Existing law requires the county board of supervisors, within 15 days after the passage of an ordinance by the board, to publish the ordinance with the names of those members voting for and against the ordinance, in a newspaper published in the county, except as specified. Existing law requires that an ordinance not published, as specified, within this 15-day period is to not take effect until 30 days after the date of its publication. Existing law authorizes a county board of supervisors to meet this publication requirement by publishing a summary of a proposed ordinance or proposed amendment to an existing ordinance, under specified conditions that include, among other requirements, publishing the summary and posting a certified copy of the full text of the proposed ordinance or proposed amendment in the office of the clerk of the board of supervisors at least 5 days prior to the board of supervisors meeting at which the proposed ordinance or amendment is to be adopted.

This bill would modify the requirements for a county board of supervisors to publish a summary of a proposed ordinance or proposed amendment to an existing ordinance to meet the publication requirement for an ordinance to take effect, including, among other new requirements, posting on the countys Internet Web site.

Existing law requires the county board of supervisors, within 15 days after the passage of an ordinance by the board, to publish the ordinance with the names of those members voting for and against the ordinance, in a newspaper published in the county, except as specified. Existing law requires that an ordinance not published, as specified, within this 15-day period is to not take effect until 30 days after the date of its publication. Existing law authorizes a county board of supervisors to meet this publication requirement by publishing a summary of a proposed ordinance or proposed amendment to an existing ordinance, under specified conditions that include, among other requirements, publishing the summary and posting a certified copy of the full text of the proposed ordinance or proposed amendment in the office of the clerk of the board of supervisors at least 5 days prior to the board of supervisors meeting at which the proposed ordinance or amendment is to be adopted.

This bill would modify the requirements for a county board of supervisors to publish a summary of a proposed ordinance or proposed amendment to an existing ordinance to meet the publication requirement for an ordinance to take effect, including, among other new requirements, posting on the countys Internet Web site.

Existing law requires the county board of supervisors, within 15 days after the passage of an ordinance by the board, to publish the ordinance with the names of those members voting for and against the ordinance, in a newspaper published in the county, except as specified. Existing law requires that an ordinance not published, as specified, within this 15-day period is to not take effect until 30 days after the date of its publication. Existing law authorizes a county board of supervisors to meet this publication requirement by publishing a summary of a proposed ordinance or proposed amendment to an existing ordinance, under specified conditions that include, among other requirements, publishing the summary and posting a certified copy of the full text of the proposed ordinance or proposed amendment in the office of the clerk of the board of supervisors at least 5 days prior to the board of supervisors meeting at which the proposed ordinance or amendment is to be adopted.

This bill would modify the requirements for a county board of supervisors to publish a summary of a proposed ordinance or proposed amendment to an existing ordinance to meet the publication requirement for an ordinance to take effect, including, among other new requirements, allowing posting on the countys Internet Web site.

 CONSENT  

Bill No: AB 823

Author: Bigelow (R)

Introduced: 2/26/15

Vote: 21

SENATE GOVERNANCE & FIN. COMMITTEE: 7-0, 6/10/15

AYES: Hertzberg, Nguyen, Beall, Hernandez, Lara, Moorlach, Pavley

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 79-0, 4/16/15 - See last page for vote

SUBJECT: Counties: ordinances

SOURCE: Author

DIGEST: This bill removes a requirement that a copy of the full text of proposed ordinances, proposed amendments to existing ordinances, adopted ordinances and adopted amendments to existing ordinances be posted in the office of the clerk of the board of supervisors.

ANALYSIS:

Existing law:

1. Requires a county board, before the expiration of 15 days after the passage of an ordinance by the board, to publish the ordinance with the names of those members voting for and against the ordinance, in a newspaper published in the county, if there is one. If there is no newspaper published in the county, the ordinance must be posted in a prominent location at the board's chambers within the 15-day period and remain posted thereafter for at least one week.

