Opinion No. (2001)

BILL LOCKYER Attorney General GREGORY L. GONOT Deputy Attorney General THE HONORABLE GEORGE EISER, III, CITY PROSECUTING ATTORNEY, CITY OF NATIONAL CITY, has requested an opinion on the following question: May a person serve simultaneously as a member of a city planning commission and as a member of a school district board of trustees if the city and the school district have territory in common? CONCLUSION A person may not serve simultaneously as a member of a city planning commission and as a member of a school district board of trustees if the city and the school district have territory in common. ANALYSIS We are asked to determine whether a person may serve simultaneously as a city planning commissioner and as a school district trustee in light of the common law rule prohibiting a person from holding "incompatible offices" applicable in California. (See Civ. Code, § 22.2 ; Mott v. Horstmann (1950) 36 Cal.2d 388 , 391-392 ; People ex rel. Chapman v. Rapsey (1940) 16 Cal.2d 636 , 640-644 ; Eldridge v. Sierra View Local Hospital Dist. (1990) 224 Cal.App.3d 311 , 319 .) Given that the city and the school district have territory in common, we conclude that the offices in…