Willis

—“Any person now or hereafter employed by the State may file . . . a designation of a person who, notwithstanding any other provision of law, shall, on the death of the employee, be entitled to receive all warrants that would have been payable to the decedent had he survived.” (Gov. Code, § 12479.) The issue presented in this appeal is whether the State Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (State), contrary to the terms of Government Code section 12479, must withhold the payment of warrants to a deceased employee’s designee once it receives notice of an alleged community property interest in the proceeds. We conclude the Legislature clearly expressed its directive to the State to release outstanding warrants to an employee’s designee and this specific directive prevails over Civil Code provisions defining community property and prohibiting one spouse from making a gift of community property. (Civ. Code, § 5105, enacted 1969, repealed Stats. 1992 ch. 162, § 3, operative Jan. 1, 1994; § 5250, enacted 1985, repealed Stats. 1992 ch. 162, § 3, operative Jan. 1, 1994.) We affirm.

Factual and Procedural Background

In November 1981 Stenalt Willis, an employee of the State…