Section 6157 Of Chapter 2.5. Medium Of Payment From California Government Code >> Division 7. >> Title 1. >> Chapter 2.5.
6157
. (a) The state, and each city, whether general law or
chartered, county, and district, each subdivision, department, board,
commission, body, or agency of the foregoing, shall accept personal
checks, in addition to any other authorized form of payment, drawn in
its favor or in favor of a designated official thereof, in payment
for any license, permit, or fee, or in payment of any obligation
owing to the public agency or trust deposit, if the person issuing
the check furnishes to the person authorized to receive payment
satisfactory proof of residence in this state and if the personal
check is drawn on a banking institution located in this state.
(b) If any personal check, corporate check, cashier's check, money
order, or other draft method offered in payment pursuant to this
section is returned without payment, for any reason, a reasonable
charge for the returned check, not to exceed the actual costs
incurred by the public agency, may be imposed to recover the public
agency's processing and collection costs. This charge may be added
to, and become part of, any underlying obligation other than an
obligation which constitutes a lien on real property, and a different
method of payment for that payment and future payments by this
person may be prescribed.
(c) The acceptance of a personal check, corporate check, cashier's
check, money order, or other draft method pursuant to this section
constitutes payment of the obligation owed to the payee public agency
to the extent of the amount of the check as of the date of
acceptance when, but not before, the check is duly paid.
(d) The provisions in subdivision (b) prohibiting a returned check
charge being added to, and becoming a part of, an obligation which
constitutes a lien on real property do not apply to obligations under
the Veterans' Farm and Home Purchase Act of 1974 (Article 3.1
(commencing with Section 987.50) of Chapter 6 of Division 4 of the
Military and Veterans Code).