(a) (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this part, an action to form a new community college district from a portion of an existing community college district shall be deemed to be approved as provided by law, for purposes of Section 74250, without election, when approval of that action is given by the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges pursuant to Section 74205, provided that the proposed new district consists of an existing community college center and its service area, and all of the following conditions exist:

(A) The existing community college center in the proposed new district is located in a county other than the county in which the headquarters of the existing community college district is located.

(B) The community college center in the proposed new district is located 50 or more miles from any other campus or center in the existing community college district.

(C) The existing community college district has a total full-time equivalent enrollment in the 1997-98 fiscal year of not less than 6,500 students and not more than 7,000 students, and the existing community college center, which would become the community college campus in the proposed new district, has a full-time equivalent enrollment in the 1997-98 fiscal year of not less than 1,200 students and not more than 1,500 students.

(2) The Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges shall take action as provided in this subdivision at the first regularly scheduled meeting or special meeting after the operative date of the act that adds Section 74265.5. A new community college district formed pursuant to this section shall be formed as soon as practicable on or after July 1 of the calendar year in which the act that adds Section 74265.5 becomes operative.

(b) The action to form a new community college district, as described in subdivision (a), shall be submitted for voter approval at an election that shall be called by the county superintendent of schools of the county in which the proposed new community college district is located upon the formation of a new community college district pursuant to subdivision (a). The election shall be called in the manner prescribed in Part 4 (commencing with Section 5000), and shall be conducted at the next available regular election scheduled in the territory of the new community college district defined in the approved proposal according to the procedures prescribed by Sections 35757 to 35764, inclusive. In the event that, pursuant to that election, the voters fail to approve that action, the new community college district formed pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be deemed to be thereupon annexed as a center by the community college district from which it was formed.

(c) The election of the first governing board of the community college district formed pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be called and conducted together with the election provided for under subdivision (b).

(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the requirements set forth in Article 3 (commencing with Section 74150) of Chapter 2 do not apply to the action to form a new community college district described in subdivision (a). It is the intent of the Legislature that the formation of a district pursuant to this section not adversely affect the state funding of community college districts in subsequent fiscal years.

(e) Upon the formation of a new community college district pursuant to this section, the county superintendent of schools for the county in which the new district is situated shall appoint an interim governing board for the new district pursuant to application and selection procedures established by the county superintendent. There shall be five at-large appointees, and these appointees shall constitute the governing board of the new community college district until the members of the governing board elected pursuant to subdivision (c) take office or, in the event that the voters fail to approve the action of forming the new community college district, until the new community college district is annexed, pursuant to subdivision (b), by the community college district from which it was formed.

(f) After the effective date of the formation of the new community college district pursuant to this section, one district may contract with the other district for the performance of services under terms and conditions that may be agreed upon by the two districts.

(g) (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, after the effective date of the formation of a new community college district pursuant to this section, the new community college district shall receive all state funding to which a district of its enrollment with fully accredited programs of instruction would be entitled. Funds authorized, appropriated, or apportioned for distribution to the new community college district, regardless of source, and regardless of whether those funds are presently being handled by the county office of education in which the existing district is headquartered, shall be transferred to, directed to, and channeled through, the county office of education for the county in which the new district is located.

(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the property tax properly attributable to the territory of the new district shall also be transferred to the county office of education for the county in which the new district is located as of July 1 of the calendar year in which the transfer becomes effective.

(h) When procedures implemented pursuant to this section require notice to affected county agencies, and if the territory of the new and old districts is located in more than two counties, then these notices are required to be provided only to the two counties containing the largest parcels of territory comprising the old and new community college districts.

(Amended by Stats. 1999, Ch. 82, Sec. 2. Effective July 12, 1999.)