Unclaimed property.

(1) Existing law provides for the escheat of property to the state. Existing law requires all property that escheats to the state to be deposited into the Abandoned Property Account in the Unclaimed Property Fund, which is continuously appropriated for specified purposes. Existing law establishes procedures for submitting a claim for property that has escheated. This bill would create in the Special Deposit Fund the Unclaimed Property Offset Account as a continuously appropriated fund for the payment of moneys to a state or local governmental entity to offset the moneys owed by a person claiming to be the owner of unclaimed property that has escheated to the state. (2) Existing law requires funds in Interest on Lawyers' Trust Accounts (IOLTA) that escheat to the state to be deposited into the Abandoned IOLTA Property Account, which is within the Unclaimed Property Fund. Existing law establishes the IOLTA Claims Reserve Subaccount within the account and requires that 25% of IOLTA escheated funds be deposited into the subaccount to be used by the Controller, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for the purposes of paying refunds, claims, and costs associated with escheated IOLTA funds. This bill would make the IOLTA Claims Reserve Subaccount a continuously appropriated fund and remove the authorization for the subaccount to be used for general costs associated with escheated IOLTA funds.