San Diego County voters are one step closer to deciding whether to modernize the County Charter for the first time in decades, after the Board of Supervisors approved a historic package of governance reforms Tuesday on a 3-2 vote.

Board Chair Terra Lawson-Remer cast her vote virtually after delivering her baby daughter earlier than expected due to medical complications.

If approved by voters in November 2026, the reforms would create new independent oversight tools to strengthen ethics enforcement, budget transparency, program accountability, and public confidence in County government. A second reading is scheduled for June 25 before the measure can be placed on the ballot.

“At a time when federal cuts are threatening housing, health care, food assistance, homelessness services, and public safety, local government needs the tools to be stable, effective, and accountable,” Lawson-Remer continued. “This is about giving voters the final say on whether San Diego County should have modern checks and balances to support the scale of the services we deliver.”

For decades, the San Diego County government has operated under a Charter that has not kept pace with the scale, complexity, or public expectations of a modern $8.6 billion regional government serving 3.3 million residents. The reform package advanced today would strengthen independent oversight, clarify accountability, and give voters greater input and insight.

The vote followed an unsuccessful last ditch attempt by Supervisor Joel Anderson to protect the old guard County government — a model that kept oversight weak, insulated the bureaucracy from democratic accountability, and limited the County’s ability to respond aggressively on housing, health care, homelessness, food assistance, workers’ rights, and public safety.

Anderson’s competing proposal would have weakened the accountability structure at the center of the reform package. Rather than offering a serious good-government alternative, his proposal was being promoted with misleading legal claims that created confusion about reforms designed to strengthen ethics enforcement, independent budget analysis, program oversight, and public transparency.

The key corrections are below:

1. Term Limits

Fiction: Uncertainty in state law could allow sitting Supervisors to serve three additional terms in office.

Fact: County Counsel says this is not true. Section 401.5(d) specifies that a Supervisor’s service prior to the effective date of the amendment counts towards the 3 terms.

Key Point: The proposed Charter language does not give sitting Supervisors three additional terms.

2. District Residency / Tijuana Claim

Fiction: The Charter language would allow for Supervisors to live outside their districts, or even in Tijuana.

Fact: Supervisors would not be able to live outside the United States.

Fact: Any change to district-based election requirements would have required both:

·        A change in state law; and

·        A separate Charter ballot measure approved by voters.

Note: Supervisor Lawson-Remer supported an amendment that further clarified that no change away from District elections will occur in San Diego County. 

3. “Independent” Oversight

Fiction: “Independent” means creating an office that is independent from the Board.

Fact: In this context, “independent” means independent from the bureaucracy being reviewed.

Fact: The Board of Supervisors is already the elected body responsible for overseeing the County bureaucracy.

Key Point: Creating a redundant elected office would weaken clear lines of accountability rather than strengthen them.

4. Purchasing / Procurement Influence

Fiction: The Charter reforms would allow Supervisors to influence purchasing decisions.

Fact: This is not true.

Fact: Nothing in the Charter reform gives Supervisors authority to direct procurement outcomes or interfere with purchasing decisions. Non-interference in Section 501.9 works with Section 705.3 and prohibits the Board from directing staff except through the CAO. 

Key Point: The reforms strengthen and clarify non-interference rules and specifically prohibit illegal political influence over purchasing.

5. Assistant CAO / Staff Authority Claim

Fiction: The Board could gain authority over hundreds of County staffers by simply changing their title to Assistant CAO.

Fact: This is not true.

Fact: A title change alone would not convert ordinary staff into Board-controlled positions.

Key Point: The reform is about confirmation and accountability for senior County leadership, not giving the Board authority over rank-and-file staff.

Before San Diego County’s Charter reforms go to the voters, there will be a second reading by the Board on June 25. An additional reading is required because the Board removed language that would have applied term limits to separately elected countywide offices, including the Sheriff, District Attorney, Treasurer/Tax Collector, and Assessor/Recorder/County Clerk, if state law were to authorize counties to impose those limits. Those countywide offices currently have no term limits.

The Board also amended the ballot question to reflect the updated scope of the measure. The new ballot question reads: Shall the San Diego County Charter be amended to establish an Independent Ethics Commission, Independent Budget Analyst, Independent Program Auditor, confirmation of certain senior County leaders, and optional Board of Supervisors appointment of the Public Defender; increase term limits from two to three terms for Board of Supervisors members; require public disclosure of spending and performance data; clarify non-interference provisions; and update terminology and structure?

The proposed reform package advanced by the Board includes:

• An independent Ethics Commission with authority over elected officials
• A nonpartisan Independent Budget Analyst who reports to the Board and the public, not the bureaucracy
• An independent Program Auditor to evaluate whether County programs are delivering results for residents
• A lifetime maximum of three terms for members of the Board of Supervisors, aligned with the 12-year limit used for California state legislators
• Public disclosure of County spending data to make it easier for residents to see how taxpayer dollars are used
• Public input and Board confirmation for key senior leadership positions to strengthen transparency, accountability, and checks and balances
• Clarified non-interference rules to protect professional County operations while ensuring appropriate democratic oversight
• Modernized Charter language and structure to make the County government clearer and easier for the public to understand

The Charter is San Diego County’s foundational governing document. Charter reforms must be approved by voters before taking effect.

The Board is scheduled to hold a second reading of the measure on June 25. If approved on second reading, the measure will proceed to the November 2026 ballot.