(a) The Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board may authorize any state agency to settle and pay claims filed pursuant to Section 905.2 if the settlement does not exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000) or a lesser amount as the board may determine, or to reject the claim and provide the notice required by Section 913. The board may require state agencies that it so authorizes to report annually to the board concerning the claims resolved pursuant to this section.
(b) As used in this section, “state agency” means any office, officer, department, division, bureau, board, commission, or agency of the state, claims against which are paid by warrants drawn by the Controller, but does not mean any judicial branch entity, as defined in Section 900.3, or any judge thereof.