§ 26525 County Unauthorized Payment Recovery

• •If county leaders pay money they shouldn't (like extra salary or fees) without the law allowing it, they have to pay it back.
• •If someone in the county writes a check for themselves or others without permission, they have to pay back the money plus extra (20% more).
• •The district attorney (DA) must take them to court to get the money back, even if the payment hasn’t happened yet.
• •The DA doesn’t need extra permission from the county leaders to start the lawsuit.

A county supervisor gives their friend $10,000 from county funds as a 'bonus' even though the law doesn’t allow it.

The DA must sue the supervisor to get the $10,000 back, plus an extra $2,000 (20% of $10,000) as a penalty. If the friend hasn’t cashed the check yet, the DA can stop the payment.