(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. § 2011 et seq.), or § 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.)