State Treasurer Dave Young told the Joint Finance Committee on Jan. 23 that the Colorado Department of the Treasury is managing a large portfolio of unclaimed property and expanding new programs while pressing the legislature for tools to finance long‑term infrastructure needs.

Young said the Treasury holds what he described in the presentation as about $1.8 billion in unclaimed property, but later in question acknowledged the department’s slide and materials list $1.6 billion and said he would “default to $1.6 billion” when asked for a single figure. He described the unclaimed property program as a trust fund that the office is actively trying to return to rightful owners and said the Treasury prefers not to treat the balance as a general‑fund resource.

The Treasury also updated the committee on the Colorado Secure Savings Program, the state’s payroll‑deduct automatic IRA for private‑sector workers without employer plans. Young said the program holds roughly $84 million in assets and has enrolled about 16,000 savers and a similar number of employer accounts. He told the committee the program is growing and the Treasury is partnering with other states to help smaller states stand up similar programs.

Why this matters: The unclaimed‑property balance and the Secure Savings program touch millions of residents. Lawmakers weigh whether such funds should remain reserved for return to owners and program costs or be treated as possible sources of budgetary relief — a policy choice with legal and political implications.

Treasury programs and borrowing tools

Young outlined several operational activities and policy proposals: the state’s property‑tax deferral program, debt‑management work and short‑term note financings the Treasury issues to support school cash flow, and a legislative proposal the Treasurer described as “BUILD” (Building Urgent Infrastructure and Leveraging Dollars), an authority intended to help bundle and finance larger infrastructure projects to attract private and institutional investment.

Property‑tax deferral details: Young said the deferral program is a safety‑valve loan program for homeowners who receive a property tax bill but cannot afford payment. The program includes separate tracks for seniors, active military and property owners who experience more than a 4% tax increase; the non‑senior/active‑military track is limited to $10,000 per household. Applicants can apply once they receive their county bill; the program typically opens in January and runs through early April. Interest on deferrals is simple interest tied to a 10‑year Treasury rate (the department described it as the Feb. 1 10‑year Treasury yield for the relevant year).

Debt and short‑term financing: Young described the Treasury’s expanded role in debt management after the Legislature consolidated state debt functions in the office. He highlighted recent financings to support school districts’ cash flow — interest‑free loans repaid with property‑tax receipts — and said the Treasury now manages large short‑term note programs that keep school payrolls and district obligations solvent until property taxes arrive.

Unclaimed property and budget questions

Young emphasized the legal and practical limits on using unclaimed property proceeds as a general revenue source. He told the committee the Treasury’s priority is returning funds to owners and cautioned against proposals that would treat holders’ remitted property as a budget “slush fund.” He noted holders (banks, insurers and others) must remit dormant property by law and that aggressive use of unclaimed balances as budget relief could discourage holders from timely reporting and transfer.

Colorado Secure Savings and other initiatives

Young said Secure Savings is nearing scale and that program fees will ultimately support operations; in the near term the Treasury is seeking support for compliance activities at the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment. He also said the office is working on cybersecurity improvements, an upgrade to the Treasury’s debt systems and additional staff in debt management if market activity increases.

Pinnacle and PERA funding questions

In a wide-ranging Q&A, lawmakers asked about state plans to convert Pinnacle (the state workers’ compensation insurer) to a private entity and about potential effects on the Public Employees’ Retirement Association (PERA). Ferrendino, the Office of State Planning and Budgeting director (who spoke earlier in the hearing), and Young described conversion proposals as long‑running conversations; the Treasurer said disaffiliation questions and the potential use of sale proceeds to support the state’s long‑term budget or PERA contributions are being explored. Treasury officials told lawmakers the Treasury had produced an estimate of any PERA disaffiliation payment and would share it with the committee.

What’s next

Young asked legislators to work with the Treasury when they draft statutes that affect the office and said the department will press the committee for assisted resources where statutory responsibilities — such as compliance for Secure Savings — create new, ongoing costs. He also underscored the BUILD proposal as a long‑range financing concept intended to pair state project selection with private investment at scale.

Ending

Treasury officials left the committee with three practical requests: continued collaboration on statutory language for finance operations, modest near‑term resources for program standup and compliance, and legislative consideration of medium‑ and long‑term financing tools that would let Colorado bundle projects to attract larger pools of capital.