Editorial: How to get your $70 million back

Unclaimed property is big business for California’s state government.

According to the Controller’s Office, the state has accumulated nearly 29 million unclaimed assets totaling an estimated $7.6 billion. Much of it is cash, usually from long-forgotten bank accounts, insurance policies and stocks.

This stockpile generates more than $400 million a year, the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office said in a February report. That is a big chunk of dough. In fact, said the LAO, it “is the state General Fund’s fifth-largest revenue source.”

Trying to unite this money with its rightful owners rests with the state controller. Upon taking office in January, Betty Yee – just like her predecessors – said that she was ramping up efforts toward that end.

The good news, as The Bee’s John Ellis reported Aug. 30, is that preliminary numbers for the last fiscal year indicate that the number of claims paid is up about 27 percent compared to the previous year.

Now for the dirty little secret Ellis exposed in his story: The Legislature has a $60,000 limit on what the Controller's Office can spend publicizing the unclaimed property program.

By placing a cap that amounts to peanuts on the controller, the Legislature gets to keep a cash cow for balancing the budget while making it appear that the state is doing right by the people.

In you doubt this analysis, consider other statements in that February report from the LAO:

▪ Less than $1 billion of the estimated $7.6 billion will be reunited with its rightful owner.

▪ Yes, the state controller could make administrative changes to improve the process of sending these assets where they belong.

▪ However, the onus for the program’s shortcomings rests with the Legislature.

We recognize that some assets will never end up in the right hands. As Ellis wrote of people owed money, “Maybe they’re alive, maybe not. Maybe they’re still in business. They could’ve moved. Quite possibly, they just don’t care.”

Still, there are millions of potential claimants who do care.

Some of them reside in Fresno, Tulare, Kings and Madera counties. The state is holding more than $70 million that belongs to them – plus a few million shares of tradeable assets and the contents of close to 2,000 safe-deposit boxes.

If folks do manage to hear about the state’s largely hush-hush efforts, they may attempt to recover assets under $1,000 via eClaim. Critics describe eClaim as cumbersome, and it takes as many as 180 days to complete requests.

One aspect of the unclaimed property process is downright silly. The state is clinging to assets owned by California’s cities and counties. The Controller’s Office doesn’t know where to find Fresno City Hall? These checks should go back out as soon as the state gets them.

So, the next time your Assembly or Senate member says that she or he is working hard for you, ask them this:

Why aren’t you helping me get back my money?

This story was originally published September 2, 2015 at 10:00 AM with the headline "Editorial: How to get your $70 million back."