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By: @Marcus Detwiler 

Following the November 2024 General Election, local public agencies, including special districts, should take care to complete legally-required updates to their Registry of Public Agencies filing (also known as Form SF-405). Should an agency end up seating new board members or trustees – or making any other change, e.g., a new mailing address – then the agency has 10 days to provide the updated filing to a) the Secretary of State and b) the county clerk of each county in which the agency maintains an office. For agencies newly formed after the election, the time limit is 70 days after the commencement of the agency’s legal existence, instead of 10 days after a change.

The filing contains instructions for completion beginning on the second page, detailing the significance of each field as well as the instructions for mailing completed copies to the Secretary of State, whose office does not require a filing fee for submission.

Completion of these filings goes beyond mere compliance with California law: a failure to complete these filings can result in forfeiture of certain legal defenses in future litigation. Section 946.4 of the California Government Code invalidates defenses to the maintenance of a suit against the agency based on an alleged failure to present a claim. Sections 960.2 and 960.3 of the California Government Code provide claimants alternative procedures to serve processes against a public agency that could disadvantage the agency in subsequent legal proceedings.