Added by Stats. 1947, Ch. 424.
Unless otherwise provided by law, the county clerk is ex officio clerk of the board of supervisors of his county.
Article 6 - Clerk of the Board
California Government Code — §§ 25100-25105.5
Sections (9)
Amended by Stats. 2002, Ch. 784, Sec. 138. Effective January 1, 2003.
The board of supervisors of any county may provide by ordinance that the clerk of the board of supervisors may be appointed by the board in the same manner as other county officers are appointed. In such counties, the county clerk is not ex officio clerk of the board of supervisors.
The clerk of the board of supervisors shall perform those duties prescribed by law for the county clerk as ex officio clerk of the board of supervisors or for the clerk of the board of supervisors and such additional duties as the board of supervisors shall prescribe by ordinance. Such person may perform all the duties vested in the county clerk other than those vested in the county clerk as registrar of voters and may take acknowledgments and administer and certify oaths in the performance of such person’s official duties.
Amended by Stats. 1957, Ch. 1835.
The clerk of the board shall:
(a)Attend each session of the board of supervisors of his county and attend committee meetings when requested so to do.
(b)Keep and enter in the minute book of the board a full and complete record of the proceedings of the board at all regular and special meetings, including the entry in full of all resolutions and of all decisions on questions concerning the allowance of accounts. The vote of each member on every question shall be recorded.
(c)Immediately after each meeting of the board, deliver to and leave with the auditor all demands allowed for the payment of money.
(d)File and preserve, or dispose of pursuant to law, all petitions, applications, and other papers and records deposited with him.
(e)Authenticate with his signature and the seal of the board and file each ordinance passed by the board.
Amended by Stats. 1961, Ch. 28.
The board shall cause to be kept:
(a)Its minute book.
(b)An ordinance book.
(c)An “allowance book” in which shall be recorded all orders for the allowance of money from the county treasury, to whom made, and on what account. The orders shall be dated, numbered, and indexed through each year. In any county using certified duplicate lists of claims allowed, one list is the “allowance book” within the meaning of this section. If the auditor in any county maintains an index of claims allowed, the index required by this section may be dispensed with. In lieu of recording in the allowance book, claims or duplicates thereof may be filed with the clerk of the board, who shall make an alphabetical index of the claims filed. In any county, the board of supervisors by resolution may dispense with the allowance book, in which event the warrant book filed with the county auditor shall serve in place of both the allowance book and the warrant book.
(d)A “warrant book” to be kept by the county auditor, in which shall be entered, in the order of drawing, all warrants drawn on the treasury, with their number and reference to the order on the minute book, with the date, amount, on what account, and name of payee. In any county using a list of claims allowed for an allowance book, the list filed in the office of the auditor is the warrant book within the meaning of this section.
Added by Stats. 1963, Ch. 455.
In lieu of entering resolutions in full in the minute book, the clerk, with the approval of the board, may keep a resolution book in which he shall enter all resolutions in full. In such case, references in the minute book to resolutions may be made by number and subject reference.
Amended by Stats. 2025, Ch. 242, Sec. 2. (SB 858) Effective January 1, 2026.
(a)The records and minutes of the board, acting in any capacity, shall be signed by the chairperson and the clerk. The board may authorize the use of a facsimile or electronic or digital signature of the chairperson of the board acting in any capacity, where the board sits as the governing body, agency, or entity on all papers, documents, or instruments requiring the signature of the chairperson of the board, including all resolutions, orders, ordinances, contracts, minutes, notices, deeds, leases,
papers, and records of the board except that, in the case of a facsimile signature, the original copy thereof, or the copy thereof filed in the office of the clerk of the board, shall bear the personal signature of the chairperson or shall have been delivered to the chairperson, and those papers, documents, or instruments bearing the facsimile signature shall be accorded the same force and effect as though personally signed by the chairperson. A certificate by the clerk that a copy of that document has been delivered to the chairperson of the board shall be prima facie evidence of the delivery. A document bearing the electronic or digital signature of the chairperson shall have the same force and effect as if personally signed by the chairperson.
(b)If, in order to be recorded by the county recorder, the paper, document, or instrument requires the acknowledgement or verification of the person by whom it is executed, then it shall be recordable when the clerk acknowledges the person’s signature upon the certificate that indicates that a copy of the paper, document, or instrument has been delivered to the chairperson.
(c)In the case of a public security or any instrument of payment,
the Uniform Facsimile Signature of Public Officials Act (Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 5500) of Division 6 of Title 1) shall govern.
(d)If the facsimile signature of the chairperson of the board of supervisors is affixed to any document prior to November 23,
1970, the document shall have the same force and effect from the time of affixing as if the facsimile signature had been affixed after that date.
Amended by Stats. 1989, Ch. 57, Sec. 1.
The books, records, and accounts of the board shall be kept in the custody of the clerk and available for public inspection during normal business hours.
Amended by Stats. 2025, Ch. 242, Sec. 3. (SB 858) Effective January 1, 2026.
The board of supervisors may authorize the use of photographs, microphotographs, electronic data processing records, optical disks, or any other medium that is a trusted system and that does not permit additions, deletions, or changes to the original document, or photocopies of all records, books, and minutes of the board.
(a)Each photograph, microphotograph, or photocopy shall be made in a manner and on paper that will comply with Section 12168.7 for recording of permanent records or nonpermanent records, whichever applies. Every reproduction shall be deemed and considered an original. A transcript, exemplification, or certified copy of any reproduction shall be deemed and considered a
transcript, exemplification, or certified copy, as the case may be, of the original. Each roll of microfilm shall be deemed and constitute a book and shall be designated and numbered, and provision shall be made for preserving, examining, and using it. A duplicate of each roll of microfilm shall be made and kept in a safe and separate place.
(b)Electronic data processing records, records recorded on optical disk, and records recorded on any other medium shall comply with Section 12168.7. A duplicate copy of any record reproduced in compliance with Section 12168.7 for recording of permanent records or nonpermanent records, whichever applies, shall be deemed an original.
(c)In the event the authorization provided herein is granted, the personal signatures required by Section
25103, if technically feasible, may be reproduced by the authorized process, and the reproduced signatures shall be deemed to satisfy the requirement of Section 25103. If the documents are signed using an electronic or digital signature, reproduced documents shall be considered authenticated if the reproduced documents are created by a trusted system, as defined in pertinent digital signature regulations, or in compliance with the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (Title 2.5 (commencing with Section 1633.1) of Part 2 of Division 3 of the Civil Code).
Amended by Stats. 1998, Ch. 591, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 1999.
The clerk of the board of supervisors may, without complying with any other provision of law, destroy records consisting of claims against the county and claims against special districts for which the board of supervisors is the governing body, whenever the claims have been retained by the clerk for a period of not less than five years after final action on the claim. The clerk of the board of supervisors may destroy records consisting of assessment appeal applications when five years have elapsed since the final action on the application. The clerk may destroy the records three years after the final action on the application, if the records consisting of assessment appeal applications have been microfilmed, microfiched, imaged, or otherwise preserved on a medium that provides access to the documents, in accordance with Section 25105.
As used in this section “final action” means, in the case of an assessment appeals application, the date of the final decision by the assessment appeals board and, in the case of a claim, the date of payment or settlement of the claim, or denial or approval of the claim by or in behalf of the board of supervisors or by operation of law, whichever occurs first, if there is no action pending involving the application or claim.