Accessibility Policy

Accessibility/Help Page

The State Controller’s Office website has been developed with the goal of compliance with California Government Code 11135, located in Section D of the California Government Code. Code 11135 requires that all electronic and information technology developed or purchased by the State of California Government is accessible to people with disabilities. There are various types of physical disabilities that impact user interaction on the web. Vision loss, hearing loss, limited manual dexterity, and cognitive disabilities are examples, with each having different means by which to access electronic information effectively. Our goal is to provide a good web experience for all visitors.

Below you will find a list of some of the technology solutions we have integrated to make our website easy to navigate, fast-loading and accessible.

What Makes Our Website Accessible?

  • Clean, Simple and Consistent
    Our website uses simple information architecture with uniform navigation and reliable headings throughout. Content layout and graphical design are consistent on every page.
  • "Skip To:" Menu
    The "Skip to main content" navigation appears at the top of each page. It allows the user to jump to the content area, accessibility page, or footer, and skip the navigation and other header elements, which repeat on every page.
  • The Navigation
    The main navigation, located just below the SCO seal, uses lists. Lists make it easier for screen readers to literally read down the list without having to sort through unnecessary code. Lists also allow the users to use the tab key to move from link to link.
  • Breadcrumb Navigation
    Breadcrumbs, located at the top of each page (except for the homepage) and directly below the main navigation, let you know where you are and where you have been, or where a particular file resides. Breadcrumbs make it easier to navigate your way back to the root folder.
  • Images With Alternative Text
    Photographs and other relevant images on the site are accompanied by alternative text (the ALT tag.) Alt tags provide a written description of the image, which is accessible to screen readers, and it is visible when the mouse is placed over the image. This is also useful for people who have images turned off on their browser, in which case a description will display where the image used to be.
  • Relative Font Sizing
    Relative font size can be enlarged using magnification tools or by changing your browser settings.
  • Fluid Sizing Display
    The width of our pages changes and adapts to the width of your browser. This is more noticeable if you have a large screen and/or use high resolution for your monitor. Our website is viewed best at a minimum of 800 x 600 pixels.
  • Accessible Via Mouse or Keyboard
    You can use the mouse or keyboard to navigate through our information. The tab key will move the cursor from link to link.
  • Access Keys
    Access keys are keyboard shortcuts that help you get around the site.
    • "Ctrl + F" for Windows users or "Command + F" for Mac users, to access the Find box.
  • No Sound, No Images, No Problem
    Content is accessible without sound, color, scripts or graphics.
  • Improved Search Engine
    Google search engine provides more relevant results than our previous state search application.

Keyboard and Mouse Shortcuts

Difficulty Accessing Material

We are constantly updating our content and striving to make it accessible. If you have difficulty accessing any material on this site because of a disability, or if you have any questions or suggestions, please contact our Webmaster.