Controller Releases September Cash Update

SACRAMENTO – State Controller John Chiang today released his monthly report covering California's cash balance, receipts and disbursements in September 2014. Total revenues for the third month of Fiscal Year 2014-15 were $9.8 billion, coming in above Budget Act estimates by $671.4 million, or 7.4 percent. 

"Driven by an upswing in consumer activity and job growth, September revenues beat projections by more than $670 million," said Chiang. "If we remain disciplined in paying down the State’s debt, building a healthy reserve, and tackling the $64 billion unfunded liability associated with providing health benefits to our retired public workforce, Californians will have longer to enjoy this newfound prosperity."

Controller Chiang Looking for Probate Referees

SACRAMENTO - State Controller John Chiang announced today that his office will be conducting qualifying examinations for Probate Referee appointments in Northern and Southern California on October 18, 2014. The probate referee is a state-appointed official whose job is to appraise most assets in a probate estate. The probate referee appraises all property and assets except cash. There is a minimum of one probate referee in each county, while larger counties have more than one. 

"I want to make this public service opportunity available to as many financial professionals as possible. We are looking for candidates with diverse backgrounds who want to help their communities by providing this important service," said Chiang. "Please encourage your friends and colleagues who are interested in becoming a Probate Referee to apply and take the exam."

Probate Referees have been proudly assisting the courts, attorneys and the public for more than 68 years. A Probate Referee is appointed to a panel in the county of his or her residence by the State Controller for a term of four years. Applicants must possess threshold academic and/or relevant professional experience in order to take the examination and be considered for appointment.

Applicants must meet at least one of the following:

Controller Finds Pension Spiking Vulnerabilities at CalPERS

SACRAMENTO – State Controller John Chiang today released a report  on efforts made by the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) to detect and prevent pension spiking practices at the 3,100 public agencies which contract with the system. The report found CalPERS's failure to use automated controls and more proactively review payroll data exposes the system to the manipulation of pay for the purpose of "spiking" retirement benefits. Also, the review found that CalPERS lacks sufficient audit capacity to cover all the State and local governments with which it contracts. On the current audit schedule, a local government that contracts with CalPERS, for example, would only face an audit once in every 66 years.

Controller Unveils Open Data Website on Local Government Finances

SACRAMENTO – State Controller John Chiang unveiled a new open data website today, listing more than 13 million fields of financial data for cities and counties as part of his ongoing efforts to promote transparency in government. The site, ByTheNumbers.sco.ca.gov, makes it easier for taxpayers to track revenues, expenditures, liabilities, assets, fund balances and even basic statistics about each city and county.

"We're moving government accountability and transparency out of the analog dark ages into the digital era where information about how much your city or county is spending and borrowing is available with a keystroke," Chiang said. "By providing balance sheet details for every California municipality on one website and allowing users to slice and dice the information to spot trends and analyze spending, I hope to empower communities to become more involved in civic decision-making."

State Controller releases July Cash Update

SACRAMENTO – State Controller John Chiang today released his monthly report covering California's cash balance, receipts and disbursements in July 2014. Total revenues for the first month of Fiscal Year 2014-15 totaled $5.4 billion, beating estimates in the Budget Act by $231.9 million, or 4.5 percent.

"Even though July is usually a weak revenue collection month, the new fiscal year is off to a strong start," Chiang said. "While the State plans to borrow operating funds through revenue anticipation notes, the $2.8 billion needed solely for smoothing out the timing of revenues is at the lowest level since the 2006-07 fiscal year. If we can continue to reduce short- and long-term debts, we can continue to improve our fiscal condition."

Controller Adds Superior Court Wages to Public Pay Site

SACRAMENTO - State Controller John Chiang today added 2013 salary, benefits and other compensation data for 20,428 Superior Court judges and employees to his publicpay.ca,gov website.

"The courts have long held that taxpayers are entitled to know how much their elected officials and public employees are compensated. With today's release of pay and benefit data for all court employees -- from the Supreme Court’s Chief Justice to local judges and their support staff -- California's judiciary is leading by example and helping us provide a one-stop source of transparency," said Chiang. "It is my hope that this expanded access to data about how public dollars are being spent will encourage taxpayers to be more civically-engaged."

