When a Banning Library District trustee leaves before the term ends, do the remaining trustees fill the seat or does Riverside County Board of Supervisors appoint a replacement?

Plain-English summary

Riverside County Counsel Gregory Priamos asked the AG to settle a procedural puzzle. When a vacancy opens up on the Banning Library District Board of Trustees before a term expires, who fills it? Two California statutes seemed to offer competing answers. Education Code § 19426 says the supervising county board of supervisors fills vacancies on a library board of trustees by appointment. Government Code § 1780, in contrast, says the remaining members of a special district board fill the vacancy, either by appointment or by calling an election.

AG Kamala Harris (through Deputy AG Manuel Medeiros) concluded the remaining trustees fill the vacancy under Government Code § 1780. The whole opinion hinges on whether the Banning Library District is a "chapter 3" library district (school-district-established) or a "chapter 8" library district (independently established). Section 19426 lives in chapter 8 and uses the definite phrase "the board of library trustees," which the AG read as referring back to chapter 8's own § 19420 board structure. Government Code § 1780, in contrast, is the general vacancy-filling rule for special districts.

The district's history matters. It was originally created in 1916 as a "Banning Unified School District Library District," governed by the school board itself, plainly chapter 3. In 2005, the Legislature passed Senate Bill 405, enacting Education Code § 18343. That statute renamed the district as the "Banning Library District" and gave it a separate, dedicated five-member board, drawn initially from the existing library commission. Did that 2005 legislation convert the district from chapter 3 to chapter 8?

The AG said no. Section 18343 expressly provided that "the library district shall continue to receive revenues, including apportioned property taxes and authorized special taxes as if it were still the Banning Unified School District Library District. There shall be no change in district powers or responsibilities." The Legislature knows how to convert a district from one statutory framework to another when it wants to (the opinion cites Health and Safety Code § 4641.5 as an example). It didn't do so here.

Having concluded the district remained a chapter 3 district, the AG looked for chapter 3's vacancy-filling rule. There isn't one, because in every other chapter 3 district the school board itself serves as the library board, and school-board vacancies are governed by separate provisions (e.g., Education Code § 5091). So the gap gets filled by the general special-district vacancy-filling rule in Government Code § 1780. Since the Banning Library District is a special district (it carries out specified governmental functions in a limited geographical area, per In re Madera Irrigation District and Gov. Code § 56036(a)), § 1780 applies and the trustees fill their own vacancies.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2016. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Common questions

Q: Why does the difference between chapter 3 and chapter 8 districts matter so much?
A: The two chapters reflect different historical paths to creating a public library, with different governance structures and statutory frameworks. The Legislature wrote a vacancy-filling rule for chapter 8 districts but not for chapter 3 districts because chapter 3 districts usually piggyback on school boards. Banning was an unusual chapter 3 district with its own board, so the general law had to fill the gap.

Q: Which other library districts are in the same situation?
A: Per the opinion, only two: Banning Library District and the Blanchard/Santa Paula Library District (Education Code § 18342). Both are chapter 3 districts specially created from preexisting school-district public library districts.

Q: What is the practical procedure under § 1780 for filling a vacancy?
A: The remaining members of the board may fill the vacancy by appointment or by calling an election. Depending on when the vacancy occurs and when the next district election is scheduled, the appointee may serve until the next district election or for the balance of the unexpired term.

Q: Could the Legislature change this by amending § 18343?
A: Yes. The AG read the statute as written; the Legislature can amend it to expressly convert the district to chapter 8 status (or to write a chapter 3 vacancy rule).

Background and statutory framework

The California Education Code organizes public libraries into six chapters under Title 1, Division 1, Part 11: Chapter 3 (school-district libraries, §§ 18300-18571), Chapter 5 (municipal libraries, §§ 18900-18965), Chapter 7 (county free libraries, §§ 19100-19180), Chapter 8 (library districts, §§ 19400-19532), and Chapter 9 (library districts and museums in unincorporated towns and villages, §§ 19600-19734). Each chapter has its own governance and vacancy-filling rules.

Government Code § 1780 is the general vacancy-filling statute for "special districts," with carve-outs in § 1781 for school districts, certain Public Utilities Code districts, and certain Water Code districts. The Banning Library District fits the "special district" definition (Gov. Code § 56036(a); In re Madera Irrigation District).

The opinion applied a careful canon of statutory construction. "The definite article 'the' refers to a specific person or thing" (Honchariw v. County of Stanislaus); "the indefinite articles 'a' or 'an' signal a general reference." Section 19426's "the board of library trustees" pointed back to chapter 8's own § 19420 board, not to library boards generally. The AG also noted that when § 1780 and § 19426 conflict, § 19426 wins (it is more specific and was enacted later, per Collection Bureau of San Jose v. Rumsey), but only when § 19426 actually applies.

Citations

• Cal. Educ. Code § 18343 (Banning Library District structure, 2005)
• Cal. Educ. Code § 19426 (chapter 8 vacancy rule)
• Cal. Gov't Code § 1780 (general special-district vacancy rule)
• Cal. Gov't Code § 1781 (exclusions from § 1780)
• Honchariw v. County of Stanislaus, 218 Cal.App.4th 1019 (2013) (definite article canon)
• Collection Bureau of San Jose v. Rumsey, 24 Cal.4th 301 (2000) (specific over general)

Source

• Landing page: https://oag.ca.gov/opinions/yearly-index
• Original PDF: https://oag.ca.gov/system/files/opinions/pdfs/15-1201_1.pdf

Original opinion text

TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
State of California
KAMALA D. HARRIS
Attorney General

OPINION of KAMALA D. HARRIS, Attorney General
MANUEL M. MEDEIROS, Deputy Attorney General

No. 15-1201
November 3, 2016

THE HONORABLE GREGORY P. PRIAMOS, RIVERSIDE COUNTY COUNSEL, has requested an opinion on the following question:

Should vacancies that occur in unexpired terms on the Banning Library District Board of Trustees be filled by the Riverside County Board of Supervisors pursuant to Education Code section 19426, or by the remaining library district trustees in accordance with Government Code section 1780?

