The government of Los Angeles County operates as a charter county under the California Constitution, California law, and the Charter of the County of Los Angeles. Much of the government of California is in practice the responsibility of county governments such as Los Angeles County. The county government provides countywide services such as elections and voter registration, law enforcement, jails, vital records, property records, tax collection, public health, and social services. In addition the county serves as the local government for all unincorporated areas.
It is composed of the elected five-member Board of Supervisors, several other elected offices including the Sheriff, District Attorney, and Assessor, and numerous county departments and entities under the supervision of the chief executive officer.
Some chartered cities such as Los Angeles and Long Beach provide municipal services such as police, fire, libraries, parks and recreation, and zoning. Other cities arrange to have the County provide some or all of these services under contract. In addition, several entities of the government of California have jurisdiction coterminous with Los Angeles County, such as the Los Angeles Superior Court.
Overview
Los Angeles County is the most populous county in the United States, and the largest municipal government in the nation. If the county were a state, it would be the 9th most populous state in the United States, in between Georgia and North Carolina. As of 2024, the Board of Supervisors oversees a $49.2 billion annual budget and over 117,000 employees.Fesia A. Davenport, Transmittal Letter, Fiscal 2024-25 Recommended County Budget, October 8, 2024. The county workforce is larger than the state-level government workforces of most U.S. states.
Organization
Board of Supervisors
Under its foundational Charter, the five-member elected Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors (BOS) is the county legislature. The board operates in a legislative, executive, and quasi-judicial capacity. As a legislative authority, it can pass ordinances for the unincorporated areas (ordinances that affect the whole county, like posting of restaurant ratings, must be ratified by the individual city). As an executive body, it can tell the county departments what to do, and how to do it. As a quasi-judicial body, the Board is the final venue of appeal in the local planning process, and holds public hearings on various agenda items. A local nickname sometimes used for the board is the "five little kings."
The board members were:
Hilda Solis, district 1 (Chair) Holly Mitchell, district 2 (Chair Pro Tem) Lindsey Horvath, district 3 Janice Hahn, district 4 Kathryn Barger, district 5
Elected officers In addition to the board of supervisors, there are several elected officers that form the Government of Los Angeles County that are required by the California Constitution and California law and authorized under the Charter.
Sheriff The Los Angeles County Sheriff provides general-service law enforcement to unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County, serving as the equivalent of the county police for unincorporated areas of the county as well as incorporated cities within the county that have contracted with the agency for law enforcement. Of the 88 cities in Los Angeles County, 40 are just such "contract cities," in an arrangement pioneered in 1954 by the city of Lakewood, California and known as the Lakewood Plan.
District Attorney The Los Angeles County District Attorney prosecutes all felony crimes that occur anywhere within Los Angeles County (cities and unincorporated areas), and any misdemeanor crimes that occur within the unincorporated areas of the county, and for any city that has abdicated this responsibility to the county. The City of Los Angeles, for example, has its own city attorney to handle most misdemeanor crimes and infractions that occur within the City of Los Angeles.
Assessor The Los Angeles County Assessor is the assessor responsible for discovering all taxable property in Los Angeles County except for state-assessed property and inventorying and listing all the taxable property, valuing the property, and enrolling the property on the local assessment roll.
Chief Executive Officer
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO), also known the chief administrative officer, assists the board of supervisors in handling the mounting administrative details of the county and coordinating between departments.
From 2007 to 2015, the CEO had direct supervision over 31 of the 37 departments while the other departments (Assessor, Auditor-Controller, Community Development Commission, County Counsel, District Attorney, Executive Office of the Board of Supervisors, Fire, and Sheriff) did not report to the CEO.
Prior to 2007 and from 2015 and following, the CEO provides a strategic coordination and support role. Departments submit recommendations and action items directly to the Board offices without CEO input required, and are fired and hired directly by the board, with the CEO providing administrative support in negotiating department head salaries and facilitating communications between departments when necessary. Board offices felt that the CEO added bureaucracy and that the additional deputy and assistant CEOs added little value.
