ARTICLE 3. Federal Aid [53700. - 53706.]

Cal. Government Code - GOV 3.

in effect

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 53700. Section 53700.

A county, city, municipal corporation, or district may do any and all things necessary under federal law or rule of a federal department, agency, mandatory, or authority, to secure monetary aid either as a loan or as an outright appropriation: (a) To reduce any of its indebtedness. (b) To fund or refund any such indebtedness, whether relating to general obligation bonds or to the obligations represented by special assessment bonds for the unpaid principal upon any assessment levied prior to September 15, 1935 pursuant to state law in which the lien is special as to a particular property described in the assessment or bond, or whether the bonds are to be paid and discharged from an annual levy in accordance with the assessed value of all of the lands in a district.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 53701. Section 53701.

Notwithstanding any other law, except limitations imposed by the Constitution, the legislative body of a county, city, district, political subdivision, or a public or municipal corporation, may accept grants or loans of funds made available by the Federal Government or a federal department or agency to aid in financing plans for, or construction of, public works.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 53702. Section 53702.

A county, city, district, political subdivision, or a public or municipal corporation, may comply with all applicable requirements of federal laws and regulations and orders issued pursuant to the law relating to the awarding of contracts for public work, the hours of labor, employment preferences, and other matters covered by the law, regulation, or order, if such compliance is a prerequisite to the loan or grant of federal funds.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 53703. Section 53703.

A county or city may do all acts necessary to participate in all programs authorized by a federal housing act, including the Demonstration Cities and Metropolitan Development Act of 1966 or any other federal program whereby federal funds are granted to the county or city or any of its residents for purposes of health, education, welfare, public safety, law enforcement activities which have not been preempted by state law, prevention or reduction of crime, rehabilitation of persons convicted of crime or juvenile offenders, public works or community improvement, including, without limitation thereto, contracting and cooperating with the federal government, the state and its agencies, other local public agencies and private persons and corporations, and may make any expenditure of county or city funds required for such participation. A county or city may, through its officers and employees, also provide any or all necessary services to any housing authority with regard to which the governing body of the county or city has made a declaration of necessity pursuant to Article 2, Chapter 1, Part 2, Division 24 of the Health and Safety Code. Where the authority to perform any act or service is delegated to a city or county by this section, the city or county may perform such act or service by means of a contract with an independent contractor, which independent contractor may be a public or private agency or private person. This section shall not be construed to operate as a grant of authority in compliance with any federal act or program requiring the adoption of specific enabling legislation nor shall it be construed to supersede any such legislation.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 53704. Section 53704.

A city, county or city and county which has entered into and operated a federal grant program pursuant to the authority contained within Section 53703 may continue the operation of such program for a period not exceeding two years from the termination of any federal grant or authority for such program. The board of supervisors or city council may appropriate funds for such programs and may do all acts necessary to continue the program in operation.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 53705. Section 53705.

A city, county or city and county may appropriate funds and may do all acts necessary to assume and carry out or continue any program, or part thereof, which is operated by any other public agency, private person or corporation and whereby federal funds have been granted to such public agency, private person or corporation for purposes of health, education, welfare, public safety, law enforcement activities which have not been preempted by state law, prevention or reduction of crime, rehabilitation of persons convicted of crime or juvenile offenders, or public works or community improvements, where the federal funds for such programs are to be terminated or substantially reduced by the federal government; provided however, that no such program shall be operated pursuant to this section for a period exceeding two years. A city, county or city and county may perform any act or service authorized by this section by means of a contract with an independent contractor. The independent contractor may be a public agency, private person or corporation. The board of supervisors or city council may appropriate funds for such programs and may do all acts necessary to continue the program in action.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 53706. Section 53706.

“Priority expenditures” for which the State and Local Fiscal Assistance Act of 1972 (Public Law 92-512) funds may be spent for the purposes authorized by the act by a local agency are priority expenditures serving the general interest of the citizens of the city or the county in which they are spent whether the expenditure is made by the city, the county, or by any other local governmental agency authorized to perform those purposes within the city or the county receiving the funds. The funds for the construction, removal, relocation or replacement of any facility designed to provide water, water treatment or sewer services may be allocated and appropriated for such priority expenditures by the city or county receiving them for expenditure by the agency itself or by the local governmental agency which performs the service wholly or partially within the boundaries of the city or the county making the allocation for such purposes.

Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026