Governing Laws of Milpitas, Santa Clara County, & California

This page is about the laws and legislation that Milpitas abides by, and those officials in charge of seeing that we do abide by them, and what to do if you feel there is a need to change a law.

About Milpitas

Elected Officials Representing Milpitas
Contact information, links to the various government sites and officials’ home pages. From city council, school board, county supervisor, state and federal representatives.

City of Milpitas

City of Milpitas
This is the City Government’s web site. The site is designed to distribute information from City Hall to the citizens of Milpitas.

Agenda of Next Council Meeting
City web site has these updated just before each council meeting. Watch on Channel 15 if you have Comcast TV, or via live stream.

City of Milpitas Government Telephone Directory
Telephone numbers for City of Milpitas services and information.

County of Santa Clara

County of Santa Clara
The County of Santa Clara, also referred to as “Silicon Valley,” is unique because of its combination of physical attractiveness and economic diversity.

Santa Clara County Supervisors Vote to Keep Current Sanctuary County Policy
Every police chief in the county, except for Sunnyvale, signed a letter urging supervisors to allow ICE to be notified when a violent criminal was about to be released. There was disappointment when the board voted not to change the policy. “We already have ICE picking up individuals in our community every day,” said Priya Murthy with Services, Immigrant Rights, and Education Network. “We don’t need to be giving them more avenues and be able to instill fear in our communities.” By Damian Trujillo • Published June 4, 2019 • Updated on June 5, 2019 at 6:18 am

Your Elected Officials
Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, Sheriff, Assessor, and District Attorney. Milpitas is in District 3, represented by Supervisor Dave Cortese.

State of California

State of California
Use this site to:
Apply for food Stamps
Find a recycling location
Find fire information
Locate current road conditions
Look for advice for immigrants
Apply for a “Real ID” for those who fly often
Contact the California Cannabis Portal
Check the QuickMap for CalTrans traffic information

Department of Social Services (CDSS)
The mission of the California Department of Social Services is to serve, aid, and protect needy and vulnerable children and adults in ways that strengthen and preserve families, encourage personal responsibility, and foster independence.

Good Neighbor Fence Act of 2013
California Civil Code 841 requires that “adjoining landowners shall share equally in the responsibility for maintaining the boundaries and monuments between them.” In this case “monuments” means the fence. In part, the statute says: “Adjoining landowners are presumed to share an equal benefit from any fence dividing their properties and, unless otherwise agreed to by the parties in a written agreement, shall be presumed to be equally responsible for the reasonable costs of construction, maintenance, or necessary replacement of the fence.”

Forms

Business Licenses
Frequently asked questions answered on the City Business License Center.

Building Permits – Online Permitting System (E-Permits)
The new E-Permits will allow customers to apply for and obtain certain types of Residential building permits on-line without leaving their home or office. Examples of permits available online include the following: Water heater and furnace replacement, bathroom and kitchen remodels, re-roofs and others. This system is available 24 hours a day – 7 days a week.

Tax Forms – California
From the California Franchise Tax Board site.

Tax Forms and Publications – IRS
Information on electronic filing, small business advice, and ordering CD-rom. Information about the Advance Payment Check.

Laws

The Brown Act
California Codes Government Code Section 54950-54962 54950. In enacting this chapter, the Legislature finds and declares that the public commissions, boards and councils and the other public agencies in this State exist to aid in the conduct of the people’s business. It is the intent of the law that their actions be taken openly and that their deliberations be conducted openly.

The Brown Act
From the CFAC: California First Amendment Coalition:

The people of this State do not yield their sovereignty to the agencies which serve them. The people, in delegating authority, do not give their public servants the right to decide what is good for the people to know and what is not good for them to know. The people insist on remaining informed so that they may retain control over the instruments they have created.

Brown Act Primer
What notice must be given of a public meeting? Closed Sessions: When may the public be excluded?

Flag Display
A GO MILPITAS! RESOURCE
Due to controversy over the display of the flag of China, I thought it worth my while to create this page for our citizens and officials. This is from the Cornell University’s Law Resources site on how and when to display the American Flag and other flags.

Laws of California
“Hey! They can’t do that, can they?” Need to see if it’s legal in California? Welcome to the California Law section of FindLaw’s State Law collection. This section contains user-friendly summaries of California laws as well as citations or links to relevant sections of California’s statutes. Please select a topic from the list on this link to get started.

Laws Regarding Fireworks in Milpitas
In general, ordinary citizens of Milpitas may not hold fireworks displays within city limits.

Megan’s Law
We try to keep our community as safe as possible. One way is by providing this map so you can tell if there is a sex offender in the area where you live or learn or play.

Milpitas Municipal Code
The Code is organized by subject matter under an expandable three-factor decimal numbering system which is designed to facilitate supplementation without disturbing the numbering of existing provisions. Each section number designates, in sequence, the numbers of the title, chapter, section and subsection. Thus, Section III-1-6.02 is Subsection .02 of Section 6, located in Chapter 1 of Title III. It is kept fairly current.

Legislation Watch

Official California Legislative Information
This site has been updated to include legislative publications regarding new laws starting with the 2017 session and forward.