Treasury seeks funding for data matches to clear unclaimed‑property backlog

Treasury officials asked lawmakers for $162,000 to run annual data matches, cover check‑mailing costs and fund an additional staff position to address a backlog of unclaimed property.

Treasurer McCray said the office receives about $40 million in unclaimed property annually and manages a small staff: “We have 35. 35 people handling over 26,000,000,000 worth of transactions,” the treasurer said, adding that tighter data matches could accelerate payments to rightful owners. Treasury staffer Teresa explained the $162,000 request covers the cost of running the matches, mailing checks and adding capacity.

The presentation stressed one recent use of the data‑match program after tornadoes struck Walthall County: the treasury identified people in affected counties and “were able to send out $1,300,000 just to that region of the state,” Treasurer McCray said, describing the match as a low‑cost way to deliver direct assistance after disasters.

Committee members pressed whether the tool could be used by other agencies and whether shared services could reduce duplicative purchases. Treasury staff said the matching system can be used by other state agencies and that expanding shared services could yield efficiencies across multiple departments.

The treasurer and staff emphasized the office’s limited personnel resources and said faster matches would both reduce time to payment and increase the office’s capacity to return funds to citizens. Lawmakers asked for follow‑up details on recurring costs, the potential for agency sharing, and the staffing plan before acting on the request.

The subcommittee did not take a vote during the hearing; members requested additional information and follow‑up meetings to consider using shared‑service approaches to spread the capability to other agencies.