This law is officially named the Community Services District Law.

This California law section discusses the importance of Community Services Districts (CSDs) in providing local governance tailored to the diverse communities across the state. It notes the historical development of CSDs and acknowledges past complexities in the law that made it difficult for stakeholders to understand and implement. The law emphasizes the need to revise CSD statutes for clarity, adaptability, and to support local peace, health, safety, and welfare.

The law finds that CSDs can be permanent governance structures, possibly combine multiple districts, serve as alternatives to forming new cities, or act as transitional governance towards cityhood. The intent is to support these districts in providing a wide array of public facilities and encourage local agency commissions to consider merging districts for effective governance. It promotes using CSD laws to address local needs and conditions.

This section defines key terms used in the context of community services districts in California. It explains how board members can be elected either "at large" (entire district votes) or "by divisions" (only voters in a specific division vote). It describes roles like the "general manager" and "board of directors," and clarifies concepts like "latent power" and "graffiti abatement." The section also defines what is meant by the "principal county," "voter," "zone," and other roles such as "president," "chair," and "secretary." These definitions are essential for understanding the governance and operational structure of community services districts.

This law provides the rules and structure for the operation of community services districts in California. It replaces and continues the function of a previous division that was first established in 1955. Any community services district or improvement district existing as of January 1, 2006, will persist under this updated law as if it were organized according to these new rules. Furthermore, any legal or administrative decisions made prior to 2006, such as debts, contracts, or regulations, are still valid even if they didn't adhere strictly to the current rules.

This law section is saying that the rules in this part of the law should be interpreted in a way that best achieves their intended goals.

This law says that if any part of it is found to be invalid or doesn't apply correctly in certain situations or to certain entities, it doesn't make the rest of the law invalid. The rest of the law can still work and be enforced without the faulty part. This concept is referred to as 'severability.'

This law explains the procedures for challenging or reviewing actions related to a district in California. If someone questions the validity of a district's organization or its financial obligations like bonds or contracts, they must follow specific procedures outlined in another part of the California legal code. Similarly, if someone wants the court to force a district or its officials to do something, there's a process for that too. Lastly, if there's a need to review an administrative decision made by a district after a hearing, a specific legal procedure applies.

This law explains that areas, whether they are part of a city or not, and regardless of their location or boundaries, can be included in a district. The rules for changing or reorganizing a district are mainly governed by a set of laws called the Cortese-Knox-Hertzberg Local Government Reorganization Act of 2000. However, if there's ever any conflict between this act and another law, this law will take priority. Lastly, most districts are considered 'independent special districts,' unless their board of directors is made up of a county board of supervisors or a city council.

This section explains the rules governing the election processes for districts in California. Districts must generally follow the Uniform District Election Law unless specified otherwise. The board of directors can decide to align their board member elections with the statewide general election date. Districts are allowed to conduct elections using all-mailed ballots, and they may also hold advisory elections to get feedback on issues affecting the district.

When a district or zone changes its boundaries, it must follow the rules outlined in Chapter 8, starting with Section 54900.