State Controller releases June Cash Update

SACRAMENTO - State Controller John Chiang today released his monthly cash report for the month of June, and announced that the state's General Fund -- the primary account from which California funds its day-to-day operations and programs -- ended the fiscal year with a positive cash balance for the first time since June 30, 2007. A positive cash balance means that the state had funds available to meet all of its payment obligations without needing to borrow from Wall Street or the $23.8 billion available in its more than 700 internal special funds and accounts.

"While this is welcome news after seven years of record-high borrowing just to pay our everyday bills, we still have much work to do," Chiang said. "We should remain laser-focused on paying down the Wall of Debt, reversing the many accounting gimmicks to which we’ve become addicted and keeping the State as liquid as possible to avoid experiencing the payment delays and IOUs that plagued our State during the Great Recession.

State Controller releases May Cash Update

SACRAMENTO - State Controller John Chiang today released his monthly report covering California's cash balance, receipts and disbursements in May 2014. Revenues for the month totaled $6.7 billion, missing estimates in the Governor's January proposed budget by $389.1 million, or 5.5 percent. Year-to-date, revenues still exceed expectations by $1.8 billion, or 2.1 percent.

"While this is the first time in six months that revenues have fallen short, the overall budgetary health remains stable and there is no threat to the State's ability to pay its bills on time and in full." said Chiang. "As lawmakers finalize their spending decisions in the coming days, my office urges fiscal restraint with an eye toward slashing the billions of dollars in debt accrued during the Great Recession."

Controller, CalVet to Reunite 95,000 Veterans With Unclaimed Property

SACRAMENTO – After running data and cross-referencing files, the California Department of Veterans Affairs (CalVet) has identified more than 95,000 California veterans, or their heirs, that have more than $36 million in unclaimed property and cash being held by the state of California.

Following Governor Brown's directive to work more closely with state agencies and departments to better serve California Veterans, CalVet Secretary Peter J. Gravett joined with State Controller John Chiang today to announce the findings of this new partnership.

Under a partnership agreement between the State Controller's Office and CalVet, the department found 95,305 veterans that may have unclaimed property at the Controller's Office waiting to be claimed. According to the data run CalVet completed, the veterans have more than $36.3 million available to claim with an average value of approximately $300.

State Controller, California Department of Veterans Affairs Announce Unclaimed Property Partnership

State Controller, California Department of Veterans Affairs Announce Unclaimed Property Partnership

SACRAMENTO – State Controller John Chiang and CalVet Secretary Peter J. Gravett will announce a partnership to reunite veterans with lost or forgotten unclaimed property.

DATE:                                      Thursday, May 22, 2014

TIME:                                       1:30 p.m.

LOCATION:                             California Department of Veterans Affairs

Medal of Honor Hall

1227 O Street

Sacramento, CA 95814

SPEAKERS:                             CalVet Secretary Peter J. Gravett

                                                State Controller John Chiang

VISUALS:                                Unclaimed medals, wartime correspondence, photos and memorabilia.

                                                

Controller Releases April Cash Update

SACRAMENTO - State Controller John Chiang today released his monthly report covering California's cash balance, receipts and disbursements in April 2014. Revenues for the month totaled $13.9 billion, surpassing estimates in the 2014-15 Governor's Budget by $303 million, or 2.2 percent. Year-to-date, revenues exceed expectations by $2.17 billion, or 2.8 percent.

"A resurgent economy, combined with voter-approved tax increases, has boosted California's fortunes by the tune of an additional $2 billion," said Chiang. "This good news will feed the temptation to spend, but that should be tempered by two absolute certainties: boom revenue cycles are always followed by times of exasperation; and years of accumulated debt and unfunded liabilities must be effectively managed if California hopes for long-term prosperity." 

Controller Chiang Unveils Website Tracking Proposition 30 Education Funds

SACRAMENTO – State Controller John Chiang today unveiled a new website that allows Californians to easily track every tax dollar raised by Proposition 30, a temporary tax increase approved by voters in November 2012 to stabilize the fiscal health of K-12 schools and community colleges.

"This transparency tool was built to help taxpayers monitor every dollar raised, where it was allocated, how it will be spent, and whether it was used in accordance with the law. In approving temporary tax increases, voters entrusted their elected officials to use those extra funds to stave off more than $5 billion in cuts to schools and help restore their fiscal stability," Chiang said. "Promises of appropriate and prudent spending were made to the public and this tool intends to hold the State and its local education officials accountable for keeping them."

The website was developed in partnership and based on information provided by the California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office, California Department of Education, California Department of Finance and the State Treasurer's Office.

