(a) Unless otherwise provided, every oath of office certified by the officer before whom it was taken shall be filed within the time required as follows:
(1) The oath of all officers whose authority is not limited to any particular county, in the office of the Secretary of State.
(2) The oath of all officers elected or appointed for any county, and, except as provided in paragraph (4), of all officers whose duties are local, or whose residence in any particular county is prescribed by law, in the office of the county clerk of their respective counties.
(3) Each judge of a superior court, the county clerk, the clerk of the court, the executive officer or court administrator of the superior court, and the recorder shall file a copy of that person’s official oath, signed with that person’s own proper signature, in the office of the Secretary of State as soon as that person has taken and subscribed the oath.
(4) The oath of all officers for any independent special district, as defined in Section 56044, in the office of the clerk or secretary of that district.
(b) In addition to filing pursuant to subdivision (a), a health officer appointed pursuant to Section 101000 or 101460 of the Health and Safety Code shall file their oath in the office of the Secretary of State.
(c) (1) In its discretion, the board of supervisors of a county may require every elected or appointed officer or department head of that county who legally changes their name, delegated authority, or department, within 10 days from the date of the change, to file a new oath of office in the same manner as the original filing. The county may maintain a record of each person so required to file a new oath of office indicating whether or not the person has complied. Any record maintained pursuant to this paragraph is a public record subject to disclosure under the California Public Records Act (Division 10 (commencing with Section 7920.000)).
(2) Notwithstanding any other law, including, but not limited to, Sections 1368 and 1369, failure of an elected or appointed officer or department head of a county to file a new oath of office required by the board of supervisors pursuant to this subdivision shall not be punishable as a crime.
(d) Every oath of office filed pursuant to this section with the Secretary of State shall include the expiration date of the officer’s term of office, if any. In the case of an oath of office for an appointed officer, if there is no expiration date set forth in the oath, or the officer leaves office before the expiration date, the appointing authority shall report in writing to the Secretary of State the officer’s date of departure from office.
(e) The powers of an appointed officer of a county are no longer granted upon the officer’s departure from office. In its discretion, the board of supervisors of a county may require the appointing authority to rescind these powers in writing by filing a revocation in the same manner as the oath of office was filed.
(Amended (as amended by Stats. 2021, Ch. 615, Sec. 136) by Stats. 2022, Ch. 124, Sec. 1. (AB 2324) Effective January 1, 2023.)