Water Code, 1943

Districts organized before May 28, 1868 may keep their existing numbers.

Owners of a majority of the acreage in the district may adopt bylaws for district governance, as long as the bylaws are consistent with state law.

The board may adopt bylaws for district government and control, but only after notice and a public hearing, and adoption must be by resolution after the hearing closes.

A public hearing notice must be posted in at least three conspicuous places within the district for at least 15 days before the hearing, and it must state the hearing’s date, time, and place and tell the public where and when copies of the proposed bylaws will be available.

At the public hearing, the board must receive comments or proposals on the proposed bylaws, and it may adopt, reject, or continue the hearing, subject to 30-day limits.

After bylaws are adopted, they must be filed for record with the county recorder.

By-laws may be amended in the same way they were adopted.

A reclamation district’s board of trustees must be elected as Chapter 1 provides, unless the district is formed to operate without trustees under Chapter 3.

If all the land is owned by parties who want to reclaim it without a board or by-laws, they may file the petition described in Chapter 1 and say they will handle the reclamation themselves.

If the petition is granted, the district is organized and the landowners receive the rights, immunities, privileges, and duties given to boards; in proceedings, the owners’ names are used instead of trustees’ names.

Owners of land in a district formed without a board may form a district with a board if they submit the petition required by Chapter 1 to the board of supervisors.

Presenting a petition to form a district that will operate with a board counts as giving up the rights, immunities, and privileges tied to the original district.

An action may be brought to determine whether a district legally exists.

A court must not declare a district invalid if the district has been prosecuting or maintaining reclamation works in good faith for five years before the proceeding began.

A quo warranto or similar proceeding may not be maintained against a district if it has acted as a district and maintained its reclamation works in good faith for five continuous years before the proceeding starts.

After a district is formed, the board of supervisors must call an election when a landowner applies, and three eligible persons are elected to serve as the district’s first board of trustees.

A district’s by-laws may create a board of five or seven members.

Board members are elected for four-year terms, remain in office until successors are elected and qualified, and the terms must be staggered.

Board members with unstaggered terms must meet, split into two nearly equal classes by lot, and use that split to set term expiration dates.

After the board’s first election, the district is organized and may sue and be sued.

Vacancies on the board must be filled under Section 1780 of the Government Code.

Board members are entitled to compensation for necessary services and reimbursement for necessary trustee expenses, as determined by the board to be just and reasonable.

Claims by or for a trustee must be presented to the board, and allowed claims are paid like other district debts.

A board meeting is a regular meeting if all members are present or if all members got written notice at least one day before; at that meeting, any business may be transacted unless the bylaws provide otherwise.

Certain board of trustees members are immune from liability for district debts incurred before they were appointed.

The board must choose one of its members as president and select a secretary from its members or any other person.

The secretary must manage the board’s office, keep meeting minutes, attest certain documents signed by the president, and keep district expenditure accounts.

The board is the district’s governing body.

The board exercises the district’s powers listed in this division, unless the division says otherwise.

The board must supervise and control the reclamation works and the district’s affairs.

The board must receive certain money from the reclamation board and either distribute it to district landowners based on their last assessment roll payments or place it in the county treasury for the district’s credit.

The board may distribute surplus district treasury funds to district landowners if it acts by an order entered in its minutes.

The board may adopt and change its seal.

Documents that need board approval must be signed by either a trustee or the secretary.

The board may create a revolving fund, and if it does, it must file a certified copy of the order with the county treasurer.

The county treasurer must not pay a warrant to create or replenish a revolving fund unless the fund order includes the district’s responsibility for disbursement and a hold-harmless agreement for the treasurer.

A revolving fund may be paid out only by checks or drafts signed by at least two board members, or by a person unanimously authorized by the board.

The county treasurer is the district’s ex officio treasurer unless the board appoints a district treasurer with the county treasurer’s written consent.

The board of supervisors must appoint an election board made up of three district landowners or their legal representatives, including one inspector and two judges of election.

Before each election, the board must ensure the appropriate roll is prepared, certified, and furnished to the election board.

The election board must use the certified roll to determine how many votes each voter may cast.

If an election board member does not show up when the polls open, the voters present may appoint a landowner or legal representative to act in that person’s place.

District voters may vote in person or by proxy, and the number of votes depends on the district’s prior-year assessments, installments, fees, charges, or special tax setup.

Certain co-owners or a legal representative may be presumed authorized to cast all votes for a parcel after filing the required perjury certification with the election board.

Polling places are generally open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., but the board may choose longer hours in two specified situations.

A district may, if its governing board adopts a resolution, conduct elections by all-mailed ballots. Any such election must be held on the date prescribed in Section 1500 of the Elections Code or on another date that is not an established election date.

Each district must hold an election in November of each odd-numbered year, at a place near the district designated by the board, and the district must pay the election costs.

If the board of trustees recommends it, or if a verified petition from qualifying landowners is received, the board of supervisors must set a time and place for a general district election for the unexpired trustees' term.

Trustee nominations must be filed by petition within the stated election window, and the secretary must publish notice about when petitions may be received.

The nomination petition must follow a specified form for candidate nominations in a reclamation district trustee election.

The secretary must publish the election notice once a week for four weeks, starting at least one month before the election date, in the same newspaper or newspapers used for the nomination-petition notice.

A general district election must not be held if, by 5 p.m. on the 54th day before the election, the nominees do not exceed the trustees to be elected and no petition signed by 5% of voters asking for the election has been presented to the board.