The latest quarrel between Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards and Republican U.S. Sen. John Kennedy, who may run for governor, centers on a little-noticed pot of unclaimed money the state collects on behalf of residents who are owed the cash.
Kennedy wants to use $150 million from the unclaimed property fund to help finance the Comite River Diversion Canal, which has been on the drawing board for three decades. Edwards calls Kennedy’s idea “unrealistic.”
Dollars in the fund come from old savings and checking accounts, payroll checks, stocks and dividends, insurance proceeds, oil royalty payments and utility deposits that aren’t immediately claimed by their rightful owners.
The treasurer’s office tries to locate people and return the money, but the state takes in more money in unclaimed property each year than owners claim.
Louisiana is sitting on enough unclaimed cash that the dollars can be used to pay for the diversion canal work, says Kennedy, who served as treasurer for 17 years.
“If they’re saying, ‘We don’t want to use that money,’ we’re doing it right now. It’s in the budget,” Kennedy says. “It’s spread all through state government.”
Louisiana’s official income forecast includes about $50 million from the unclaimed property fund annually, with $15 million shaved off to pay for Interstate 49 projects. The remaining money goes into the general fund to pay for a variety of programs.
Kennedy, however, is targeting a different chunk of the unclaimed property dollars: money tied to non-cash securities, such as stocks and mutual funds, that must be sold to generate the cash. The logistics remain a bit murky.
An important note: The value of the unclaimed cash and securities belongs to members of the public, rather than state government, which acts as something of a holding agent.
As a first step, State Treasurer John Schroder would have to agree. In a statement Monday, the Republican said he welcomes infrastructure proposals “that do not force the taxpayers to fork over any more money” and is researching to see if Kennedy’s idea is viable.
Read more and find out if you have any unclaimed property.
