SECTIONS 29850-29854 - California Statutes

GOVERNMENT CODE

SECTION 29850-29854

29850. If any warrant issued by the county auditor is lost or
destroyed before it is paid by the treasurer, the amount due may be
recovered by the legal owner or custodian by filing with the auditor
or his or her designee an affidavit setting forth the fact of the
loss or destruction of the warrant, the number, date, amount, and
name of the payee, and all material facts relative to its loss or
destruction. The legal owner or custodian is entitled to file this
affidavit at any time prior to the time the warrant becomes void.

29851. Upon the filing of the affidavit, the auditor shall issue
and deliver to the legal owner or custodian a duplicate warrant for
the full amount of the original warrant, or for any lesser amount
still due if any portion of the amount for which the warrant was
drawn has been paid, and the treasurer shall pay the duplicate in
lieu of the original warrant. If a warrant is lost or destroyed after
it has been received by a bank with whom the treasurer has entered
into a written agreement pursuant to Article 2 (commencing with
Section 53630) of Chapter 4 of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 5 for
the deposit in that bank of moneys belonging to or in the custody of
the treasurer, the treasurer may pay on a photocopy of the lost or
destroyed warrant in lieu of the original warrant; provided the bank
agrees to indemnify and hold the county harmless from any loss
incurred by reason of that payment.

29852. If the duplicate warrant is not presented for payment to the
county treasurer within the time within which the original warrant
could have been presented for payment it is void.

29853. A warrant is considered lost if it has been mailed and has
not been received by the addressee within 20 days after the date of
mailing or within a shorter period of time as the board of
supervisors may by ordinance establish.

29853.5. (a) To the extent permitted by federal law and
notwithstanding Article 3 (commencing with Section 29850) of Chapter
5 of Division 3 of Title 3 of the Government Code, a public
assistance warrant, which has been lost, stolen, destroyed, or lost
in the mail, shall be replaced by the county. Prior to replacing the
warrant the legal owner or custodian shall comply with either
paragraph (1) or paragraph (2), whichever is applicable:
(1) Wait five working days, or a lesser period if permitted by the
county, from the date that the warrant was mailed in cases where the
warrant has been lost in the mail. After the waiting period the
warrant shall be deemed to be lost and the legal owner or custodian
shall be entitled to file an affidavit of the loss in the mail with
the county. The affidavit shall contain information relative to the
loss of the warrant in the mail, including the number, date, amount,
and name of the payee of the warrant. The county shall assist the
legal owner or custodian of the warrant in completing the affidavit.
(2) If the warrant was not lost in the mail, an affidavit may be
filed immediately with the county. The affidavit shall contain
information relative to the loss, theft, or destruction of the
warrant, including the number, date, amount, and the name of the
payee of the warrant. The county shall assist the legal owner or the
custodian of the warrant in the completion of the affidavit.
(b) When the affidavit has been signed by the legal owner or
custodian of the warrant, the county shall issue a replacement
warrant as soon as possible to ensure that the needs of the family
continue to be met, but no later than five working days from the date
that the affidavit has been signed and filed with the county.
(c) If the legal owner or custodian of the original warrant has
moved from the county that issued the original warrant, and it has
been lost, destroyed, stolen, or lost in the mail, the legal owner or
the custodian of the warrant shall be entitled to file his or her
affidavit for a replacement warrant with the county to which he or
she has moved, and that county shall, within one working day, mail
the affidavit to the county which issued the original warrant that an
affidavit has been received. The county which issued the original
warrant shall issue a replacement warrant immediately, but no later
than five working days from the date that the county receives the
affidavit that has been filed with the county to which the legal
owner or custodian of the original warrant has moved.
(d) If a legal owner or custodian receives an original public
assistance warrant subsequent to the receipt of a replacement
warrant, the legal owner or custodian shall return the original
warrant to the county.
(e) The department, in consultation with the County Welfare
Directors Association, the County Auditors Association, and the
Coalition of California Welfare Rights Organizations, shall develop a
statewide intercounty lost warrant replacement affidavit, or revise
the existing form, for the purpose of implementing this section.

29854. The auditor and treasurer shall each make the proper entries
on their respective books, showing that the warrant is lost or
destroyed and that a duplicate warrant has been issued.