Section 17561.

(a) The state shall reimburse each local agency and school district for all "costs mandated by the state," as defined in Section 17514 and for legislatively determined mandates in accordance with Section 17573.

(b) (1) For the initial fiscal year during which these costs are incurred, reimbursement funds shall be provided as follows:

(A) Any statute mandating these costs shall provide an appropriation therefor.

(B) Any executive order mandating these costs shall be accompanied by a bill appropriating the funds therefor, or alternatively, an appropriation for these costs shall be included in the Budget Bill for the next succeeding fiscal year. The executive order shall cite that item of appropriation in the Budget Bill or that appropriation in any other bill that is intended to serve as the source from which the Controller may pay the claims of local agencies and school districts.

(2) In subsequent fiscal years appropriations for these costs shall be included in the annual Governor's Budget and in the accompanying Budget Bill. In addition, appropriations to reimburse local agencies and school districts for continuing costs resulting from chaptered bills or executive orders for which claims have been awarded pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 17551 shall be included in the annual Governor's Budget and in the accompanying Budget Bill.

(c) The amount appropriated to reimburse local agencies and school districts for costs mandated by the state shall be appropriated to the Controller for disbursement.

(d) The Controller shall pay any eligible claim pursuant to this section by October 15 or 60 days after the date the appropriation for the claim is effective, whichever is later. The Controller shall disburse reimbursement funds to local agencies or school districts if the costs of these mandates are not payable to state agencies, or to state agencies that would otherwise collect the costs of these mandates from local agencies or school districts in the form of fees, premiums, or payments. When disbursing reimbursement funds to local agencies or school districts, the Controller shall disburse them as follows:

(1) For initial reimbursement claims, the Controller shall issue claiming instructions to the relevant local agencies and school districts pursuant to Section 17558. Issuance of the claiming instructions shall constitute a notice of the right of the local agencies and school districts to file reimbursement claims, based upon parameters and guidelines adopted by the commission, the reasonable reimbursement methodology approved by the commission pursuant to Section 17557.2, or statutory declaration of a legislatively determined mandate and reimbursement methodology pursuant to Section 17573.

(A) When claiming instructions are issued by the Controller pursuant to Section 17558 for each mandate determined pursuant to Section 17551 or 17573 that requires state reimbursement, each local agency or school district to which the mandate is applicable shall submit claims for initial fiscal year costs to the Controller within 120 days of the issuance date for the claiming instructions.

(B) When the commission is requested to review the claiming instructions pursuant to Section 17571, each local agency or school district to which the mandate is applicable shall submit a claim for reimbursement within 120 days after the commission reviews the claiming instructions for reimbursement issued by the Controller.

(C) If the local agency or school district does not submit a claim for reimbursement within the 120-day period, or submits a claim pursuant to revised claiming instructions, it may submit its claim for reimbursement as specified in Section 17560. The Controller shall pay these claims from the funds appropriated therefor, except the Controller may take either of the following actions:

(i) Audit the records of any local agency or school district to verify the actual amount of the mandated costs, the application of a reasonable reimbursement methodology, or application of a legislatively enacted reimbursement methodology under Section 17573.

(ii) Reduce any claim that the Controller determines is excessive or unreasonable.

(2) In subsequent fiscal years each local agency or school district shall submit its claims as specified in Section 17560. The Controller shall pay these claims from funds appropriated therefor except as follows:

(A) The Controller may audit any of the following:

(i) Records of any local agency or school district to verify the actual amount of the mandated costs.

(ii) The application of a reasonable reimbursement methodology.

(iii) The application of a legislatively enacted reimbursement methodology under Section 17573.

(B) The Controller may reduce any claim that the Controller determines is excessive or unreasonable.

(C) The Controller shall adjust the payment to correct for any underpayments or overpayments that occurred in previous fiscal years.

(3) When paying a timely filed claim for initial reimbursement, the Controller shall withhold 20 percent of the amount of the claim until the claim is audited to verify the actual amount of the mandated costs. All initial reimbursement claims for all fiscal years required to be filed on their initial filing date for a state-mandated local program shall be considered as one claim for the purpose of computing any late claim penalty. Any claim for initial reimbursement filed after the filing deadline shall be reduced by 10 percent of the amount that would have been allowed had the claim been timely filed. The Controller may withhold payment of any late claim for initial reimbursement until the next deadline for funded claims unless sufficient funds are available to pay the claim after all timely filed claims have been paid. In no case may a reimbursement claim be paid if submitted more than one year after the filing deadline specified in the Controller's claiming instructions on funded mandates.

(e) (1) Except as specified in paragraph (2), for the purposes of determining the state's payment obligation under paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the Constitution, a mandate that is "determined in a preceding fiscal year to be payable by the state" means any mandate for which the commission adopted a statewide cost estimate pursuant to this part during a previous fiscal year or that were identified as mandates by a predecessor agency to the commission, or that the Legislature declared by statute to be a legislatively determined mandate, unless the mandate has been repealed or otherwise eliminated.

(2) If the commission adopts a statewide cost estimate for a mandate during the months of April, May, or June, the state's payment obligation under subdivision (b) of Section 6 of Article XIII B shall commence one year after the time specified in paragraph (1).

(Amended by Stats. 2009, 3rd Ex. Sess., Ch. 4, Sec. 4. Effective February 20, 2009.)