California Counties Approve Vacancy Rules, Reject Term Limits

San Benito County supervisors unanimously approved new leadership positions, including a chief budget officer, deputy emergency-services director and chief public defender, as the county works to fill management gaps and strengthen indigent defense. In Imperial County, supervisors rejected a proposal for a prospective lifetime limit of three terms, with two members supporting it and three opposing it; the proposal would have gone to voters in 2028. Kern County supervisors approved procedures for filling future board vacancies, including options for a special election or an interim appointment, ahead of Supervisor David Couch’s expected departure.