Government of San Diego County, California
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The Government of San Diego County is defined and authorized under the California Constitution,
California law The law of California consists of several levels, including constitutional, statutory, and regulatory law, as well as case law. The California Codes form the general statutory law, and most state agency regulations are available in the Calif ...
, and the Charter of the
County of San Diego San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634, making it California's second-most populous county and the fi ...
. Much of the
Government of California The government of California is the governmental structure of the U.S. state of California as established by the California Constitution. California uses the separation of powers system to structure its government. It is composed of three branche ...
is in practice the responsibility of county governments such as the Government of San Diego County. The County government provides countywide services such as elections and voter registration, law enforcement, jails, vital records, property records, tax collection, public health, and social services. In addition the County serves as the local government for all unincorporated areas. The county government is composed of the elected five-member Board of Supervisors, several other elected offices and officers including the Sheriff, the District Attorney, Assessor/Recorder/County Clerk, and Treasurer/Tax Collector, and numerous county departments and entities under the supervision of the Chief Administrative Officer such as the Probation Department. Some chartered municipalities such as the city of
San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...
and the city of
Chula Vista Chula Vista (; ) is the second-largest city in the San Diego metropolitan area, the seventh largest city in Southern California, the fifteenth largest city in the state of California, and the 78th-largest city in the United States. The popu ...
provide their own law enforcement, public safety, libraries, parks and recreation, zoning, and similar services. Other incorporated cities have some or all of these services provided by the County under a contract arrangement. In addition, several entities of the
government of California The government of California is the governmental structure of the U.S. state of California as established by the California Constitution. California uses the separation of powers system to structure its government. It is composed of three branche ...
have jurisdiction conterminous with San Diego County, such as the San Diego Superior Court. The county motto is "The noblest motive is the public good." County government offices are housed in the historic County Administration Center building, constructed from 1935 to 1938 with funding from the
Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, i ...
.


Organization


Board of Supervisors


Elected officers

In addition to the Board of Supervisors, there are several elected officers that form the Government of San Diego County that are required by the California Constitution and
California law The law of California consists of several levels, including constitutional, statutory, and regulatory law, as well as case law. The California Codes form the general statutory law, and most state agency regulations are available in the Calif ...
, and authorized under the Charter. The
San Diego County Sheriff's Department The San Diego County Sheriff's Department (SDSD), is the primary and largest law enforcement agency in San Diego County, California, and one of the largest sheriff's departments in the United States: with over 4,000 employees, an annual budget ...
provides general-service law enforcement to unincorporated areas of the county, serving as the equivalent of the
county police County police, often (but not always) called county sheriffs in the United States, are police forces existing primarily in the United States that possess primary jurisdiction over an entire county. England and Wales, two constituent countries of th ...
for
unincorporated area An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...
s of the county, and as incorporated cities within the county which have contracted with the agency for law-enforcement services (known as " contract cities"). The Sheriff's Department is also responsible for the county jails, courthouses, and specialized countywide services such as search and rescue, SWAT, etc. The
San Diego County District Attorney The San Diego County District Attorney is the elected district attorney for San Diego County, California. This office is responsible for the prosecution of both felony and misdemeanor violations of California state law that occur within the juri ...
prosecute A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the case in a criminal tr ...
s
felony A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that resu ...
and misdemeanor crimes that occur within the jurisdiction of San Diego County. The San Diego County Assessor/Recorder/County Clerk is also an elected officer. As county assessor, they are responsible for
real estate appraisal Real estate appraisal, property valuation or land valuation is the process of developing an opinion of value for real property (usually market value). Real estate transactions often require appraisals because they occur infrequently and every pr ...
s for tax purposes (assessments), as county recorder they are responsible for accepting and recording legal instruments such as birth, marriage and death records, and as county clerk they are responsible for issuing marriage licenses and performing civil marriage ceremonies, and registering fictitious business name statements, notaries public, process servers and professional photocopiers. The San Diego County Board of Education is composed of five members elected from trustee areas. It maintains the policies for governance of the San Diego County Office of Education (SDCOE) and appoints the San Diego County Superintendent of Schools.