2. Allows the publication requirement specified above to be satisfied by either of the following procedures:

   1. At least five days prior to the board meeting at which the proposed ordinance or amendment is to be adopted, a summary of the proposed ordinance or proposed amendment to an existing ordinance must be published and a certified copy of the full text of the proposed ordinance or proposed amendment must be posted in the office of the clerk; and,

Within 15 days after the adoption of the ordinance or amendment, the board must publish a summary of the ordinance or amendment with the names of those supervisors voting for and against the ordinance or amendment, and the clerk must post in his or her office a certified copy of the full text of the adopted ordinance or amendment along with the names of those supervisors voting for and against the ordinance or amendment; or,

2. If a county official designated by the board determines that it is not feasible to prepare a fair and adequate summary of the proposed or adopted ordinance or amendment, and if the board so orders, a display advertisement of at least one-quarter of a page in a newspaper of general circulation in the county shall be published at least five days prior to the board meeting at which the proposed ordinance or amendment or alteration thereto is to be adopted; and,

Within 15 days after adoption of the ordinance or amendment, a display advertisement of at least one-quarter of a page shall be published. The advertisement shall indicate the general nature of, and provide information about, the proposed or adopted ordinance or amendment, including information sufficient to enable the public to obtain copies of the complete text of such ordinance or amendment, and the names of those supervisors voting for and against the ordinance or amendment.

3. Provides that, if the clerk fails to publish an ordinance within 15 days after the date of adoption, the ordinance shall not take effect until 30 days after the date of publication.

This bill:

1. Removes a requirement that a copy of the full text of proposed ordinances, proposed amendments to existing ordinances, adopted ordinances and adopted amendments to existing ordinances be posted in the office of the clerk (clerk) of the board of supervisors (board).

2. Requires, instead, a certified copy of the full text of a proposed ordinance or proposed amendment to be made available to the public upon request by the clerk at least five days prior to the board meeting at which the proposed ordinance or amendment or alteration thereto is to be adopted. The clerk also shall either post a copy of the full text of the ordinance or amendment on the county’s Internet Web site or post a certified copy of the full text in the office of the clerk five days prior to the board meeting at which the proposed ordinance or amendment or alteration is to be adopted.

3. Requires, within 15 days after adoption of an ordinance or amendment, the clerk to make available to the public, upon request, a certified copy of the full text of the adopted ordinance or amendment along with the names of those supervisors voting for and against the ordinance or amendment. The clerk shall also either post a copy of the full text of the ordinance or amendment and the names of those supervisors voting for and against the ordinance or amendment on the county’s Internet Web site or shall post in the office of the clerk a certified copy of the full text of the adopted ordinance or amendment along with the vote information specified in this paragraph.

Comment

Purpose of the bill. This bill removes the requirement that a certified copy of the full text of a proposed or adopted ordinance be posted in the clerk's office and, instead, allows counties to choose to post the full text online. AB 823 will eliminate a potentially unnecessary requirement to post the certified copy of full text of proposed ordinances 5 days prior to the vote of the Board of Supervisors and instead requires the county to post the ordinance online or provide a copy of the language of the ordinance upon request. Current law requires clerks to physically post a certified copy of the full text of a proposed ordinance in the office of the clerk 5 days prior to the vote of the Board of Supervisors and also requires the clerk to post a certified copy of the approved ordinance in the office of the clerk after the vote. This bill will benefit taxpayers by reducing the staff time and resources that counties spend on posting hard copies of ordinances.

FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No Local: No

SUPPORT: (Verified 6/11/15)

None received

OPPOSITION: (Verified 6/11/15)

None received

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 79-0, 4/16/15

AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Perea, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Atkins

NO VOTE RECORDED: Quirk

Prepared by: Toren Lewis / GOV. & F. / (916) 651-4119

6/12/15 14:55:56

**** END ****

SENATE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNANCE AND FINANCE

Senator Robert M. Hertzberg, Chair

2015 - 2016 Regular

COUNTY ORDINANCES

Allows counties to post proposed and adopted ordinances on their websites as an alternative to posting a copy of the full text of the ordinance in the office of the clerk of the board.

