"I will present a bill that proposes that the first $100 in interest income, or $200 for joint-filers, will be exempt from taxation," State Treasurer Jenkins said. "During my time as State Treasurer, I have traveled the state promoting financial literacy. This bill shows Kansans that saving money is important, not only for their long-term financial health, but also for the state's."

"All of the legislation presented by my office has the ultimate goal of putting more money back into the pockets of Kansans," State Treasurer Jenkins said.

Unclaimed Property Legislation:

Returning Interest on interest-bearing accounts:

"My office will introduce a bill that will pay interest on interest-bearing unclaimed property accounts," State Treasurer Jenkins said. "We are introducing this legislation, because paying Kansans the interest they are owed is the right thing to do."

The legislation would amend the Unclaimed Property Act to allow the State Treasurer's office to pay interest on property claimed that was originally reported to the office as an interest-bearing account. The legislation will affect only savings accounts and certificates of deposit.

Currently, the interest earned on these types of accounts is retained by the state and incorporated into the State General Fund.

On average the amount of interest that will be paid to Kansans each year if this legislation is passed is estimated to be less than $100,000.

"Paying interest to the property owners would not put an undue burden on the state," State Treasurer Jenkins said.

Unclaimed property includes inactive savings and checking accounts, uncashed checks, stock shares and bonds, dividend checks, insurance proceeds, mineral royalties, utility deposits, and safe deposit box contents. The Kansas State Treasurer's office receives property from businesses and state and local governments and actively searches for Kansans to reconnect them with their lost or forgotten property and cash.

During the last fiscal year, a record amount of unclaimed property - more than $11 million - was returned to Kansans by the Kansas State Treasurer's office. The average annual amount returned is $8 million. Searching for and claiming unclaimed property is easy. Visit www.KansasCash.com or call 1-800-432-0386.

529 Education Savings Program Legislation:

Increase Tax Deductible amount available to 529 investors:

"Encouraging more Kansans to invest in a 529 plan for their loved one's post-secondary education is one of my top priorities," State Treasurer Jenkins said. "To offer more incentive, legislation will be proposed that will double the amount families can deduct from their taxes."

Current law allows Kansas taxpayers to receive a state adjusted gross income deduction of up to $3,000 ($6,000 if married filing jointly) per beneficiary for contributions made to their 529 education savings account. If passed, the legislation will raise these deductible amounts to $6,000 and $12,000 deductions respectively.

"The increased deductions are more in line with the majority of other states that offer 529 tax deductions," State Treasurer Jenkins said.

Changing Date of Contribution Deadline:

"The end of the calendar year is a difficult financial time for most Kansas families," State Treasurer Jenkins said. "Families have the holidays to pay for and many find it difficult to make a year-end contribution to their 529 plans."

A bill will be introduced to lessen the burden by extending the deadline for making deductible contributions to April 15 of the following year, not December 31 of that year.

"In addition to moving the deadline away from the holidays, this timing will better coincide with the timeline used by IRA investors which is familiar to many taxpayers," State Treasurer Jenkins said.

Learning Quest, the Kansas 529 Education Savings Program, has over 99,000 accounts worth over $1.6 billion. In addition to the state offered tax deduction, Kansans can receive federal and state tax benefits of tax-deferred growth and tax-free withdrawals for qualified educational expenses. The availability of tax or other benefits may be conditioned on meeting certain requirements, such as residency, purpose for or timing of distributions, or other factors.

Jenkins, a former State Representative and Senator from Topeka, was re-elected to her second term as Kansas State Treasurer on Nov. 7, 2006. During her time as Treasurer, Jenkins has expanded investment options in Learning Quest and oversaw the re-bidding of the program, returned an average of $9 million a year in unclaimed property to Kansans, initiated multiple financial literacy programs, and eliminated the reliance on state general fund dollars to operate the office. She is a Certified Public Accountant and former small business owner.