Supervisors endorse bill to allow JPA, MOU agreements with tribes

Under the current California Government Code, tribal governments of Indian reservations are not considered public agencies and are thus not allowed to join other local governments in a joint powers authority (JPA). State Assemblyman Brian Nestande has introduced Assembly Bill 307 to include tribal governments as public agencies, and on June 14 the San Diego County Board of Supervisors voted 5-0 to endorse AB 307.

“This is a very important bill,” said Supervisor Dianne Jacob. “Many tribal governments, both locally and statewide, have professional fire and emergency medical response capabilities...