Background and Existing Law

State law requires a county board of supervisors to publish the text of new ordinances or amendments to ordinances in a newspaper within 15 days of passage, in addition to a list of the names of members who voted for and against the measure. If the county clerk fails to publish an ordinance within 15 days after the measure is adopted, the ordinance may not take effect until 30 days after the date of publication. As an alternative to publishing the entire ordinance, state law permits county supervisors to publish a summary of the ordinance or a display ad of at least one-quarter of a page in the local newspaper at least 5 days before the board of supervisors meet on the matter, as long as the ordinance's full text is posted and available at the office of the clerk of the board.

County clerks note that members of the public rarely, if ever, come to their office to review the posted language of ordinances or amendments. Instead of requiring clerks to print reams of paper that no one reads, the clerks propose amending state law to allow counties to post ordinances and amendments on the county's website, while furnishing a certified copy of the ordinance to any member of the public who requests one. County clerks assert that the practice of posting this information online and furnishing copies only when requested would save time and money in the administrative office of the county, while maintaining public access to information.

Proposed Law

Assembly Bill 823 removes a requirement that a copy of the full text of proposed ordinances, proposed amendments to existing ordinances, adopted ordinances and adopted amendments to existing ordinances be posted in the office of the clerk (clerk) of the board of supervisors (board).

AB 823 instead requires:

• Counties to make a certified copy of the full text of a proposed ordinance or proposed amendment available to the public upon request by the clerk at least five days before the board meeting at which a proposed ordinance, amendment, or alteration is to be adopted.

• The clerk to either post a copy of the full text of the ordinance or amendment on the county’s website or post a certified copy of the full text in the office of the clerk five days before the board meeting at which the proposed ordinance, amendment, or alteration is to be adopted.

The bill further requires that:

• Within 15 days after adoption of an ordinance or amendment, the clerk must make available to the public, upon request, a certified copy of the full text of the adopted ordinance or amendment along with the names of those supervisors voting for and against the ordinance or amendment.

• The clerk must either post a copy of the full text of the ordinance or amendment and the names of those supervisors voting for and against the ordinance or amendment on the county’s website or post in the clerk’s office a certified copy of the full text of the adopted ordinance or amendment along with the specified vote information.

State Revenue Impact

No estimate.

Comments

1. Purpose of the bill. This bill removes the requirement that a certified copy of the full text of a proposed or adopted ordinance be posted in the clerk's office and, instead, allows counties to choose to post the full text online. AB 823 will eliminate a potentially unnecessary requirement to post the certified copy of full text of proposed ordinances 5 days prior to the vote of the Board of Supervisors and instead would require the county to post the ordinance online or provide a copy of the language of the ordinance upon request. Current law requires clerks to physically post a certified copy of the full text of a proposed ordinance in the office of the clerk 5 days prior to the vote of the Board of Supervisors and also requires the clerk to post a certified copy of the approved ordinance in the office of the clerk after the vote. This bill will benefit taxpayers by reducing the staff time and resources that counties spend on posting hard copies of ordinances.

Assembly Actions

Assembly Local Government 9-0

Assembly Floor 79-0

Support and Opposition

(6/3/15)

Support: California Association of Clerks and Elections Officials (Sponsor); California State Association of Counties; Rural County Representatives of California; Urban Counties Caucus.

Opposition: Unknown.

-- END --

ASSEMBLY THIRD READING

ATR Bill Id:AB 823

Author:(Bigelow)

As Introduced Ver:February 26, 2015

Majority vote

SUMMARY: Allows counties to post on their Web sites proposed and adopted ordinances as an alternative to posting a copy of the full text of the ordinance in the office of the clerk of the board of supervisors. Specifically, this bill:

1. Removes a requirement that a copy of the full text of proposed ordinances, proposed amendments to existing ordinances, adopted ordinances and adopted amendments to existing ordinances be posted in the office of the clerk (clerk) of the board of supervisors (board).

