(a) Unless the Legislature specifically provides that approval is not required, every gift or dedication to the state of personal property, or every gift to the state of real property in fee or in any lesser estate or interest, shall be approved by the Director of Finance, and every contract for the acquisition or hiring of real property in fee or in any lesser estate or interest, entered into by or on behalf of the state, shall be approved by the Director of General Services. Any contract entered into in violation of this section is void. This section applies to any state agency that, by general or specific statute, is expressly or impliedly authorized to enter into transactions referred to in this section.
(b) This section does not apply to any of the following:
(1) Unconditional gifts of money.
(2) The acquisition or hiring by the Department of Transportation of real property in fee or in any lesser estate or interest for highway purposes, but this section does apply to the hiring by that department of office space in any office building.
(3) Contracts entered into under the authority of Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 11770) of Part 3 of Division 2 of the Insurance Code.
(4) The receipt of donated, unencumbered personal property from private sources received in conjunction with the administration of the Federal Surplus Personal Property Program by the Department of General Services.
(5) The receipt of gifts of personal property in the form of interpretive or historical objects, each valued at fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000) or less, by the Department of Parks and Recreation.
(6) The acceptance by the State Coastal Conservancy of offers to dedicate public accessways made pursuant to Division 20 (commencing with Section 30000) of the Public Resources Code.
(7) The acquisition or hiring by the High-Speed Rail Authority of real property in fee or in any lesser estate or interest for high-speed rail purposes, but this section does apply to the hiring by that authority of office space in any office building.
(Amended by Stats. 2018, Ch. 790, Sec. 2. (SB 1172) Effective January 1, 2019.)