Relates to permitting the department of taxation and finance to share a person's address with the office of the state comptroller for the purpose of returning…

◆ The sponsor's argument

Why Liz Krueger says this is needed

The Office of the New York State Comptroller oversees an astounding $20 billion in unclaimed funds and is tasked with returning that money to New Yorkers. This nation-high sum, originating from inactive bank accounts, uncashed checks, and security deposits, often goes unretumed because of a lack of awareness of the existence of the unclaimed funds and the barriers that the Comptroller's office has in returning the money automatically. While other states have begun to process payments automatically, issues in New York State have prevented billions of dollars from reaching the people to whom they are owed. A recent change in the law allowed the Comptroller's office to begin issuing automatic payments, but potentially outdated addresses and no ability to verify them has prevented the Office from issuing many more payments. This bill addresses the issue by permitting the Department of Taxation and Finance to provide a person's most recently filed tax return address to the Office of the State Comptroller for the purpose of returning unclaimed funds. This approach has proven successful in other states, such as Illinois, increasing efficiency and multiplying the number of claims processed each year. By removing this unnecessary barrier, the Comptroller's Office can use readily available data to expedite the return process.

This is the sponsor's own case for the bill, quoted from their memorandum. It is not Agora's description of what the bill does.