2. Requires, instead, a certified copy of the full text of a proposed ordinance or proposed amendment to be made available to the public upon request by the clerk at least five days prior to the board meeting at which the proposed ordinance or amendment or alteration thereto is to be adopted. The clerk also shall either post a copy of the full text of the ordinance or amendment on the county’s Internet Web site or post a certified copy of the full text in the office of the clerk five days prior to the board meeting at which the proposed ordinance or amendment or alteration is to be adopted.

3. Requires, within 15 days after adoption of an ordinance or amendment, the clerk to make available to the public, upon request, a certified copy of the full text of the adopted ordinance or amendment along with the names of those supervisors voting for and against the ordinance or amendment. The clerk shall also either post a copy of the full text of the ordinance or amendment and the names of those supervisors voting for and against the ordinance or amendment on the county’s Web site or shall post in the office of the clerk a certified copy of the full text of the adopted ordinance or amendment along with the vote information specified in this paragraph.

EXISTING LAW:

1. Requires a county board, before the expiration of 15 days after the passage of an ordinance by the board, to publish the ordinance with the names of those members voting for and against the ordinance, in a newspaper published in the county, if there is one. If there is no newspaper published in the county, the ordinance must be posted in a prominent location at the board's chambers within the 15-day period and remain posted thereafter for at least one week.

2. Allows the publication requirement specified above to be satisfied by either of the following procedures:

   1. At least five days prior to the board meeting at which the proposed ordinance or amendment is to be adopted, a summary of the proposed ordinance or proposed amendment to an existing ordinance must be published and a certified copy of the full text of the proposed ordinance or proposed amendment must be posted in the office of the clerk; and,

Within 15 days after the adoption of the ordinance or amendment, the board must publish a summary of the ordinance or amendment with the names of those supervisors voting for and against the ordinance or amendment, and the clerk must post in his or her office a certified copy of the full text of the adopted ordinance or amendment along with the names of those supervisors voting for and against the ordinance or amendment; or,

2. If a county official designated by the board determines that it is not feasible to prepare a fair and adequate summary of the proposed or adopted ordinance or amendment, and if the board so orders, a display advertisement of at least one-quarter of a page in a newspaper of general circulation in the county shall be published at least five days prior to the board meeting at which the proposed ordinance or amendment or alteration thereto is to be adopted; and,

Within 15 days after adoption of the ordinance or amendment, a display advertisement
of at least one-quarter of a page shall be published. The advertisement shall indicate the general nature of, and provide information about, the proposed or adopted ordinance or amendment, including information sufficient to enable the public to obtain copies of the complete text of such ordinance or amendment, and the names of those supervisors voting for and against the ordinance or amendment.

3. Provides that, if the clerk fails to publish an ordinance within 15 days after the date of adoption, the ordinance shall not take effect until 30 days after the date of publication.

FISCAL EFFECT: None

COMMENTS:

1. Bill Summary. This bill allows counties to post on their Web sites proposed and adopted ordinances as an alternative to posting a copy of the full text of the ordinance in the office
   of the clerk of the board. This bill is sponsored by the California Association of Clerks and Elections Officials.

2. Author's Statement. According to the author, "AB 823 will eliminate a potentially unnecessary requirement to post the certified copy of full text of proposed ordinances 5 days prior to the vote of the Board of Supervisors and instead would require the county to post the ordinance online or provide a copy of the language of the ordinance upon request. Current law requires clerks to physically post a certified copy of the full text of a proposed ordinance in the office of the clerk five days prior to the vote of the Board of Supervisors and also requires the clerk to post a certified copy of the approved ordinance in the office of the clerk after the vote."

"According to clerks statewide, the members of the public rarely, if ever, are observed in the office of the clerk to review the posted language. As an alternative, the clerks propose to post the ordinance on the county's internet Web site while offering to furnish a certified copy of the ordinance, if requested. This would save time and money in the administrative office of the county while maintaining open access to the public for requested public information and would allow the clerk to make the information available using more modern technology."

