On Thursday, the Senate Governance & Finance Committee and the Senate Elections & Constitutional Amendments Committee held a joint informational hearing in Los Angeles to discuss two potential changes in the composition of county governments – enlarging the membership of Boards of Supervisors, and having elected County Executives. Much of these policy discussions are driven by the size of several large counties, including Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, and Riverside Counties, whereby each County Supervisor can represent nearly a million people.
More recently, a report issued by the Los Angeles County Civil Grand Jury called on the county to increase the membership of the Board of Supervisors by 6 seats to more adequately represent the constituency, although several previous attempts to enlarge the Los Angeles County Board have failed. The other focal point of the committee hearing was a discussion about having an elected County Chief Executive Officer. Patterned after the way Mayors are elected in cities, the belief is this model would split the current executive and legislative function of the Board of Supervisors, and better manage the day-to-day operations of counties. While there are strong arguments on both sides of the issue, there was significant discussion over the elected County Chief Executive Officer responsibilities, suggesting that opposition could subside under a carefully-crated governance structure.
Last year the Legislature considered Senate Constitutional Amendment 8 (Mendoza) which would have, upon approval of the state’s voters, enlarged the Board of Supervisors in counties over 3 million residents. This measure failed to receive the necessary 2/3rds vote to place on the ballot, with several Legislators questioning the appropriateness of voters statewide determining local governance structures of other jurisdictions. Senator Tony Mendoza (D-Artesia) announced he will introduce a new measure on this issue early in the upcoming legislative session.