Local government: County of Orange.

The California Constitution provides that the state is divided into counties, which are legal subdivisions, and requires, among other things, that the Legislature provide for an elected governing body in each county. Existing law requires the income and revenue paid into the county treasury to be at once appropriated to and kept in separate funds. This bill would require the local official in the County of Orange charged with the authority to execute decisions on the Orange County Investment Fund who is elected or appointed on or after January 1, 2026, to meet the same minimum qualifications of the Treasurer-Tax Collector of the County of Orange, and any member of the Audit Oversight Committee of the County of Orange appointed to the committee on or after January 1, 2026, to meet the same minimum qualifications of the members of the prior Treasury Oversight Committee of the County of Orange. The bill would require the County Executive Office of the County of Orange, no later than July 1, 2026, and on or before July 1 of each year thereafter, to prepare an annual statement of assets in the Orange County Investment Fund that is made available to the public and submitted to investors of the fund and the Legislature, as specified. By imposing additional duties on the county or county officers, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would make findings and declarations relating to these provisions. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the County of Orange. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.