Other agencies

The Chief Administrative Officer assists the Board of Supervisors in handling the mounting administrative details of the County and is responsible for making recommendations to the Board. The San Diego County Library is the county library. The Probation Department is responsible for supervising convicted offenders in the community, either who are on
probation Probation in criminal law is a period of supervision over an offender, ordered by the court often in lieu of incarceration. In some jurisdictions, the term ''probation'' applies only to community sentences (alternatives to incarceration), such ...
, such as at the conclusion of their sentences, or while on community supervision orders. The Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA) provides health and social services such as those county-administered programs related to
welfare in California Welfare in California consists of welfare in the United States, federal welfare programs—which are often at least partially administered by state and county agencies—and several independent programs, which are usually administered by the counti ...
, such as
Medi-Cal The California Medical Assistance Program (Medi-Cal or MediCal) is California's Medicaid program serving low-income individuals, including families, seniors, persons with disabilities, children in foster care, pregnant women, and childless adults w ...
(
Medicaid Medicaid in the United States is a federal and state program that helps with healthcare costs for some people with limited income and resources. Medicaid also offers benefits not normally covered by Medicare, including nursing home care and per ...
),
CalFresh CalFresh is the California implementation of the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as the Food Stamp program, which provides financial assistance for purchasing food to low-income California residents. Benef ...
( food stamps),
CalWORKs The California Work Opportunities and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program is the California welfare implementation of the federal welfare-to-work Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program that provides cash aid and services to e ...
, and the
Low Income Health Program Welfare in California consists of federal welfare programs—which are often at least partially administered by state and county agencies—and several independent programs, which are usually administered by the counties. The largest California-s ...
(
Obamacare The Affordable Care Act (ACA), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and colloquially known as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by Pres ...
). The Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) is the
public housing Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is usually owned by a government authority, either central or local. Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the details, terminology, def ...
authority through the Housing Authority of the County of San Diego (HACSD). The Department of Public Works is responsible for county-maintained roads, traffic engineering, land development civil engineering review, design engineering and construction management, land surveying and map processing, cartographic services, watershed quality and flood protection, county airports, solid waste planning and diversion, inactive landfills, and wastewater systems management. The County Parks and Recreation Department manages local and regional parks, campgrounds, 300 miles of trails, fishing lakes, state-of-the-art recreation centers and sports complexes, ecological preserves, and open space preserves. The San Diego County Office of Education (SDCOE) is the county education department, and is operated by the San Diego County Superintendent of Schools, pursuant to the policies of the San Diego County Board of Education. The San Diego County Public Defender provides indigent legal defense services.


Law

The ''San Diego County Code'' is the overarching codification of the local ordinances of the county passed by the Board of Supervisors, of which include the Administrative Code and the Code of Regulatory Ordinances. The ''San Diego County Administrative Code'' and the ''San Diego County Code of Regulatory Ordinances'' "establishes the duties, rules, regulations and systems of management of the various offices, departments and institutions of the County of San Diego" passed by the Board of Supervisors. Every act prohibited or declared unlawful, and every failure to perform an act required, by the ordinances are misdemeanor crimes, unless otherwise specified as infractions.


Budget

The adopted budgets for both fiscal year 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 were approximately $4.8 billion.


Other governments

The San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) is an association of local San Diego County governments. The San Diego Local Agency Formstion Commission (LAFCO) is subdivision of the State and regulates and plans local agency boundaries and service areas. LAFCO comprises 13 appointed elected officials including three members of the Board of Supervisors.


California

In the State Assembly, the 76th, 77th, 78th, 79th, and 80th districts are entirely within the county and parts of the 71st and 75th districts are within the county. In the
State Senate A state legislature in the United States is the legislative body of any of the 50 U.S. states. The formal name varies from state to state. In 27 states, the legislature is simply called the ''Legislature'' or the ''State Legislature'', whil ...
, all of the 39th district and parts of the 36th, 38th and 40th districts are within the county. San Diego County is represented by the Third District in the State Board of Equalization. The San Diego Superior Court, which covers the entire county, is not a County department but a division of the State's trial court system. Historically, the courthouses were county-owned buildings that were maintained at county expense, which created significant friction since the trial court judges, as officials of the state government, had to lobby the county Board of Supervisors for facility renovations and upgrades. In turn, the state judiciary successfully persuaded the state Legislature to authorize the transfer of all courthouses to the state government in 2008 and 2009 (so that judges would have direct control over their own courthouses). Courthouse security is still provided by the county government under a contract with the state. The Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility of the
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) is the penal law enforcement agency of the government of California responsible for the operation of the California state prison and parole systems. Its headquarters are in Sacram ...
is in an
unincorporated area An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...
in the county.Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility (RJD)
"
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) is the penal law enforcement agency of the government of California responsible for the operation of the California state prison and parole systems. Its headquarters are in Sacram ...
. Retrieved on September 24, 2011. "480 Alta Road San Diego, CA 92179"


