Gov. Code, § 13144

Any fee or payment subject to refund under this article, and any excess payment to a revolving fund as defined in Section 13140, may be refunded by the state agency collecting the fee or erroneous or excess payment (a) before deposit in the State Treasury from any unremitted balance of receipts of the same nature in the state agency’s checking account or (b) if deposited in the State Treasury, from any appropriation made for the refund or from any unremitted balance of receipts of the same nature in the state agency’s checking account. If there is an insufficient balance of unremitted receipts of the same nature in the state agency’s checking account, there is hereby appropriated from the fund to which the payment was credited, a sufficient amount to make the refunds. Individual refunds under this article which exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000), to be made from fees or payments deposited in the State Treasury, shall require prior approval of the Department of Finance and the Controller. Claims for refunds made under (b) of this section shall be charged to the account to which the original entry was made when the funds were deposited in the State Treasury.

Whenever any fee or payment subject to refund under (b) of this section has been paid into the State Treasury to the credit of two or more funds, the agency may file a single claim against one of the funds with the Controller, covering the total amount to be refunded from each of the funds credited. The claim shall be supported by such detail as the Controller may require. At least quarterly the agency shall certify to the Controller the amounts so paid from one fund which are properly chargeable to other funds and upon order of the Controller the amounts so required shall be transferred from those funds to the credit of the appropriate funds.