3. Background. State law requires, with certain exceptions, that county ordinances be published once in a newspaper in the county within 15 days of passage and become effective within 30 days of final passage. Ordinances not published within the 15 day time frame do not become effective until 30 days after publication.

Instead of publishing the entire ordinance, supervisors can publish a summary or a one-fourth display ad of the ordinance, as long as the ordinance's full text is posted and available at the office of the clerk of the board.

This bill removes the requirement that a certified copy of the full text of a proposed or adopted ordinance be posted in the clerk's office and, instead, allows counties to choose to continue posting in this manner or to post the full text online.

4. Previous Legislation. AB 390 (Conroy, et al.), Chapter 23, Statutes of 1995, provided that any exhibit attached to and incorporated by reference in an ordinance, except for maps, need not be published if the publication lists all those exhibits, by title or description, and notes that a complete copy of each exhibit is on file with the clerk of the board of supervisors and is available for viewing and copying in accordance with the California Public Records Act.

5. Arguments in Support. The California Association of Clerks and Elections Officials, sponsor of this bill, states, "The mandated procedure to print and post the text of the ordinances each week is often unnecessary and could be modified in lieu of a more responsive, updated and customized approach…(AB 823) will allow local governments to tailor their mandated services with respect to providing public access to proposed and adopted county ordinances based on technology and the requests of their constituents."

6. Arguments in Opposition. There is no opposition on file.

Analysis Prepared by: Angela Mapp / L. GOV. / (916) 319-3958 FN: 0000121

Date of Hearing: April 8, 2015

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Brian Maienschein, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 823

Author:(Bigelow) – As Introduced Ver:February 26, 2015

SUBJECT: Counties: ordinances.

SUMMARY: Allows counties to post on their websites proposed and adopted ordinances as an alternative to posting a copy of the full text of the ordinance in the office of the clerk of the board of supervisors. Specifically, this bill:

1. Removes a requirement that a copy of the full text of proposed ordinances, proposed amendments to existing ordinances, adopted ordinances and adopted amendments to existing ordinances be posted in the office of the clerk (clerk) of the board of supervisors (board).

2. Requires, instead, a certified copy of the full text of a proposed ordinance or proposed amendment to be made available to the public upon request by the clerk at least five days prior to the board meeting at which the proposed ordinance or amendment or alteration thereto is to be adopted. The clerk also shall either post a copy of the full text of the ordinance or amendment on the county’s Internet Web site (website) or post a certified copy of the full text in the office of the clerk five days prior to the board meeting at which the proposed ordinance or amendment or alteration is to be adopted.

3. Requires, within 15 days after adoption of an ordinance or amendment, the clerk to make available to the public, upon request, a certified copy of the full text of the adopted ordinance or amendment along with the names of those supervisors voting for and against the ordinance or amendment. The clerk shall also either post a copy of the full text of the ordinance or amendment and the names of those supervisors voting for and against the ordinance or amendment on the county’s website or shall post in the office of the clerk a certified copy of the full text of the adopted ordinance or amendment along with the vote information specified in this paragraph.

EXISTING LAW:

1. Requires a county board, before the expiration of 15 days after the passage of an ordinance by the board, to publish the ordinance with the names of those members voting for and against the ordinance, in a newspaper published in the county, if there is one. If there is no newspaper published in the county, the ordinance must be posted in a prominent location at the board's chambers within the 15-day period and remain posted thereafter for at least one week.

