SB1439 - Local government: omnibus bill.

Amended IN Assembly August 19, 2026 Amended IN Assembly June 18, 2026 CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION Senate Bill No. 1439 Introduced by Committee on Local Government (Senators Durazo (Chair), Arreguín, Ashby, Cervantes, Choi, Laird, and Seyarto) March 11, 2026 An act to amend Sections 6508, 17560, 24011, 26802, 26803, 26803.5, 26809, 26831, 26837, 26840.1, 27297.7, 27361.4, 40602, 53601, 53651, 54221, 54953.4, 54953.8.6, 54953.8.7, and 66474.02 of the Government Code, and to amend Section 32499.8 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to local government. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 1439, as amended, Committee on Local Government. Local government: omnibus bill. (1) Existing law, the Joint Exercise of Powers Act, authorizes 2 or more public agencies, by agreement, to form a joint powers authority to exercise any power common to the contracting parties, as specified. Existing law requires a joint powers agreement to state the purpose of the agreement or the power to be exercised, and to provide for the method by which the purpose will be accomplished or the manner in which the power will be exercised. The act grants the agency the common power specified in the agreement and authorizes the agency to exercise that power in the manner provided in the agreement. Existing law authorizes a governing body that satisfies certain conditions to delegate its functions to an advisory body. This bill would define the terms “advisory body,” “policy formation,” “program development,” and “program implementation” for purposes of that provision. The bill would state that these definitions do not constitute a change in, but are declaratory of, existing law. (2) The California Constitution requires the state to provide a subvention of funds to reimburse the local government for the costs of a new program or a higher level of service, with specified exceptions, when the Legislature or a state agency mandates a new program or higher level of service on any local government, including school districts. Existing law, in the event that revised claiming instructions are issued by the Controller between November 15 and February 15, provides a local agency or school district filing an annual reimbursement claim with 120 days following the issuance date of the revised instructions to file a claim. This bill would instead apply that provision if the revised claiming instructions are issued by the Controller between October 19 and February 15. (3) Existing law requires specified county officers, including the public administrator, to be elected by the people. Existing law authorizes the boards of supervisors of specified counties to provide, by ordinance, that the public administrator be appointed by the board. Existing law also authorizes the boards of supervisors of specified counties, by ordinance, to appoint the same person to the offices of public administrator and public guardian, and to, at any time, separate the consolidated offices of the district attorney and public administrator, as specified. This bill would apply those provisions to the County of Merced. (4) Existing law establishes the office of the county clerk, and requires a county clerk, among other things, to take charge of and safely keep all books, papers, and records that are filed or deposited in the county clerk’s office pursuant to law. This bill would make technical changes to various provisions relating to the county clerk to use gender-neutral language and update a cross-reference. (5) Existing law establishes the office of county recorder and specifically requires the county recorder within 30 days of recordation of a deed, quitclaim deed, mortgage, or deed of trust, to notify by mail the party or parties executing the document, as specified. Existing law requires this notification to be sent to the address for mailing tax bills that was established prior to the recording of the document. This bill would instead require a county recorder to mail the required notice to the current assessee at the most recent address for mailing tax bills that was established prior to the recording of the document. (6) Existing law authorizes the legislative body of a local agency, as defined, having moneys in a sinking fund or moneys in its treasury not required for the immediate needs of the local agency to invest any portion of the moneys that it deems wise or expedient. In this regard, existing law authorizes investment in commercial paper issued by entities meeting one of 2 sets of specified requirements if certain conditions are met. Specifically, existing law requires the issuing entity either to be a general corporation organized and operating in the United States with minimum specified assets and having debt other than commercial paper with at least an “A” rating or to be a special purpose corporation, trust, or limited liability company organized in the United States with program-wide credit enhancements and commercial paper with at least an “A-1” rating. This bill would additionally authorize investment in commercial paper issued by an entity of the 2nd type if that entity is organized within the United States as a federally or state-chartered bank or a federally or state-licensed branch of a foreign bank. Existing law additionally authorizes investment in United States dollar denominated senior unsecured unsubordinated obligations issued or unconditionally guaranteed by specified development banks if certain conditions are met. This bill would additionally authorize investment in the above-described obligations issued or unconditionally guaranteed by the Inter-American Investment Corporation. (7) (6) Existing law authorizes the county board of supervisors to provide for an additional fee of $1 for each instrument, paper, or notice of record to order to defray the cost of converting the county recorder’s document storage system to micrographics. This bill would instead authorize that fee to defray the costs of implementing and funding a county recorder archive program and converting the county recorder’s document storage system for permanent retention. (8) (7) Existing law generally prescribes the duties and powers of mayors, including requiring a mayor to sign certain instruments. Existing law authorizes a legislative body to provide by ordinance that those instruments be signed by an officer other than the mayor. This bill would authorize a legislative body to authorize, by resolution, an officer other than the mayor to sign those instruments, provided the instruments are in connection with or for the purposes of participating in a state-administered or state-approved funding or regulatory program. (9) (8) Existing law makes the treasurer of a local agency responsible for the safekeeping of money and authorizes them to enter into a contract with a depository, as specified. Existing law requires the depository and the depository agent to secure the deposits in eligible securities. Existing law defines eligible securities for this purpose to include, among other things, letters of credit issued by the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco, as specified. This bill, would make various nonsubstantive changes to those provisions and, for a county, city and county, or local agency that pools money in deposits or investments with other agencies and with assets under management of over at least $100,000,000, would additionally authorize an eligible bank headquartered outside