As the State's chief fiscal officer, Controller John Chiang has fought to make the State’s finances more transparent and accountable to the public, and to weed out waste, fraud and abuse of public funds.
Some of his accomplishments while serving his first term as Controller include:
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Controller John Chiang has used his independent auditing powers to crack down on wasteful government spending. He already has identified over $4 billion in waste, fraud, and abuse -- far more than any previous Controller.
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John Chiang regularly provides free tax assistance to seniors and working families, saving them over $3 million in tax refunds and credits. He hosts free seminars to help small businesses and non-profit organizations navigate complex tax laws and regulations.
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As Controller, John Chiang has directed the top managers of the State Controller's Office -- including himself -- to go beyond the requirements of State disclosure laws and and post their annual personal Statements of Economic Interests, a state form on which state and local government officials publicly disclose their personal assets and income that may be materially affected by their official acts on the Controller's Web site.
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As a member of the State Lands Commission, Chiang cast the deciding vote against what would have been the first off-shore oil drilling in 40 years based on his concern about the secrecy of the project and the inability of the commission to enforce its provisions.
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Controller Chiang voted to deny a lease for a Liquefied Natural Gas terminal off of the coast of Oxnard because the emissions from the tankers and the terminal would have impacted Ventura and Los Angeles County residents and because it was not consistent with the spirit of our new laws that move us toward cleaner, renewable energy alternatives.
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Shortly after assuming office in January 2007, Controller Chiang successfully sponsored legislation to lift a law that prohibited him from notifying 80% of property owners that their cash, stocks, deposits and other valuables had been sent to the State for safekeeping and were available to be claimed. In the first year of the reform law, the Controller’s office sent 2.5 million notices to property owners -- far more than the 1.2 million sent out in the previous decade.
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Between January 2007 and February 2010, Controller Chiang has reunited owners with more than $2.3 billion of property that had been lost or forgotten -- $1.3 billion that had been sent to the State, and $981 million that was reclaimed by owners from the business before it was sent to the State.
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During the three years of his administration, Chiang also returned 157 million stocks and securities to property owners, which is 25 times the amount returned to owners during the previous decade.
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Partnering with community colleges, financial planners and others, the Controller launched the “Your Finances. Your Future” webpage to provide money-management, savings and retirement tips to Californians.
