Local Agency Formation Commissions (LAFCOs) were established in 1963 and are political subdivisions of the State of California responsible for providing regional growth management services in all 58 counties.   LAFCOs’ authority is currently codified under the Cortese‐Knox‐ Hertzberg Local Government Reorganization Act of 2000 (“CKH”) with principal oversight provided by the Assembly Committee on Local Government.1   LAFCOs are comprised of locally elected and appointed officials with regulatory and planning powers delegated by the Legislature to coordinate and oversee the establishment, expansion, and organization of cities, towns, and special districts as well as their municipal service areas.

LAFCOs’ creation were engendered by Governor Edmund “Pat” Brown Sr. (1959‐1967) to more effectively address the needs of California’s growing and diversifying population with an emphasis on promoting governmental efficiencies.    Towards this end, LAFCOs are commonly referred to as the Legislature’s “watchdog” for local governance issues.  Guiding LAFCOs’ regulatory and planning powers is to fulfill specific purposes and objectives that collectively construct the Legislature’s regional growth management priorities outlined under Government Code Section 56301. This statute reads:

“Among the purposes of the commission are discouraging urban sprawl, preserving open space and prime agricultural lands, efficiently providing governmental services, and encouraging the orderly formation and development of local agencies based upon local conditions.  One of the objects of the commission is to make studies and furnish information to contribute to the logical and reasonable development of local agencies in each county and to shape the development of local agencies so as to advantageously provide for the present and future needs of each county and its communities.”

LAFCO decisions are legislative in nature and therefore are not subject to an outside appeal process. LAFCOs also have broad powers with respect to conditioning regulatory and planning approvals so long as not establishing any terms that directly control land uses.