Cal. Gov. Code § 12419.4
The State has a lien for any taxes due the State from any person or entity, upon any and all personal property belonging to such person or entity and held by the State or amount owed to such person or entity by the State. This section does not apply to salary or wages owing to officers or employees of the State. Except as limited in this section this lien shall apply to all such property held or such amount owed by an agency of the State while such person or entity owes any taxes to that agency or another agency of the State. If the property held or amount owed is subject to Section 12419.5 of this code, the procedure set forth in that section shall be followed in enforcing liens created herein. If the property held or amount owed is not subject to Section 12419.5 of this code, the lien created herein shall be enforced by means of written demand by the creditor state agency on the agency holding the property or owing the amount involved. The state agency holding the property or, owing the amount involved, upon receipt of such written demand, shall transfer the property, or shall pay the amount which it owes, but not in excess of the taxes specified in the demand, to the creditor state agency. The creditor state agency shall apply such payment to the taxes owing to it, or shall reduce the property so transferred to cash, apply so much as is necessary to pay the taxes owing to it, and remit any excess to the person or entity. If the state agency which holds the property of or owes an amount to the person or entity also is owed taxes by such person or entity, the lien shall be enforced by applying the amount owed by the state agency to the taxes owed to such agency, or by reducing the property to cash and applying the proceeds, or so much thereof as is required, to the taxes owing to the state agency, remitting the excess, if any, to the person or entity. Amounts paid to or applied by a state agency pursuant to this section shall constitute payment by the person or entity involved and the account of such person or entity shall be credited immediately by the collecting state agency.
Immediately upon transfer or payment to another state agency of the property held or amount owed, the agency which had held the property or which had owed the amount involved shall give written notice of the transfer or payment to the person or entity involved. The notice may be served personally or by mail. If served by mail, service shall be made pursuant to Section 1013 of the Code of Civil Procedure and shall be addressed to the person or entity involved at his or its address as it appears in the records of the agency which had held the property or which had owed the amount involved. The service shall be deemed complete at the time of the deposit of the notice in the mail.
Nothing in this section shall permit one state agency to collect or obtain such property or amount from another state agency so long as the latter has any rights against such property or amount. Property held or deposited with any state agency for a particular purpose, such as security for the payment of taxes, shall not be applied to any other purpose by the state agency holding the property or amount until the property or amount is no longer needed for the particular purpose for which the property or amount was held or deposited.
Upon transfer or payment pursuant to the lien created in this section, the state agency which had held the property or had owed the amount involved is relieved and discharged of any and all liability.
Ca. Gov. Code § 12419.4