of the state to submit letters of credit drawn on its federal home loan bank, as specified. (10) (9) Existing law requires a local agency to declare land either “surplus land” or “exempt surplus land,” as supported by written findings, before the local agency may take any action to dispose of it consistent with an agency’s policies or procedures. Existing law generally requires a local agency, before disposing of or negotiating to dispose of surplus land, to provide a written notice of the availability of the surplus land to specified entities and housing sponsors. Under existing law, land declared as “exempt surplus land” is not subject to these requirements. Existing law defines “exempt surplus land” to mean, among other things, surplus land totaling 10 or more acres, consisting of either a single parcel, or 2 or more adjacent or nonadjacent parcels combined for disposition to one or more buyers pursuant to a plan or ordinance adopted by the legislative body of the local agency, or a state statute. This bill would revise this definition of “exempt surplus land” to remove the reference to buyers and instead mean 2 or more adjacent or nonadjacent parcels combined for disposition to one or more persons or entities, as specified. (11) (10) Existing law, the Ralph M. Brown Act, requires, with specified exceptions, that all meetings of a legislative body, as defined, of a local agency be open and public and that all persons be permitted to attend and participate. The act authorizes an eligible subsidiary body to conduct a teleconference meeting, provided that it complies with specified requirements, including that the legislative body that established the eligible subsidiary body makes specified findings. Existing law authorizes a subsidiary body authorized to use teleconferencing to present any recommendation it develops to the legislative body that created it, and requires the legislative body to hold a discussion at a regular meeting upon receiving a request. Existing law authorizes that discussion to be combined with the legislative body’s subsequent consideration of the teleconferencing findings for the following 12 months. This bill would instead authorize that discussion to be combined with the legislative body’s subsequent consideration of the teleconferencing findings for the following 6 months. The act also authorizes an eligible multijurisdictional body to conduct a teleconference meeting, provided that it complies with specified requirements. Existing law defines “eligible multijurisdictional body” to mean a multijurisdictional board, commission, or advisory body of a multijurisdictional, cross-county agency. This bill would redefine “eligible multijurisdictional body” to mean a multijurisdictional board, commission, or advisory body of a multijurisdictional, intercounty, or intracounty agency. (12) (11) Existing law requires a legislative body of a county, before approving a tentative map, to make specified findings, except as provided. This bill would fix an erroneous cross-reference within that provision. (13) (12) Existing law requires the Imperial County Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO), by December 31, 2026, and by December 31 every 5 years thereafter, to conduct a municipal service review regarding health care service provision within the boundaries of the district, as specified. This bill would instead require the Imperial County LAFCO to conduct that review by December 31, 2027, and by December 31 every 5 years thereafter. (14) (13) This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the County of Merced. Digest Key Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: NO Local Program: NO Bill Text The people of the State of California do enact as follows: SECTION 1. (a) This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the Local Government Omnibus Act of 2026. (b) The Legislature finds and declares that Californians want their governments to be run efficiently and economically and that public officials should avoid waste and duplication whenever possible. The Legislature further finds and declares that it desires to control its own costs by reducing the number of separate bills. Therefore, it is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this act to combine several minor, noncontroversial statutory changes relating to the common theme, purpose, and subject of local government into a single measure. SEC. 2. Section 6508 of the Government Code is amended to read: 6508. (a) The agency shall possess the common power specified in the agreement and may exercise it in the manner or according to the method provided in the agreement. If the agency is not one or more of the parties to the agreement but is a public entity, commission or board constituted pursuant to the agreement and such agency is authorized, in its own name, to do any or all of the following: to make and enter contracts, or to employ agents and employees, or to acquire, construct, manage, maintain or operate any building, works or improvements, or to acquire, hold or dispose of property or to incur debts, liabilities or obligations, said agency shall have the power to sue and be sued in its own name. Any authorization pursuant to the agreement for the acquisition by the agency of property for the purposes of a project for the generation or transmission of electrical energy shall not include the condemnation of property owned or otherwise subject to use or control by any public utility within the state. (b) The governing body of any agency having the power to sue or be sued in its own name, created by an agreement entered into after the amendment to this section at the 1969 Regular Session of the Legislature, between parties composed exclusively of parties which are cities, counties, or public districts of this state, irrespective of whether all such parties fall within the same category, may as provided in such agreement, and in any ratio provided in the agreement, be composed exclusively of officials elected to one or more of the governing bodies of the parties to such agreement. Any existing agreement composed of parties which are cities, counties or public districts which creates a governing board of any agency having the power to sue or be sued may, at the option of the parties to the agreement, be amended to provide that the governing body of the created agency shall be composed exclusively of officials elected to one or more of the governing boards of the parties to such agreement in any ratio agreed to by the parties to the agreement. The governing body so created shall be empowered to delegate its functions to an advisory body or administrative entity for the purposes of program development, policy formulation, or program implementation, provided, however, that any annual budget of the agency to which the delegation is made must be approved by the governing body of the Joint Powers Agency. (c) In the event that such agency enters into further contracts, leases or other transactions with one or more of the parties to such agreement, an official elected to the governing body of such party may also act in the capacity of a member of the governing body of such agency. (d) (1) For purposes of this section: (A) “Advisory body or administrative entity” includes, but is not limited to, committees, management boards, and any public agency or nonprofit corporation that the governing body of the agency selects. (B) “Policy formulation” includes, but is not [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]