Opinion No. (2004)

BILL LOCKYER Attorney General SUSAN DUNCAN LEE Deputy Attorney General THE HONORABLE JAMES B. LINDHOLM, JR., COUNTY COUNSEL, COUNTY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO, has requested an opinion on the following questions: 1. Does the common law prohibition against holding incompatible offices cause a county officer to forfeit his or her office when accepting a standby appointment for the office of county supervisor? 2. Would the common law prohibition against holding incompatible offices cause a county officer to forfeit his or her office by temporarily filling the standby office of county supervisor during a state of emergency? CONCLUSIONS 1. The common law prohibition against holding incompatible offices does not cause a county officer to forfeit his or her office when accepting a standby appointment for the office of county supervisor. 2. The common law prohibition against holding incompatible offices would not cause a county officer to forfeit his or her office by temporarily filling the standby office of county supervisor during a state of emergency. ANALYSIS The Legislature has enacted the California Emergency Services Act (Gov. Code, §§ 8550 - 8668 ; "Act") 1 to help "mitigate the…