The records of the Board of Examiners consist of 104 bound volumes created between 1856-1910. These bound folios were assigned Record Group Numbers F2429 and F3349. These records are organized into nine series consisting of Minutes, Record of Claims, Appropriations, Public Accounting, Orphans and Abandoned Children, Coyote Claims, Contingent Fund Ledger, Form Book, and Correspondence.

The records of the Board of Control consist of seventy bound volumes and nineteen cubic feet of textual material. Record numbers F3349 and F3351 were assigned to bound folios created from 1911-1973. These volumes contain Minutes, Record of Claims, Appropriations, Public Accounting, and Reports. Record number R127 consists of the nineteen cubic feet of textual material created between 1949-1995. These records are organized into six series including: Meeting Agendas; Meeting Minutes; Government Claims Program Files; Administrative Office Files; Victims of Crime Program Files; and Executive Office Files.

The records of the Board of Control document the actions of a fiscal authority responsible for supervising the business affairs of all state departments, hospitals, prisons and reformatories, boards, commissions, and bureaus. The bulk of the R127 records consist of the Board's meeting agendas (R127.1), which cover the years 1949-1991. Meeting agendas illustrate the number and variety of cases the Board was required to rule on as well as the importance of background material when it existed. Individual claimants are listed as agenda items and often include social security numbers or in the case of victim indemnification claims, descriptions of crimes. Some of these agendas have been restricted because of the existence of personal information of claimants within the agenda.

Another significant portion of this collection are the Administrative Office Files (R127.4) and Executive Office Files (R127.6), which were almost exclusively created during the early 1980s and 1990s. These two series offer insight to the changes the Board experienced during this time period. A record of proposed legislation and their analyses exist within the administrative office files. Weekly, monthly, and annual statistical report files from the early 1980s reflect a significant claim backlog and administrative attempts to remedy this problem. A number of correspondences exist within the executive office series. Much of this correspondence reflects the Board of Control supervised expansion of the Victims of Crime Compensation Program. Internal audit reports produced from 1987-1989 are also included within the executive files. William J. Anthony, Director of the Department of General Services, served as Executive Officer from 1984-1990 and Austin Eaton's service followed from 1990-1996 during this significant expansion.

Government Claims Program Files (R127.3) contain some information about Loma Prieta and Northridge Earthquake disaster claims. A sub-series of Government Claims Program Meeting Minutes exists for 1990 where this time period is not represented in the general Meeting Agendas or Meeting Minutes series.

The Board of Control administers the Victim of Crime Program, under the name Victim Indemnification Fund. This program's mission has been to help pay un-reimbursed expenses of victims when they occur as a result of a violent crime. Victim of Crime Files (R127.5) series subjects reflect the program's emphasis to legally define all who may be considered as a victim and to implement a fair and equitable policy for financial assistance. The Board of Control generally heard Victim of Crime claims in closed sessions due to personal information and explicit nature of some crimes. Victim of Crime Program hearing files from 1987-1991 are restricted for this reason unless a direct connection with the victim can be substantiated. Also within this series are joint power agreements between county district attorney's offices and the Board of Control-Victim of Crime Program that allowed for shorter processing times and determination of claims by a local authority near the victim.

Related Collections at the California State Archives

Department of General Services

Department of Finance Records

The California Legislature established the Board of Examiners in 1856 to examine the books of the State Controller and State Treasurer and to oversee the money in the treasury (Chapter 85, Statutes of 1856). The Board's membership consisted of the Governor, the Secretary of State, and the Attorney General. The Legislature enacted another law in 1858 revising the role of the Board to include ruling on claims against the State for which appropriations had been made, counting the money in the state treasury, and examining the books of the Controller and Treasurer (Chapter 257, Statutes of 1858).

In 1911, the California Legislature abolished the Board of Examiners and established the Board of Control in its place to provide many of the functions of the previous organization. (Chapter 349, Statutes of 1911) The Legislature charged the Board of Control with the fiscal supervision of state departments, hospitals, prisons, reformatories, boards, commissions, and bureaus. The Legislature reorganized the Board of Control again in 1927 providing new responsibilities such as performing as the governing body of the Department of Finance; regulating travel expenses and allowances for state employees and officers, as well as auditing and determining claims against the State (Chapter 251, Statutes of California 1927). Membership of the Board of Control no longer consisted of the Governor, Secretary of State, and the Attorney General, but consisted of the Director of the Department of Finance, acting as chairman, the State Controller, and a third member appointed by the Governor serving a four-year term.

Activity of the Board of Control from its reorganization in 1927 through the mid-1960s consisted of many routine procedures. Determination and authorization of claims during its twice-monthly meetings was a significant part of the workload. The State Merit Award Program, instituted in 1950, provided one of the earliest specialized claims programs administered by the Board of Control. The Merit Award Program allowed state employees to be financially rewarded for their suggestions that reduced or eliminated state expenditures or improved operations after those suggestions were implemented. The Board of Control appointed four of the five board members to the State Merit Award Board and provided final action decisions for compensation to state employees. Board of Control administrative involvement in the Merit Award Program ceased by 1976 when the program was transferred into the Department of General Services.

The Claims, Rulemaking, and Fiscal Control Program within the Board of Control developed in the early 1970s and became known as the Government Claims Program. The increasing size and complexity of state government required that uniform rules and regulations be developed and implemented regarding fiscal matters and the need for equitable treatment. Another reason to create the Government Claims Program was the increased number of claims filed against the State overloading the courts and therefore creating a substantial backlog. This program dealt with specific fiscal operations managed by the Board such as: review of discharge of accounts receivable by the state; refunds, credits, and cancellation of taxes; sale and disposal of unclaimed property; transfer of funds between state agencies; determination of pro-rata share of administrative costs payable by each state agency; determination of headquarters for purposes of travel claims; and hearings regarding purchase and bid protests.

A significant program administered by the Board of Control was Indemnification of Private Citizens, later becoming the Victims of Crime Compensation Program. Established in 1973, this was the first state-run program in the nation to financially compensate victims who had been injured and suffered financial hardship due to a crime of violence or citizens who had been injured or whose personal property had sustained damage while performing acts benefiting the public (Chapter 1144, Statutes of 1973).