ARTICLE 2. General Provisions [905 - 907]
( Article 2 added by Stats. 1963, Ch. 1715. )
There shall be presented in accordance with Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 900) and Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 910) all claims for money or damages against local public entities except any of the following:
(a) Claims under the Revenue and Taxation Code or other statute prescribing procedures for the refund, rebate, exemption, cancellation, amendment, modification, or adjustment of any tax, assessment, fee, or charge or any portion of the charge, or of any penalties, costs, or related charges.
(b) Claims in connection with which the filing of a notice of lien, statement of claim, or stop notice is required under any law relating
to liens of mechanics, laborers, or materialmen.
(c) Claims by public employees for fees, salaries, wages, mileage, or other expenses and allowances.
(d) Claims for which the workers’ compensation authorized by Division 4 (commencing with Section 3200) of the Labor Code is the exclusive remedy.
(e) Applications or claims for any form of public assistance under the Welfare and Institutions Code or other provisions of law relating to public assistance programs, and claims for goods, services, provisions, or other assistance rendered for or on behalf of any recipient of any form of public assistance.
(f) Applications or claims for money or benefits under any public retirement
or pension system.
(g) Claims for principal or interest upon any bonds, notes, warrants, or other evidences of indebtedness.
(h) Claims that relate to a special assessment constituting a specific lien against the property assessed and that are payable from the proceeds of the assessment, by offset of a claim for damages against it or by delivery of any warrant or bonds representing it.
(i) Claims by the state or by a state department or agency or by another local public entity or by a judicial branch entity.
(j) Claims arising under any provision of the Unemployment Insurance Code, including, but not limited to, claims for money or benefits, or for refunds or
credits of employer or worker contributions, penalties, or interest, or for refunds to workers of deductions from wages in excess of the amount prescribed.
(k) Claims for the recovery of penalties or forfeitures made pursuant to Article 1 (commencing with Section 1720) of Chapter 1 of Part 7 of Division 2 of the Labor Code.
(l) Claims governed by the Pedestrian Mall Law of 1960 (Part 1 (commencing with Section 11000) of Division 13 of the Streets and Highways Code).
(m) Claims made pursuant to Section 340.1 of the Code of Civil Procedure for the recovery of damages suffered as a result of childhood sexual assault.
(n) Claims made pursuant to Section
701.820 of the Code of Civil Procedure for the recovery of money pursuant to Section 26680.
(o) Claims made pursuant to Section 49013 of the Education Code for reimbursement of pupil fees for participation in educational activities.
(p) The changes made to this section by the act that added this subdivision are retroactive and apply to any action commenced on or after the date of enactment of that act, and to any action filed before the date of enactment and still pending on that date, including any action or causes of action that would have been barred by the laws in effect before the date of enactment.
(Amended by Stats. 2019, Ch. 861, Sec. 3. (AB 218) Effective January 1, 2020.)
No claim is required to be filed to maintain an action against a public entity for taking of, or damage to, private property pursuant to Section 19 of Article I of the California Constitution.
However, the board shall, in accordance with the provisions of this part, process any claim which is filed against a public entity for the taking of, or damage to, private property pursuant to Section 19 of Article I of the California Constitution.
(Added by Stats. 1976, Ch. 96.)
(a) This section shall apply to claims against the state filed with the Department of General Services except as provided in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (b).
(b) There shall be presented in accordance with this chapter and Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 910) all claims for money or damages against the state:
(1) For which no appropriation has been made or for which no fund is available but the settlement of which has been provided for by statute or constitutional provision.
(2) (A) For which the appropriation made or fund
designated is exhausted.
(B) Claims for reissuance of stale, dated, or replacement warrants shall be filed with the state entity that originally issued the warrant and, if allowed, shall be paid from the issuing entity’s current appropriation or from any funds that are otherwise legally available to the entity to be used for that purpose. If an issuing entity determines that it is unable to issue a replacement warrant from its current appropriation or from any funds that are otherwise legally available to the entity to be used for that purpose, that entity may submit a request to include a claim for reimbursement of that warrant in a claims bill referenced in Section 14659.10 pursuant to a process prescribed by the Department of General Services.