2. Allows the publication requirement specified above to be satisfied by either of the following procedures:

   1. At least five days prior to the board meeting at which the proposed ordinance or amendment is to be adopted, a summary of the proposed ordinance or proposed amendment to an existing ordinance must be published and a certified copy of the full text of the proposed ordinance or proposed amendment must be posted in the office of the clerk; and,

Within 15 days after the adoption of the ordinance or amendment, the board of supervisors must publish a summary of the ordinance or amendment with the names of those supervisors voting for and against the ordinance or amendment, and the clerk must post in his or her office a certified copy of the full text of the adopted ordinance or amendment along with the names of those supervisors voting for and against the ordinance or amendment; or,

2. If a county official designated by the board determines that it is not feasible to prepare a fair and adequate summary of the proposed or adopted ordinance or amendment, and if the board so orders, a display advertisement of at least one-quarter of a page in a newspaper of general circulation in the county shall be published at least five days prior to the board meeting at which the proposed ordinance or amendment or alteration thereto is to be adopted; and,

Within 15 days after adoption of the ordinance or amendment, a display advertisement
of at least one-quarter of a page shall be published. The advertisement shall indicate the general nature of, and provide information about, the proposed or adopted ordinance or amendment, including information sufficient to enable the public to obtain copies of the complete text of such ordinance or amendment, and the names of those supervisors voting for and against the ordinance or amendment.

3. Provides that, if the clerk fails to publish an ordinance within 15 days after the date of adoption, the ordinance shall not take effect until 30 days after the date of publication.

FISCAL EFFECT: None

COMMENTS:

1. Bill Summary. This bill allows counties to post on their websites proposed and adopted ordinances as an alternative to posting a copy of the full text of the ordinance in the office
   of the clerk of the board. This bill is sponsored by the California Association of Clerks and Elections Officials.

2. Author's Statement. According to the author, "AB 823 will eliminate a potentially unnecessary requirement to post the certified copy of full text of proposed ordinances 5 days prior to the vote of the Board of Supervisors and instead would require the county to post the ordinance online or provide a copy of the language of the ordinance upon request. Current law requires clerks to physically post a certified copy of the full text of a proposed ordinance in the office of the clerk 5 days prior to the vote of the Board of Supervisors and also requires the clerk to post a certified copy of the approved ordinance in the office of the clerk after the vote.

"According to clerks statewide, the members of the public rarely, if ever, are observed in the office of the clerk to review the posted language. As an alternative, the clerks propose to post the ordinance on the county's internet website while offering to furnish a certified copy of the ordinance, if requested. This would save time and money in the administrative office of the county while maintaining open access to the public for requested public information and would allow the clerk to make the information available using more modern technology."

3. Background. State law requires, with certain exceptions, that county ordinances be published once in a newspaper in the county within 15 days of passage and become effective within 30 days of final passage. Ordinances not published within the 15 day time frame do not become effective until 30 days after publication.

Instead of publishing the entire ordinance, supervisors can publish a summary or a 1/4 display ad of the ordinance, as long as the ordinance's full text is posted and available at the office of the clerk of the board.

This bill removes the requirement that a certified copy of the full text of a proposed or adopted ordinance be posted in the clerk's office and, instead, allows counties to choose to continue posting in this manner or to post the full text online.

4. Previous Legislation. AB 390 (Conroy, et al.), Chapter 23, Statutes of 1995, provided that any exhibit attached to and incorporated by reference in an ordinance, except for maps, need not be published if the publication lists all those exhibits, by title or description, and notes that a complete copy of each exhibit is on file with the clerk of the board of supervisors and is available for viewing and copying in accordance with the California Public Records Act.

5. Arguments in Support. The California Association of Clerks and Elections Officials, sponsor of this bill, states, "The mandated procedure to print and post the text of the ordinances each week is often unnecessary and could be modified in lieu of a more responsive, updated and customized approach…(AB 823) will allow local governments to tailor their mandated services with respect to providing public access to proposed and adopted county ordinances based on technology and the requests of their constituents."

6. Arguments in Opposition. None on file.

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support

California Association of Clerks and Elections Officials [SPONSOR]

California State Association of Counties

Rural County Representatives of California

Urban Counties Caucus

Opposition

None on file

Analysis Prepared by: Angela Mapp / L. GOV. / (916) 319-3958