Lab. Code, § 1771.3

(a) The State Public Works Enforcement Fund is hereby created as a special fund in the State Treasury to be available upon appropriation of the Legislature. All registration fees collected pursuant to Sections 1725.5 and 1725.6 and any other moneys as are designated by statute or order shall be deposited in the fund for the purposes specified in subdivision (b).

(b) Moneys in the State Public Works Enforcement Fund shall be used only for the following purposes:

(1) The reasonable costs of administering the registration of contractors and subcontractors to perform public work pursuant to Section 1725.5 and the reasonable costs of administering the registration of contractors and subcontractors to perform work on projects or developments subject to prevailing wage or skilled and trained workforce requirements pursuant to Section 1725.6.

(2) The costs and obligations associated with the administration and enforcement of the requirements of this chapter by the Department of Industrial Relations.

(3) The monitoring and enforcement of any requirement of this code by the Labor Commissioner on a public works project or in connection with the performance of public work as defined pursuant to this chapter, or in connection with the performance of work on projects or developments subject to prevailing wage or skilled and trained workforce requirements.

(c) The annual contractor registration renewal fee specified in subdivision (a) of Section 1725.5 and subdivision (a) of Section 1725.6, and any adjusted application or renewal fee, shall be set in amounts that are sufficient to support appropriations approved by the Legislature for the State Public Works Enforcement Fund, the statewide general administrative costs assessed to the State Public Works Enforcement Fund, and a prudent reserve amount of no less than 10 percent and no more than 20 percent of authorized expenditure levels. Any year-end fund balance in excess of the prudent reserve shall be applied as a credit when determining any fee adjustments for the subsequent fiscal year.

(d) To provide adequate cashflow for the purposes specified in subdivision (b), the Director of Finance, with the concurrence of the Secretary of the Labor and Workforce Development Agency, may approve a short-term loan each fiscal year from the Labor Enforcement and Compliance Fund to the State Public Works Enforcement Fund.

(1) The maximum amount of the annual loan allowable may be up to, but shall not exceed 50 percent of the appropriation authority of the State Public Works Enforcement Fund in the same year in which the loan was made.

(2) For the purposes of this section, a “short-term loan” is a transfer that is made subject to both of the following conditions:

(A) Any amount loaned is to be repaid in full during the same fiscal year in which the loan was made, except that repayment may be delayed until a date not more than 30 days after the date of enactment of the annual Budget Act for the subsequent fiscal year.

(B) Loans shall be repaid whenever the funds are needed to meet cash expenditure needs in the loaning fund or account.