(3) For money or damages on
express contract, or for an injury for which the state is liable.
(4) For which settlement is not otherwise provided for by statute or constitutional provision.
(c) Claimants shall pay a filing fee of twenty-five dollars ($25), except as provided in paragraphs (1) and (2), for filing a claim described in subdivision (b), except for claims for reissuance of stale, dated, or replacement warrants as described in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (b). This fee shall be deposited into the Service Revolving Fund and shall only be available for the support of the Department of General Services upon appropriation by the Legislature.
(1) The fee shall not apply to the following persons:
(A) Persons who are receiving benefits pursuant to the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and State Supplementary Payment (SSP) programs (Article 5 (commencing with Section 12200) of Chapter 3 of Part 3 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code), the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids Act (CalWORKs) program (Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 11200) of Part 3 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code), the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP; 7 U.S.C. Sec. 2011 et seq.), or Section 17000 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
(B) Persons whose monthly income is 125 percent or less of the current monthly poverty line annually established by the United States Department of Health and Human Services.
(C) Persons who are sentenced to imprisonment in a state prison or confined in a county jail, or who are residents in a state institution and, within 90 days prior to the date the claim is filed, have a balance of one hundred dollars ($100) or less credited to the inmate’s or resident’s trust account. A certified copy of the statement of the account shall be submitted.
(2) (A) For a person whose monthly income is less than one hundred dollars ($100) above the income of a person whose monthly income is 125 percent of the current monthly poverty line annually established by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, the fee assessed shall be 25 percent of the difference between their income and 125 percent of the current monthly poverty line.
(B) For a person who is sentenced to imprisonment in a state prison or confined in a county jail, or who is a resident in a state institution and, within 90 days prior to the date the claim is filed, has a balance greater than one hundred dollars ($100) and less than two hundred dollars ($200), the fee assessed shall be 25 percent of the difference between the inmate’s or resident’s balance and one hundred dollars ($100).
(3) Any claimant who requests a fee waiver shall attach to the application a signed affidavit requesting the waiver and verification of benefits or income and any other required financial information in support of the request for the waiver.
(4) Notwithstanding any other law, an applicant shall not
be entitled to a hearing regarding the denial of a request for a fee waiver.
(d) The time for the Department of General Services to determine the sufficiency, timeliness, or any other aspect of the claim shall begin when any of the following occur:
(1) The claim is submitted with the filing fee.
(2) The fee waiver is granted.
(3) The filing fee is paid to the department upon the department’s denial of the fee waiver request, so long as payment is received within 10 calendar days of the mailing of the notice of the denial.
(e) Upon approval of the claim by the Department of General Services, the
fee shall be reimbursed to the claimant, except that no fee shall be reimbursed if the approved claim was for the payment of an expired warrant. Reimbursement of the filing fee shall be paid by the state entity against which the approved claim was filed. If the claimant was granted a fee waiver pursuant to this section, the amount of the fee shall be paid by the state entity to the department. The reimbursement to the claimant or the payment to the department shall be made at the time the claim is paid by the state entity, or shall be added to the amount appropriated for the claim in an equity claims bill.
(f) The Department of General Services may assess a surcharge to the state entity against which the approved claim was filed in an amount not to exceed 15 percent of the total approved claim. The department shall not include the refunded
filing fee in the surcharge calculation. This surcharge shall be deposited into the Service Revolving Fund and may be appropriated in support of the department in the annual Budget Act.
(1) The surcharge shall not apply to approved claims to reissue expired warrants.
(2) Upon the request of the department in a form prescribed by the Controller, the Controller shall transfer the fees from the state entity’s appropriation to the appropriation for the support of the department. However, the department shall not request an amount that shall be submitted for legislative approval pursuant to Section 14659.10.
(g) The filing fee required by subdivision (c) shall apply to all claims filed after June 30, 2004, or August 16,
2004. The surcharge authorized by subdivision (f) may be calculated and included in claims paid after June 30, 2004, or August 16, 2004.
(h) This section does not apply to claims made for a violation of the California Whistleblower Protection Act (Article 3 (commencing with Section 8547) of Chapter 6.5 of Division 1 of Title 2).
