(a) Notwithstanding Section 6480, the local agency formation commission, in approving either a consolidation of districts or the reorganization of two or more districts into a single sanitary district may, pursuant to subdivisions (k) and (n) of Section 56886 of the Government Code, increase the number of directors to serve on the board of directors of the consolidated or reorganized district to 7, 9, or 11, who shall be members of the board of directors of the districts to be consolidated or reorganized as of the effective date of the consolidation or reorganization.

(b) Upon the expiration of the terms of the members of the board of directors of the consolidated district, or a district reorganized as described in subdivision (a), whose terms first expire following the effective date of the consolidation or reorganization, the total number of members on the board of directors shall be reduced until the number equals the number of members permitted by the principal act of the consolidated or reorganized district, or any larger number as may be specified by the local agency formation commission in approving the consolidation or reorganization.

(c) In addition to the powers granted under Section 1780 of the Government Code, in the event of a vacancy on the board of directors of the consolidated district or a district reorganized as described in subdivision (a) at which time the total number of directors is greater than five, the board of directors may, by majority vote of the remaining members of the board, choose not to fill the vacancy. In that event, the total membership of the board of directors shall be reduced by one board member. Upon making the determination not to fill a vacancy, the board of directors shall notify the board of supervisors of its decision.

(d) For the purposes of this section: “consolidation” means consolidation, as defined in Section 56030 of the Government Code; “district” or “special district” means district or special district, as defined in Section 56036 of the Government Code; and “reorganization” means reorganization, as defined in Section 56073 of the Government Code.

(Amended by Stats. 2006, Ch. 172, Sec. 11. Effective January 1, 2007.)