State passes law that permits unclaimed property to be used for political campaigns.
You could lose money you didn’t even know you had. Your unclaimed property used to be safeguarded by the state. Now states are enacting laws that enable them to use the unclaimed property for publicly funding statewide and legislative campaigns.
This is a true good news, bad news situation. There are needed actions being taken to remove corruption regarding funding campaigns, however, it is the citizen that will still be paying.
In Connecticut such is the case. Governor M. Jodi Rell praised the passage of the landmark campaign finance reforms for which she has been fighting for months, declaring that “Connecticut is now a national model for reform� and that “Connecticut citizens can once again be proud of the way we conduct our campaigns.�
It comes in the wake of a corruption scandal last year that sent former Republican Gov. John G. Rowland to prison and led to his former co-chief of staff and a major state contractor pleading guilty in federal court. Connecticut has also been rocked by two mayors going to prison in recent years.
The measure, Senate Bill 2103, An Act Concerning Comprehensive Campaign Finance Reform for Statewide Constitutional and General Assembly Offices, passed the state Senate 27-8 and cleared the state House of Representatives on a vote of 82-65.
The bill establishes a system for publicly funding statewide and legislative campaigns, beginning in 2008 for General Assembly races and in 2010 for Governor and other constitutional offices, including Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Comptroller, Treasurer and Secretary of the State. The bill also establishes spending limits for participating candidates. In addition, it bans campaign contributions from lobbyists and state contractors, and also bans the use of “ad books� which candidates have used in the past as a novel way of raising money by selling advertising in programs and brochures.
Funding under a new Citizens’ Election Fund would come from unclaimed property that has reverted to the state Treasurer’s office, estimated to be about $20 million per year. It is expected that this legislation would cost about $17 million per election cycle. If the value of unclaimed property does not meet the required level in a given year, funding would come from the corporation tax.
The fund comes from unclaimed property, such as forgotten pay checks and bank accounts that currently flow into the state’s general fund. Some lawmakers disagreed with the use of the funds.
Other state legislatures have created public financing for just a few elected offices, such as the governor and lieutenant governor in Vermont, top judges in North Carolina and a regulatory commission in New Mexico that oversees corporations.
Maine and Arizona have public financing systems created by ballot initiatives. New Jersey recently passed a trial public financing program that affected two legislative seats this year and will apply to four in 2007.
While it is understood that money is needed for campaigns, is it proper or even ethical to take the money from unclaimed property? What about the legal rights of the owners of this unclaimed property? Has the state done a comprehensive search for the rightful owners or has it been a haphazard approach?
To determine if you have any money that has the potential to go to the state rather than to you, do your own search for unclaimed property. Cash Unclaimed Money Search exists to assist owners in easily locating and claiming their lost funds.
