The three acts which originally empowered LAFCo - the Knox-Nisbet Act, District Reorganization Act of 1965, and the Municipal Organization Act - were combined in 1985 into one single legislative act: The Act was updated and expanded, and is now known as the Cortese-Knox-Hertzberg Act of 2000, which can be found at California Government Code Section 56000, et. seq.
In meeting its responsibility, LAFCo is required "to review and approve or disapprove, with or without amendments, wholly, partially, or conditionally, proposals for":
Cities
- the incorporation of cities;
- the annexation of territory to a city;
- the exclusion of territory from a city;
- the disincorporation of a city;
- the consolidation of two or more cities;
Districts
- the formation of special districts;
- the annexation of territory to a district;
- detachments;
- dissolutions;
- mergers;
- reorganizations;
- consolidations;
- latent powers (when a commission has special district representation)
