What Does a State Controller Do?
Ever wonder exactly what the State Controller does? You read about giving away money, financial status of the State and you hear his/her name, but do you know what their job is? Here is what is listed under the responsibilities of the Controllor’s office, taken from the website of California Controller, Steve Westly:
Controller Steve Westly is the Chief Financial Officer of California, the sixth largest economy in the world. He helps administer $300 billion in state pension funds and serves on 57 state boards and commissions. These are charged with duties ranging from protecting our coastline to helping build hospitals. The Controller is the state’s independent fiscal watchdog, providing sound fiscal control over more than $100 billion in receipts and disbursements of public funds a year, offering fiscal guidance to local governments and uncovering fraud and abuse of taxpayer dollars.
State Controller’s Functions
Account for and control disbursement of all state funds.
Determine legality and accuracy of every claim against the State.
Issue warrants in payment of the State’s bills including lottery prizes.
Administer the Uniform State Payroll System.
Audit and process all personnel and payroll transactions for state civil service; exempt employees; state university and college system employees.
Responsible for auditing various state and local government programs.
Inform the public of the State’s financial condition.
Administer the Unclaimed Property Law.
Inform the public of financial transactions of city, county and district governments.
Administer Property Tax Postponement Program.
These are the main functions for this person. Each state may vary to some degree as to the amount of money that is controlled.
One way that you can help your state controller is to do your own research to find out if you have unclaimed property or cash due you. Every state has its own set of unclaimed property laws and its own database of unclaimed money and how to claim that money. Cash Unclaimed Money Search has simplified this process and pulled together all this information into one large searchable database.
