Is the State Holding Money With Your Name on It?

There is nothing quite like reaching into a jacket pocket and pulling out a forgotten $20 bill.

Finding money is about that easy through the state controller’s office, which is holding $2.6 billion in unclaimed property and money from insurance and title companies, banks, businesses and other financial institutions.

So it’s all the more puzzling that a pile of that money--granted, most in small amounts--sits in Sacramento waiting to be claimed by dozens of government agencies around the state. Those are the same agencies that pride themselves on sound fiscal management, at least around election time.

Los Angeles County could pick up an easy $50,000 from assets on file with Controller Kathleen Connell’s office. San Diego County has about three dozen claims totaling just over $12,000. Sacramento County, where the money is housed, could collect $3,200 through 22 claims.

In Orange County, about $30,000 is waiting to be claimed by 11 cities and the county. The Orange Police Department recently made a claim for its $230 from Great Western Bank.

“Well, that’s a pleasant surprise,” said Laguna Niguel City Manager Tim Casey when told his city has $5,579 waiting for pickup in vendor payments from Chevron USA. “We can always use more money for our residents.”

Elsewhere in Orange County, the claims range from $2.26--owed to the city of Stanton from a Bank of America court settlement--to $5,516.75, available whenever the city of Fullerton claims its vendor payments from MCI Communications. Orange County government can claim about $15,000, mostly from vendor payments and escrow checks that have not been cashed.

Overall, the controller’s unclaimed property fund includes a hodgepodge of assets: cashiers checks, utility deposits, savings and checking account balances, safety deposit keepsakes such as jewelry and rare coins, stocks, dividends and escrow proceeds. Personal property from safe deposit boxes is sold at auction every summer.

The unclaimed property was, at one time, held in accounts by a bank or other financial institution. After three years of inactivity, the money reverts to the state if the bank hasn’t found the owner or has closed without disbursing all of its funds.

The oldest name in the database dates to 1974. Connell’s office unveiled a searchable Internet version of the database in May 1998, which dramatically boosted recovery efforts: Combined payouts rose from $85 million in fiscal 1996 to $150 million in fiscal 1999.

Still, matching owners to amounts has been a challenge. Until recently, Connell’s office was hamstrung from tracking down the more than 5 million individuals and entities owed money. That changed last month, when Connell got $1 million from the state budget to help trace owners through tax filings. The year before, she had just $15,000 to get the word out.

Another factor hampering recovery efforts: The money sits in the state’s general fund. In the past, particularly during the 1990s recession years, the Legislature wasn’t eager to allocate funds to track down owners when that money was balancing the budget and quietly earning interest for the state.

The state has a responsibility to make a reasonable effort to track down owners of unclaimed assets, said Jonathan Coupal, president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assn. in Sacramento.

“Taxpayers want government to place as much value on our money as we do,” Coupal said.

Finding whether a windfall awaits takes Internet access, the proper software and a few mouse clicks. Then, a search can determine if the user has something in common with disgraced former Orange County Treasurer Robert L. “Bob” Citron, who--in care of his former office in Santa Ana--has about $5,000 in county payments in his name waiting to be collected.

The Internet address is https://www.sco.ca.gov. Users will need Adobe Acrobat to display search results. Another tip: When entering a name, try all possible combinations. The search will come up empty unless the name is exactly matched to the name on the asset.

Those without Internet access or the proper software can call the unclaimed-property division of the controller’s office at (800) 992-4647 weekdays between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.

Refunds take about 90 days and include 5% interest for each year the state has held the money.