State Controller releases Calaveras Special Districts COmpensation reports for 2012

To view the State Controllers 2012 Calaveras County Special districts reports

CLICK HERE

State Controller Chiang Awarded Lawyer of the Year for Protecting Life Insurance Policyholders and Beneficiaries

SACRAMENTO – State Controller John Chiang will tonight be presented with an award for being a "Lawyer of the Year" by the California Lawyer magazine.

Each year, the magazine recognizes top attorneys for work in various areas of practice. The Controller was recognized for leading multi-state settlement agreements with life insurance companies to restore the value of old life insurance policies and pay beneficiaries.

State Controller releases February cash update

SACRAMENTO - State Controller John Chiang today released his monthly report covering California's cash balance, receipts and disbursements in February 2014. Revenues for the month totaled $5.6 billion, surpassing estimates in the 2014-15 Governor's Budget by $968.9 million, or 20.9 percent.

"Driven by strong retail sales and personal income tax withholdings, February receipts poured in at nearly $1 billion above projections," said Chiang. "How we conserve and invest during the upswings of California's notorious boom-or-bust revenue cycles will determine how critical programs – such as public safety and education – will weather the next economic dip. With fiscal discipline and a focus on slashing debt, we can make California more recession-resistant and prosperity a more enduring hallmark of our state."

State Controller Chiang Unveils Plan to Reduce State's $64.6 Billion Retiree Health Care Liability

SACRAMENTO 3-6-14 – State Controller John Chiang today released a new report showing the unfunded liability of providing health and dental benefits for state retirees under the current funding policy is $64.6 billion. The amount, known as the actuarial accrued liability, represents the present value of benefits earned as of June 30, 2013, that is expected to be paid over the lifetime of current and future retirees.

The unfunded obligation as of June 30, 2013, grew $730 million from the $63.8 billion obligation identified as of June 30, 2012. However, the accrued liability grew $2.7 billion less than expected due to fewer healthcare claims, lower-than-expected healthcare inflation, and the adoption of strategies by the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) to lower health care costs.

"Although the growth was far less than projected, the State invites unnecessary risk with every day it allows to pass without a fiscally-disciplined plan for how to manage this growing liability," Chiang said. "While most are focused on unfunded pension obligations, this is a sleeper problem that can become the next big fiscal threat if we continue to do nothing."

State Controller's New eClaim Feature for Unclaimed Property Sends $1 Million to Owners

SACRAMENTO - State Controller John Chiang today announced his new online claiming feature for unclaimed property has already resulted in nearly $1.1 million in payments with an average wait time of 10 days.

The new eClaim innovation, launched on January 28, allows unclaimed property owners to claim single-owner accounts worth up to $500 without the "paper and snail-mail" process used since the unclaimed property program was established in 1959.

State Controller releases January Cash Update

SACRAMENTO - State Controller John Chiang today released his monthly report covering California's cash balance, receipts and disbursements in January 2014. Revenues for the month totaled $12.2 billion, surpassing estimates in the 2014-15 Governor's Budget by $387.7 million, or 3.3 percent.

"Strong revenues for the month of January confirm California is continuing its slow climb out of the wreckage of the Great Recession," said Chiang. "Better-than-expected income tax receipts -- particularly those straight from paychecks – could indicate Californians are working and earning more.

Controller Seeks to Speed Returns at California's Lost and Found

SACRAMENTO - State Controller John Chiang today introduced eClaim, a breakthrough online tool aimed at reuniting Californians with lost and forgotten money.

When the property is worth less than $500 and there is only one owner listed, this online innovation – found at www.claimit.ca.gov – may let the claimant bypass the “paper and snail-mail” process upon which the State has been dependent since the Unclaimed Property Program was first established in 1959. Instead, Californians can search for and claim their money completely online, and expect to be reunited with their assets within 14 days.

Controller Orders Enforcement Actions Against Delinquent Local Governments

SACRAMENTO - State Controller John Chiang today announced that he will dispatch his audit and accounting staff to 20 special districts across the State to collect missing financial data that, by law, was required to be reported more than a year ago. Of those 20 public agencies, the Controller will audit at least three districts which have failed to comply with reporting requirements for two or more consecutive years.

"There can be no meaningful government accountability if the public is deprived of basic financial data detailing how taxpayer dollars are being managed," said Chiang. "Out of California’s more than 5,200 local public agencies, these 20 have ignored their legal reporting duties, thereby compelling my office’s intervention to extract the missing data and audit the worst offenders."