BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 954
Page 1
Date of Hearing: August 8, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
SB 954 (Liu) - As Amended: March 1, 2012
Policy Committee: Local
GovernmentVote:9-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill authorizes the Controller to withhold unclaimed
property held by the state to satisfy debts to cities and
counties.
FISCAL EFFECT
Negligible fiscal impact to the Controller.
COMMENTS
1)Purpose . According to the author, this bill would add the
Controller's unclaimed property program to the list of other
state programs that can place an offset on behalf of a city or
county on a state claim refund. The author argues this change
gives cities or counties more chances to collect money owed
and provide needed revenue to agency budgets. This bill
simply adds authority to the existing Government Code Section
on offsets to let the Controller place offsets on unclaimed
property, if the person to receive the property owes money to
a city or county. According to the Controller, the sponsor,
if this authority had been in place, cities and counties would
have received $2.3 million in the 2009-10 fiscal year and $3.5
million in 2010-11.
2)Background . If a person owes money to a city or county, the
Controller may withhold (offset) money from the person's state
tax refunds and winnings from the California State Lottery to
settle local debts. The Controller can withhold money only
when the amount is a judgment, a court order, or a lien for
delinquent unsecured property taxes, and must withhold money
SB 954
Page 2
when the amount is a bench warrant for payment of a fine,
penalty, or assessment.
Cities and counties give the Controller lists of debtors and
amounts owed. The Controller matches those cities' and
counties' lists against the names of people due state tax
refunds and lottery payments. When there are matches, the
Controller withholds the amount owed and pays the city or
county.
The Controller currently operates a program to allow persons
to identify and claim property in the possession of the state.
The Controller holds all received unclaimed property until
the owner claims it. After receiving a claim, the Controller
will evaluate its validity and authorize payment to a rightful
owner. The State of California currently holds more than $6.1
billion in unclaimed property belonging to approximately 17.6
million individuals and organizations.
3)There is no registered opposition to this bill.
Analysis Prepared by : Roger Dunstan / APPR. / (916) 319-2081