§ 26. Refunds when sales cannot be completed. Within three years
after the receipt thereof, moneys heretofore received by the division of
the land office in the department of state and transferred to the office
of general services or heretofore or hereafter received by the office of
general services on account of sales of interests in real property
ordered by the office of general services or its predecessor, the board
of commissioners of the land office, may be refunded to the person or
party for whose account same were received, upon satisfactory proof
being submitted to the commissioner of general services that the sale or
sales so ordered cannot be completed by the issuance of letters patent
or an instrument of conveyance.

Notwithstanding the provisions of section one hundred twenty-one of
the state finance law, such refunds shall, upon approval by the
commissioner of general services and after audit by the comptroller, be
paid from any moneys in the custody of the office of general services or
heretofore transferred or received from the division of the land office
as proceeds of sale of real property, except that moneys derived from
the sale of detached parcels of forest preserve lands as provided in
section twenty-four of the public lands law shall not be used to make
refunds with respect to inability to complete sales affecting other
lands and such moneys shall be the sole fund from which to make refunds
in cases of inability on the part of the state to complete sales, as
aforesaid, of such detached parcels of forest preserve lands.