Other tasks specifically given to the CEO include preparation and control of the annual budget in consultation with departments, providing leadership and direction for Board-sponsored initiatives and priorities, analysis and advocacy of state and federal legislation; coordinating Countywide strategic communications and cross-departmental public information (including the main County website), and managing capital projects and debt, asset, leasing and space management. The CEO's office also administers the risk management and insurance programs, and facilitates departments addressing unincorporated area issues and international protocol issues, manages the county's employee relations program and compensation/classification systems, represents the board in labor negotiations, and monitors cable television companies operating in unincorporated areas. The chief information officer, Homeless Initiative (which manages Measure H, the voter-approved homeless tax), child care, and Office of Emergency Management are also located in the CEO's office.
Public safety Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner - Coroner: performs autopsies and determines the cause of death for those who die without medical supervision. Los Angeles County Public Defender: defends indigent criminal suspects
Health Los Angeles County Department of Health Services: operates several county hospitals and a network of primary care clinics, and also runs the public health care system such as My Health LA (Low Income Health Program) Los Angeles County Department of Public Health Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health L.A. Care Health Plan: a non-profit public health plan created to help Los Angeles County residents obtain affordable health care.
Children and families Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services: administers foster care. Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services: administers many federal and state welfare programs within the county, such as Medi-Cal (Medicaid), CalFresh (food stamps), and CalWORKs (TANF).
Community Los Angeles County Department of Beaches and Harbors: responsible for operating the county-owned harbor in Marina Del Rey as well as the network of county beaches. Los Angeles County Department of Parks and RecreationLos Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation – administers public parks and the largest public golf course system in the U.S. Los Angeles County Department of Public Works: operates countywide flood control system, constructs and maintains roads in unincorporated areas Los Angeles County Department of Regional Planning:Los Angeles County Department of Regional Planning responsible for planning functions for unincorporated areas. The department maintains the Zoning Code that regulates land use in the unincorporated areas, researches and facilitates land-use decisions, and serves to connect the community to the established building regulations. It supports the Regional Planning Commission, a five-member quasi-judicial body under the board of supervisors. Los Angeles County Public Library: operates a large network of branch libraries throughout the county Los Angeles County Museum of Art: public art museum Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History: public history and science museum located in Exposition Park
Operations The Los Angeles County Treasurer and Tax Collector: responsible for billing and collecting taxes. The Treasurer-Tax Collector is appointed by the board of supervisors. Los Angeles County Internal Services Department: responsible for the general operations of county government, including Information Technology Service, Data Center management, County Cyber security, fleet management, energy and environmental services, building management, contracting and procuring, etc. Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control: runs the animal shelter system of Los Angeles County and provides a variety of animal control field services and licensing. Los Angeles County Agricultural Commissioner / Weights & Measures: responsible for weights & measures inspections, vector control services, environmental protection, and agricultural produce inspections. Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder / County Clerk: responsible for voter registration and elections with the county, birth; death; and marriage records, recording of legal documents and fictitious business filings, registration of notaries, and issuance of marriage licenses.
Independent Los Angeles County Auditor-Controller: responsible for allocating collected taxes to the appropriate taxing jurisdictions such as the county, cities, schools and special districts within the county, receipts, and financial reporting. The Auditor-Controller is appointed by the board of supervisors. Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services: administers foster care Community Development Commission of the County of Los Angeles serves as the county's housing authority as well as the housing and community and economic development agency with wide-ranging programs that benefit residents and business owners in unincorporated County areas and in various incorporated cities. Los Angeles County Fire Department: provides fire protection, suppression, and prevention as well as emergency medical services Los Angeles County Fire Department Lifeguard Division: (portrayed in the famous television series Baywatch). Los Angeles County Probation Department: responsible for running the county's juvenile halls as well monitoring former juvenile and adults offenders during their reintegration into society. Los Angeles County Department of Consumer Affairs: offers consumers in the county a variety of services including: consumer and real estate counseling, mediation, and small claims counseling. The department also investigates consumer complains, real estate fraud, and identity theft issues. Los Angeles County Board of Education: maintains the policies for governance of the Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE) and appoints the Los Angeles County Superintendent of Schools. It is composed of seven members who are appointed by the board of supervisors to two- and four-year terms. In general, the LACOE's only direct authority over local districts is in matters of interdistrict attendance appeals, school district boundary changes, and expulsion appeals. The LACOE directly operates the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts in partnership with California State University, Los Angeles, and the International Polytechnic High School in partnership with the Cal Poly Pomona College of Education and Integrative Studies.