four-fifths vote of all of the members of the board of supervisors, a county may appropriate any of its available moneys to a revolving fund not to exceed five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) to be used by any county sanitation district, county flood control district, or county maintenance district, located wholly within the county for the acquisition of real or personal property, environmental impact studies, fiscal analysis, engineering services, or the construction of structures or improvements needed in whole or in part for district purposes. The revolving fund shall be reimbursed from service fees, connection charges, tax revenues or other moneys available to the district, and no sums shall be disbursed from the fund until an agreement with a term not exceeding 10 years has been made between the board of supervisors and the governing board of the district encompassing the method by, and the time within, which the district is to reimburse the fund. Reimbursement of the fund from tax revenue shall not exceed in any one fiscal year an amount equal to one cent ($0.01) on the tax rate or twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000), whichever is less. The district shall reimburse the fund for any amount disbursed to the district within 10 years after disbursement, together with interest at the current rate per annum received on similar types of investments by the county as determined by the county treasurer.

A county may conduct or participate in programs for the training, education or rehabilitation of wards or offenders, including, but not limited to, programs in which state or federal funds are granted or reimbursable. In connection therewith, a county may contract with federal, state or local public agencies, private persons, corporations and other business entities, and may make such expenditures of county funds as may be required for the conduct of, or participation in, such programs.

In order to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 12101 et seq.) and other applicable federal provisions, a county, whether general law or chartered, which provides any emergency services, is encouraged to provide deaf teletype equipment at a central location within the county to relay requests for such emergency services.

In any county which has established a county employees' retirement system pursuant to the County Employees Retirement Law of 1937 (Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 31450) of Part 3 of Division 4), the board of supervisors shall make public, at a regularly scheduled meeting of the board, all salary and benefit increases that affect either or both represented employees and nonrepresented employees. Notice of any salary or benefit increase shall be included on the agenda for the meeting as an item of business in compliance with the requirements of Section 54954.2. Notice shall occur prior to the adoption of the salary or benefit increase, and shall include an explanation of the financial impact that the proposed benefit change or salary increase will have on the funding status of the county employees' retirement system. The board of retirement, or board of investments in a county in which a board of investments has been established pursuant to Section 31520.2, is authorized, consistent with its fiduciary duties, to have an enrolled actuary prepare an estimate of the actuarial impact of the salary or benefit increase. The actuarial data shall be reported to the board of supervisors. Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit or lessen the requirement imposed by Section 7507 that the costs associated with increases in public retirement plan benefits be determined by an enrolled actuary and publicly disclosed two weeks prior to an adoption of the increase in public retirement plan benefits.

The board of supervisors of any county may impose a special tax pursuant to Article 3.5 (commencing with Section 50075) of Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Division 1 of Title 5 and any other procedures as may be applicable. The special taxes shall be applied uniformly to all taxpayers or all real property within the county, or any involved portion thereof, except that unimproved property may be taxed at a lower rate than improved property.