CONCLUSION

Vacancies that occur in unexpired terms on the Banning Library District Board of Trustees should be filled by the remaining library district trustees in accordance with Government Code section 1780.

ANALYSIS

The Banning Unified School District Library District was established by public vote in 1916. At the time, state law provided that, "Any union high school district of this state may establish, equip and maintain a public library for the dissemination of knowledge of the arts, sciences and general literature, in accordance with the provisions of this act." For this purpose, the voters in a given school district were empowered to form a "union high school district public library district" or "unified school district public library district." Upon voter approval, the county board of supervisors would duly establish the library district by resolution, and place the library district in the control of the trustees of the corresponding school district.

In accordance with this statutory scheme, the trustees of the Banning Unified School District also governed the Banning Unified School District Library District until 2006. In 2005, at the request of the Banning Unified School District governing board, the Legislature adopted Senate Bill 405, enacting Education Code section 18343. The measure expressly authorized the governing board of the Banning Unified School District to provide by resolution that, the Banning Unified School District Library District would be renamed the Banning Library District, and would thereafter be governed by a new board of trustees. That resolution was adopted in December 2005.

In February 2006, the Riverside County Board of Supervisors appointed a five-member board of trustees for the Banning Library District "from the membership of the Library Commission of the [former] Banning Unified School District Library District." Trustees to the Banning Library District board are now elected to staggered four-year terms. The question presented for our resolution concerns how a vacancy on the Banning Library District board of trustees should be filled when the vacancy occurs before the incumbent's term expires. Specifically, we are asked whether such vacancies should be filled under the procedures set forth in Education Code section 19426, which call for the county Board of Supervisors to fill the vacancy by appointment, or by those set forth in Government Code section 1780, which provide that the remaining library district trustees fill the vacancy by appointment or by calling an election.

Public libraries in California may be established under a number of different statutory schemes, depending upon the type of governmental entity providing the library service. Two categories of library district merit discussion here. The first is one established by a school district, a "chapter 3" district, and the second is one established independently, a "chapter 8" district. The answer to the question presented to us depends on whether the Banning Library District continues to be a chapter 3 district, or whether it has become a chapter 8 district by virtue of the 2005 legislation. We conclude that the 2005 legislation did not change the character of the library district from a chapter 3 (school-established) district to a chapter 8 (independent) district.

The Banning Unified School District Library District was originally created as a chapter 3 library district. Later, in 2005, the enactment of Education Code section 18343 changed the district's name to "Banning Library District," and substituted a new board of trustees, drawn from the existing library commission, for the school district board of trustees that had served until then as the library district's governing board.

In interpreting the 2005 legislation, our role is "to ascertain the intent of the Legislature in order to effectuate the law's purpose. We may not, under the guise of construction, attempt to rewrite a statute and, within the framework of the language used, we must interpret it in a manner to make it workable and reasonable." To that end, we note that nothing in section 18343 suggests an intention to change the statutory character of the district. To the contrary, section 18343 states:

The library district shall continue to receive revenues, including apportioned property taxes and authorized special taxes as if it were still the Banning Unified School District Library District. There shall be no change in district powers or responsibilities.

If the Legislature had intended to change the statutory character of the library district, it knew how to do so. But it did not, and we may not rewrite the statute to conform to a presumed intent that could have been, but was not, expressed. Accordingly, we conclude that the Banning Library District remains a chapter 3 library district.

Having so concluded, we turn to the question of what vacancy-filling rule applies to this district. Chapter 3 is silent about filling vacancies on the library district board of trustees. In contrast, chapter 8 includes a specific vacancy-filling procedure in Education Codes section 19426, which states, "A vacancy in the board of library trustees shall be filled for the unexpired term by appointment of the supervising board of supervisors." Should this chapter 8 procedure fill the gap in chapter 3? We think not.

Taking the structure of chapter 8 as a whole into consideration, we believe that section 19426 applies only to chapter 8 library districts because its phrase "the board of library trustees" necessarily refers to a board organized pursuant to section 19420 which is also located within chapter 8. If the Legislature had intended for section 19426 to have a broader application it should at least have used the indefinite article here, that is to say "a board of library trustees" to so indicate. Besides, and perhaps more tellingly, the Legislature has expressly and separately addressed governing board vacancies in other kinds of library districts, though not in chapter 3. Therefore, we do not construe section 19426 as applying to any library districts other than those organized under chapter 8. We thus conclude that vacancies in unexpired terms on the Banning Library District board of trustees should not be filled pursuant to section 19426.

Finding no specific vacancy-filling provision for chapter 3 library districts, we turn to Government Code section 1780, a general statute that provides for the filling of vacancies on the governing boards of "special districts" other than school districts and a few other specified districts not relevant here. The Banning Library District meets the definition of a "special district", i.e., one created pursuant to law for the purpose of carrying out specified governmental functions in a limited geographical area, and we have not been given any reason to construe it as anything other than that. Therefore, the general vacancy-filling rule applies to it.

We conclude that vacancies that occur in unexpired terms on the Banning Library District Board of Trustees should be filled by the remaining library district trustees in accordance with Government Code section 1780.