COBI 2015 - Unclaimed Property

Overview
Issues
Performance
Background
Financials

Sources Uses

FY 2016 Appropriation

The Unclaimed Property Program is responsible for reuniting lost or abandoned property with its rightful owners. Property types include savings accounts, life insurance policies, payroll checks, safe deposit box contents, stocks and mutual funds, and other types of property. Any amount not returned to rightful owners is deposited in the Uniform School Fund.

Each year the division is required, under UCA 67-4a-402, to publish notice of property received during the year in a newspaper having general circulation in Utah. Additional outreach programs include billboard ads, radio ads, locating services which enable owners to search for their names in the database, and listing all names and addresses on mine.utah.gov and missingmoney.com. Several employees are actively involved in locating efforts.

The Unclaimed Property Division maximizes returns of abandoned property to owners through examining current business processes and implementing improvements where needed. In addition, the division continues to increase productivity through the adoption of new IT enabled processes such as document imaging.

Funding History

Appropriation Overview

During the 2015 General Session, the Legislature appropriated for Fiscal Year 2016, $1,568,800 from all sources for Unclaimed Property. This is an 11.4 percent reduction from Fiscal Year 2015 revised estimated amounts from all sources.

The top three measures identified for this program include 1) Number of claims paid 2) Amount of unclaimed property claims paid, and 3) Number of claims initiated.

Number of Claims Paid

The purpose of the Unclaimed Property Division is to reunite rightful owners with their properties, and to safeguard those properties until such disbursements are made. This measure tracks the number of such disbursements and is a primary way to gauge the effectiveness of the division's efforts.

Amount of Claims Paid

This is the total dollar amount of claims paid to the rightful owners of Unclaimed Property, and is another primary measure of the division's efficacy in its primary mission.

Number of Claims Initiated

The number of claims initiated is tracked and evaluated in concert with total number of claims paid. It provides an additional measure of the division's efforts to ensure that properties are safeguarded and paid out only to rightful owners. Some initiated claims do not result in disbursements, but require significant processing and due diligence nonetheless.

Statute

Statutory authority is provided within UCA 67-4a, "Unclaimed Property Act."

Intent Language

HB0003: Item 9

Under section 63J-1-603 of the Utah Code, the Legislature intends that appropriations provided to the State Treasurer in Item 21, Chapter 14, Laws of Utah 2014 not lapse at the close of Fiscal Year 2015.

The program's administrative costs are paid from the Unclaimed Property Trust Fund as allowed in UCA 67-4a-405. The fund receives proceeds from intangible property escheated to the state, including proceeds from the sale of abandoned property.

Display By:

Funding Source

Expenditure Category

Appropriation Type:

Appropriation History by

Sources of Finance	FY11 Actual	FY12 Actual	FY13 Actual	FY14 Actual	FY15 Approp	FY15 Change	FY15 Revised	FY16 Change	FY16 Approp
Unclaimed Property Trust	1,412,300	1,408,100	1,429,700	1,461,500	1,636,300	0	1,636,300	(67,500)	1,568,800
Beginning Nonlapsing	395,000	200,000	250,000	250,000	0	150,000	150,000	(135,000)	15,000
Closing Nonlapsing	(200,000)	(250,000)	(250,000)	(150,000)	0	(15,000)	(15,000)	0	(15,000)
Lapsing Balance	(38,400)	(137,700)	(78,800)	(200,000)	0	0	0	0	0
Total	$1,568,900	$1,220,400	$1,350,900	$1,361,500	$1,636,300	$135,000	$1,771,300	($202,500)	$1,568,800

Categories of Expenditure	FY11 Actual	FY12 Actual	FY13 Actual	FY14 Actual	FY15 Approp	FY15 Change	FY15 Revised	FY16 Change	FY16 Approp
Personnel Services	858,100	805,500	902,600	928,100	940,600	(25,400)	915,200	35,700	950,900
In-state Travel	400	700	200	100	600	10,900	11,500	10,500	22,000
Out-of-state Travel	4,800	9,300	3,200	7,700	8,200	2,600	10,800	3,200	14,000
Current Expense	321,200	196,200	209,800	202,900	452,800	131,200	584,000	(216,900)	367,100
DP Current Expense	117,400	208,700	235,100	183,200	234,100	(35,300)	198,800	16,000	214,800
DP Capital Outlay	9,000	0	0	39,500	0	51,000	51,000	(51,000)	0
Capital Outlay	22,000	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Other Charges/Pass Thru	236,000	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	$1,568,900	$1,220,400	$1,350,900	$1,361,500	$1,636,300	$135,000	$1,771,300	($202,500)	$1,568,800

Show Table | Show Additional Information

Other Indicators	FY11 Actual	FY12 Actual	FY13 Actual	FY14 Actual	FY15 Approp	FY15 Change	FY15 Revised	FY16 Change	FY16 Approp
Budgeted FTE	14.20	14.30	15.18	14.60	14.58	0	14.58	0	14.58
Actual FTE	12.80	12.30	13.50	13.10	0	0	0	0	0

COBI contains unaudited data as presented to the Legislature by state agencies at the time of publication. For audited financial data see the State of Utah's Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports.