In 2010, the State Controller's Office (SCO) created the Government Compensation in California (GCC) website to enhance government transparency and provide a single statewide database that is accessible by anyone at any time. At first, the SCO collected government compensation data as a component of the financial transaction reports from cities, counties, and special districts under the authority of Government Code sections 53891 and 53892. In 2015, the Legislature explicitly authorized SCO to collect compensation data. The SCO is required to publish the information on its website under the authority of Government Code section 12463.

The GCC website contains pay and benefit information for positions in cities, counties, special districts, and state government, including California State University (CSU). Other public employers submit pay and benefit information on a voluntary basis for positions in superior courts, the University of California, community college districts, K-12 education providers, First 5 commissions, and fairs and expositions.

The staff members of the state Legislature are not paid by SCO and are not included on the GCC website.

SCO posts the information as it was reported by each public employer, and does not audit for accuracy. Questions about data details should be directed to the individual public employers.