(Amended by Stats. 2023, Ch. 478, Sec. 24. (AB 1756) Effective January 1, 2024.)
Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, no claim shall be submitted by a local agency or school district, nor shall a claim be considered by the Department of General Services pursuant to Section 905.2, if that claim is eligible for consideration by the Commission on State Mandates pursuant to Article 1 (commencing with Section 17550) of Chapter 4 of Part 7 of Division 4 of Title 2.
(Amended by Stats. 2016, Ch. 31, Sec. 36. (SB 836) Effective June 27, 2016.)
Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 900) and Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 910) of this part shall not be construed to be an exclusive means for presenting claims to the Legislature nor as preventing the Legislature from making such appropriations as it deems proper for the payment of claims against the State which have not been submitted to the board or recommended for payment by it pursuant to Chapters 1 and 2 of this part.
(Added by Stats. 1963, Ch. 1715.)
A school district, its officers, directors, or employees shall have no civil liability in any civil action for injury, disease, death, or economic loss arising out of exposure on or after January 1, 1989, to asbestos contained in buildings owned, leased, or otherwise used by a school district, except upon proof that the injury, disease, death, or economic loss was caused by the negligence of the school district, its officers, directors, or employees. Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 815.6 of the Government Code and Section 669 of the Evidence Code, no presumption of negligence shall apply to any action under this section. This section applies only to actions against school districts, and shall not apply to any other action, including, but not limited to, actions against a manufacturer, contractor, or any person who makes, sells, distributes, furnishes, or installs asbestos-containing materials. This section shall not affect, alter, or otherwise modify the law pertaining to workers’ compensation claims. This section shall not affect the right of a school district, its officers, directors, or employees to seek indemnification.
(Added by Stats. 1988, Ch. 1022, Sec. 1.)
This part does not apply to claims against the Regents of the University of California.
(Added by Stats. 1963, Ch. 1715.)
All claims against a judicial branch entity for money or damages based upon an express contract or for an injury for which the judicial branch entity is liable shall be presented in accordance with Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 900) and Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 910) of this part.
(Added by Stats. 2005, Ch. 706, Sec. 18. Effective January 1, 2006.)
Nothing in this part imposes liability upon a public entity unless such liability otherwise exists.
(Added by Stats. 1963, Ch. 1715.)
All claims against the California State University for money or damages based upon an express contract or for an injury for which the Trustees of the California State University is liable shall be presented in accordance with Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 900) and Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 910) of this part.
(Added by Stats. 2010, Ch. 636, Sec. 3. (SB 1046) Effective January 1, 2011.)
(a) As used in this section, “amount allowed on the claim” means the amount allowed by the Department of General Services on a claim allowed, in whole or in part, or the amount offered by the department to settle or compromise a claim.
(b) Except as otherwise provided in this subdivision, no interest is payable on the amount allowed on the claim if payment of the claim is subject to approval of an appropriation by the Legislature. If an appropriation is made for the payment of a claim described in this subdivision, interest on the amount appropriated for the payment of the claim commences to accrue 180 days after the effective date of the act by which the appropriation is enacted.
(Amended by Stats. 2016, Ch. 31, Sec. 37. (SB 836) Effective June 27, 2016.)
A local public entity, as defined in Section 900.4, may offset any delinquent amount due it for services rendered to any other local public entity. The offset may be charged, against any amount reciprocally owing, upon the giving of 30 days advance written notice, if no written dispute is received from the debtor within the 30-day notice period. Notices from the creditor or the debtor shall be made through certified mail.
If the offset would result in the debtor’s inability to meet encumbered bonded indebtedness repayments, the debtor shall so state in a written dispute within the time period stated above.
If a dispute notice is received and the dispute is subsequently resolved in favor of the entity to whom an amount is due, interest on the principal amount from the date that amount was originally owing shall be assessed at the legal rate per annum established pursuant to Section 685.010 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
For purposes of this section, an amount reciprocally owing includes any tax revenue collected by a local public entity for disbursement to another local public entity.
(Added by Stats. 1990, Ch. 697, Sec. 1.)