SECTIONS 11641-11656 - California Statutes

PUBLIC UTILITIES CODE

SECTION 11641-11656

11641. Upon receipt of certified copies of the resolutions or of a
sufficient petition, the board of supervisors to whom they are
presented shall call an election within the proposed district without
delay, to be held on the next established election date not less
than 74 days after the date of the order calling the election, for
the purpose of determining whether the proposed district will be
created and established, and for the purpose of electing the first
board of directors therefor in case the district is created.

11642. Before calling the election the board of supervisors shall
divide the proposed district into five wards, the boundaries of which
shall be so drawn that each shall contain approximately an equal
number of voters, as nearly as may be. The public agencies and any
other territory included in the proposed district may be divided for
the purpose of establishing ward boundaries.

11643. Upon establishing the wards, the board of supervisors shall
publish notice of the election within the proposed district.

11643.1. Within five days after the district formation election has
been called, the legislative body which has called the election
shall transmit, by registered mail, a written notification of the
election call to the executive officer of the local agency formation
commission of the county or principal county in which the territory
or major portion of the territory of the proposed district is
located. Such written notice shall include the name and a description
of the proposed district, and may be in the form of a certified copy
of the resolution adopted by the legislative body calling the
district formation election.
The executive officer, within five days after being notified that
a district formation election has been called, shall submit to the
commission, for its approval or modification, an impartial analysis
of the proposed district formation.
The impartial analysis shall not exceed 500 words in length and
shall include a specific description of the boundaries of the
district proposed to be formed.
The local agency formation commission, within five days after the
receipt of the executive officer's analysis, shall approve or modify
the analysis and submit it to the officials in charge of conducting
the district formation election.

11643.2. The board of supervisors or any member or members of the
board authorized by the board, or any individual voter or bona fide
assocation of citizens entitled to vote on the district formation
proposition, or any combination of such voters and associations of
citizens, may file a written argument for or a written argument
against the proposed district formation.
Arguments shall not exceed 300 words in length and shall be filed
with the officials in charge of conducting the election not less than
54 days prior to the date of the district formation election.

11643.3. If more than one argument for or more than one argument
against the proposed district formation is filed with the election
officials within the time prescribed, such election officials shall
select one of the arguments for printing and distribution to the
voters.
In selecting the arguments, the election officials shall give
preference and priority in the order named to the arguments of the
following:
(a) The board of supervisors or any member or members of the board
authorized by the board.
(b) Individual voters or bona fide associations of citizens or a
combination of such voters and associations.

11643.4. The officials in charge of conducting the election shall
cause a ballot pamphlet concerning the district formation proposition
to be voted on to be printed and mailed to each voter entitled to
vote on the district formation question.
The ballot pamphlet shall contain the following in the order
prescribed:
(a) The complete text of the proposition.
(b) The impartial analysis of the proposition prepared by the
local agency formation commission.
(c) The argument for the proposed district formation.
(d) The argument against the proposed district formation.
The election officials shall mail a ballot pamphlet to each voter
entitled to vote in the district formation election at least 10 days
prior to the date of the election. The ballot pamphlet is "official
matter" within the meaning of Section 13303 of the Elections Code.

11644. The notice shall state the name of the proposed district,
and describe the boundaries thereof and the boundaries of the wards
provided for the purpose of electing directors.

11645. The ballot for the election shall contain such instructions
as are required by law to be printed thereon and in addition thereto
the following:

-------------------------------------+-------+-----
| |
Shall the " (giving name thereof) | YES |
municipal utility district" be | |
created and established? +-------+-----
| NO |
-------------------------------------+-------+-----

11646. The ballots shall also contain the names of the persons
nominated in each ward to serve as a member of the board from such
ward, showing separately each ward and its nominees.

11647. Any person may be nominated for the office of director upon
written petition of at least 50 voters of the ward in which such
person resides.

11648. Candidates for the office of director shall be voted upon at
large, and every voter in the proposed district may vote for all of
the directors to be elected.

11649. No person shall be entitled to vote at the election unless
he is a voter of the territory included in the proposed district.

11650. The election may be held on the same day as any other state,
county, or city election, and be consolidated therewith.

11651. The board of supervisors which called the election shall
meet on Monday next succeeding the day of the election and canvass
the votes cast thereat.

11652. (a) The board of supervisors shall canvass, separately, the
returns of each public agency and each parcel of unincorporated
territory, if any.
(b) Subject to subdivision (c), the board of supervisors shall
declare a district created and established of those public agencies
and parcels of unincorporated territory in which a majority of those
persons who voted did so in favor of the creation of the district.
Those public agencies and parcels of unincorporated territory in
which a majority of those persons voting did not vote in favor of the
creation of the district shall be excluded from the district.
(c) A district may be created and established pursuant to
subdivision (b) only if the number of registered voters in the
approving public agencies and parcels of unincorporated territory is
two-thirds or more of the total number of registered voters within
the district as proposed to the voters.

11653. No person may serve as a director unless he is a resident
and voter of the district as finally determined. Any vacancies on the
board caused by the elimination of territory shall be filled by
appointment by the remaining directors, in which case ward lines may
be disregarded.

11654. The board of supervisors shall also canvass the returns of
the election with respect to the persons voted for as directors, and
shall declare the persons receiving the highest number of votes, for
each ward, respectively, to be duly elected as directors of the
district, if they are residents and voters thereof as finally
determined.

11655. The board of supervisors calling the election shall make all
provision for the holding thereof throughout the entire district as
proposed, and shall pay the cost thereof.

11656. If a special election is held exclusively on the proposition
of organizing a district, the expenditure therefor shall be
reimbursed to the county which called the election by means of a tax
on all the taxable property within the public agencies and
unincorporated territory which was proposed to be included in the
district, and this tax shall be added to the next county tax bills by
the proper officials of the counties involved, respectively.