(a)
The Federal Student Loan Reserve Fund and the Student Loan Operating Fund are hereby created in the State Treasury. On January 1, 2000, the State Guaranteed Loan Reserve Fund shall cease to exist, and funds deposited, or required to be deposited, in that fund shall be transferred to the Federal Student Loan Reserve Fund or to the Student Loan Operating Fund and allocated to those funds in accordance with the requirements of federal law.
(b)
All moneys received for the purposes of this article from federal, state, or local governments, including any moneys deposited in the State Guaranteed Loan Reserve Fund, or from other private or public sources, shall be deposited in the Federal Student Loan Reserve Fund or the Student Loan Operating Fund and allocated to those funds in accordance with the requirements of federal law. Funds deposited in the Federal Student Loan Reserve Fund or the Student Loan Operating Fund are not part of the General Fund, as defined in Section 16300 of the Government Code. No moneys from the General Fund shall be deposited in the Federal Student Loan Reserve Fund or the Student Loan Operating Fund.
(c)
The contents of the Federal Student Loan Reserve Fund are federal funds, administered in accordance with federal laws and regulations. The contents of the Student Loan Operating Fund are state funds within the custody and control of the Student Aid Commission.
(d)
Notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code, all moneys deposited in the Federal Student Loan Reserve Fund and the Student Loan Operating Fund are hereby continuously appropriated, without regard to fiscal years, for purposes of this article. The continuous appropriation made by this section shall be available to assume the obligation under any outstanding budget act appropriation from the State Guaranteed Loan Reserve Fund as it existed prior to January 1, 2000. On or after the operative date of Article 2.4 (commencing with Section 69521), the expenditure of funds from the Student Loan Operating Fund is subject to the limitations set forth in Sections 69522 and 69526.
(e)
Notwithstanding any other law, the Controller may use the moneys in the Student Loan Operating Fund for loans to the General Fund as provided in Sections 16310 and 16381 of the Government Code. However, interest shall be paid on all moneys loaned to the General Fund from the Student Loan Operating Fund. Interest payable shall be computed at a rate determined by the Pooled Money Investment Board to be the current earning rate of the fund from which loaned. This subdivision does not authorize any transfer that will interfere with the carrying out of the object for which the Student Loan Operating Fund was created.
(f)
The total amount of all outstanding debts, obligations, and liabilities that may be incurred or created under this article or under Article 2.5 (commencing with Section 69522), including any obligation to repay to the United States any funds provided under Title IV of the “Higher Education Act of 1965,” and extensions thereof or amendments thereto, or any similar act of Congress, is limited to the amount contained in the Federal Student Loan Reserve Fund or the Student Loan Operating Fund, and the state shall not be liable to the United States, or to any other person or entity, beyond the amount contained in the Federal Student Loan Reserve Fund or the Student Loan Operating Fund for any debts, obligations, and liabilities.