San Diego

The government of San Diego consists principally of a mayor and a nine-member city council. In 2006, the city's form of government changed from a " city manager system" to a " strong mayor system". The change was brought about by a citywide vote in 2004. The mayor is in effect the chief executive officer of the city, while the council is the legislative body. The members of the city council are each elected from single member districts within the city. The mayor and city attorney are elected directly by the voters of the entire city. The mayor, city attorney, and council members are elected to four-year terms, with a two-term limit. Elections are held on a non-partisan basis per California state law; nevertheless, most officeholders do identify themselves as either Democrats or Republicans. In 2015, registered Democrats outnumbered Republicans by about 39% to 26% the city, and Democrats currently hold an 8-1 majority in the City Council.


School districts


Special districts

The San Diego Local Agency Formation Commission (SDLAFCo) is the
Local Agency Formation Commission Local Agency Formation Commissions or LAFCOs are regional service planning agencies of the State of California. LAFCOs are located in all 58 counties and exercise regulatory and planning powers in step with their prescribed directive to oversee the ...
(LAFCo) for San Diego County and regulates special districts within its jurisdiction. The
San Diego Metropolitan Transit System The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (''SDMTS'' or often simply ''MTS'') is a public transit service provider for Central, South, Northeast and Southeast San Diego County. The agency directly operates a large transit system that includes t ...
(MTS or SDMTS) is the
public transit Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typic ...
provider for Central, South, Northeast and Southeast San Diego County and is governed by a fifteen-member Board of Directors chosen by its constituent
joint powers authority A joint powers authority (JPA) is an entity permitted under the laws of some U.S. states, whereby two or more public authorities (e.g. local governments, or utility or transport districts), not necessarily located in the same state, may jointly ex ...
city councils and the Board of Supervisors. The
North County Transit District The North County Transit District (typically abbreviated as NCTD) is the agency responsible for public transportation in Northern San Diego County, California. The agency manages the COASTER commuter rail service between Oceanside and San Die ...
(NCTD) is the public transit provider for
North San Diego County North County is a region in the northern area of San Diego County, California. It is the second-most populous region in the county (after San Diego), with an estimated population of 869,322. North County is well known for its affluence, especial ...
and is governed by a twelve-member Board of Directors composed of one representative from each incorporated city in the District plus the fifth district county supervisor. The Beach Cities Health District and Palomar Health are examples of public health districts in San Diego County. Areas of the city immediately adjacent to San Diego Bay ("
tidelands Tidelands are the territory between the tide line of sea coasts, and lands lying under the sea beyond the low-water limit of the tide, considered within the territorial waters of a nation. The United States Constitution does not specify whether ...
") are under the jurisdiction of the
Port of San Diego The Port of San Diego is a seaport in San Diego, California. It is located on San Diego Bay in southwestern San Diego County, California, and is a self-supporting district established in 1962 by an act of the California State Legislature. In addi ...
.


Political parties

Per California state law, each political party recognized by the State of California has the right to form a central committee in each county; the central committee functions as a unit of the state political party. The composition of the central committee is determined by the bylaws of each county party as allowed by state law. Major party central committees include the San Diego County Democratic Party Central Committee and the Republican Party of San Diego County Central Committee. Other party organizations include the San Diego Libertarian Party, the San Diego County Peace and Freedom Party, and the Green Party of San Diego County. For the San Diego County Democratic Party Central Committee and the Republican Party of San Diego County Central Committee, six elected members from each California State Assembly district contained within San Diego County are chosen by registered party voters during the primary election in even-numbered years. At Article 2, § 1. If the number of candidates nominated for election does not exceed the number of candidates to be elected, the candidates are not listed on the ballots, but are instead declared elected by the Board of Supervisors. Democratic central committee members may include party officials, elected officials, recent candidates, appointed members, and elected members. The Republican central committee consists of the elected members, plus appointed members and Republican elected office holders as ex-officio members, not to exceed a total of 75 members.


Notes


External links


San Diego County official website

San Diego County Administrative Code and San Diego County Regulatory Code
from American Legal Publishing {{California topic, Government of
San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...