Appropriations committee seeks more detail on costs to move unclaimed-property staff into Treasurer’s office

The House Appropriations Committee27s Government Operations Division discussed, but did not decide, how to fund the planned transfer of four unclaimed‑property full‑time positions into the state Treasurer27s office.

Committee members said a $50,000 capital asset line in the amendment can be removed if the Office of Management and Budget covers a small remodel, but they asked staff to confirm which agency will carry that cost and whether operating authority moves with the positions.

Why it matters: moving positions funded from special funds into the Treasurer27s office changes which budgets pay ongoing operating costs, rent charges and one‑time equipment purchases. Committee members and the Treasurer stressed the need to know whether ongoing operating authority and one‑time funds accompany the FTEs before sending the bill forward.

Treasurer Thomas Beeton told the committee he had not been part of the prior conversations and asked that staff ensure any promised special‑fund authority is actually placed in OMB27s budget: "I'm not confused by it, I just have not been a part of those conversations whatsoever, so if there are people being put into our office and we're hearing that there's money out there to supposedly pay for that, we just want to make sure that that actually happens," he said.

Committee staff (Adam) reported the amendment and base budget documents currently show only salary funding for the four positions and pointed the committee to Section 14 of the bill, which addresses unclaimed‑property expenses. Adam said the bill as drafted appears to provide salary dollars only and that operating expense authority is not clearly included in the amendment text.

Members raised specific funding questions the transcript left unresolved: whether the $50,000 capital asset is for walls only or also furniture, whether equipment will move with staff or be repurchased by the Treasurer27s office, and how rent and capital rent charges will be split between general and special funds. Staff and some members suggested placeholder figures for planning: roughly $10,000 one‑time per new employee for furniture and a range of $10,00025$25,000 per employee annually for ongoing operating costs, with alternate suggestions of $25,000 per employee (about $100,000) for ongoing costs. Committee staff emphasized those were preliminary placeholders and said more precise numbers would come after consultation with the Department of Trust Lands and OMB.

No formal vote was taken on the transfer or the dollar placeholders. The committee agreed to reconvene committee work on the Treasurer27s office at approximately 10:00 a.m. on Friday to review more detailed operating and capital figures before sending the item to the full committee.

The discussion occurred amid procedural questions about whether Legislative Council or OMB had placed funds in their respective budgets; members asked staff to clarify the authority and to return with a clean amendment if possible.

Ending: Committee staff and the Treasurer agreed to provide the requested breakdowns; the committee recessed the discussion and scheduled follow‑up committee work to finalize operating and one‑time funding before the item moves further.