Chapter 8.5. Public Guardian of California Government Code >> Division 2. >> Title 3. >> Part 3. >> Chapter 8.5.

(a) In any county the board of supervisors may by ordinance create the office of public guardian and subordinate positions which may be necessary and fix compensation therefor.
  (b) The board of supervisors may by ordinance terminate the office of public guardian.

(a) The board of supervisors may appoint a public guardian to fill the office and provide for appointment to the subordinate positions.
  (b) In appointing the public guardian, the board of supervisors may give preference to the person or agency providing public guardian services in each county. No person or agency shall be designated as public guardian whose agency functions present real conflict with the functions of conservatorship investigation or administration.

(a) The board of supervisors may by ordinance designate that the public administrator is ex officio public guardian.
  (b) If the board of supervisors has not designated the public administrator as ex officio public guardian, but has appointed another public guardian, it may terminate the appointment and may by ordinance designate that the public administrator is ex officio public guardian and all authority vests in the successor.
  (c) If the public administrator has been designated ex officio public guardian, the board of supervisors may by ordinance terminate the designation and appoint another public guardian and all authority vests in the successor.

The authority of the public guardian or ex officio public guardian ceases upon the termination of his or her tenure in office as public guardian or ex officio public guardian and his or her authority vests in his or her successor. If letters have been issued to "the public guardian" of the county, the letters are sufficient to authorize action by the successor and new letters need not be issued.

The public guardian shall give an official bond in an amount fixed, from time to time, by the board of supervisors. The bond shall be for the joint benefit of the guardianship or conservatorship estates and the county. The public guardian may not be required to give a bond in an individual estate.

(a) Necessary expenses of the public guardian in the conduct of any guardianship or any conservatorship estate may be advanced by the county. If so ordered by the board of supervisors, those expenses are a county charge, but the county shall be reimbursed therefor out of funds or property of the estate by the public guardian as soon as, and to the extent that, funds or property become available.
  (b) As a means of advancing necessary expenses of a public guardian, the county board of supervisors may establish a revolving fund to be used by the public guardian. The revolving fund shall be established pursuant to Article 7 (commencing with Section 29460) of Chapter 2 of Division 3 of Title 3.

The board of supervisors may designate who shall be authorized as public representative payee, and designate the public guardian to collect any fees authorized by the board of supervisors for public representative payee services.