Biography

2002 Press Releases

December 11, 2002 - Unclaimed Property Could Provide Extra Cash for Christmas Christmas is right around the corner, and citizens who need extra cash to pay their holiday bills should check with the State Treasury to see if the state owes them money.
December 9, 2002 - Treasury Returns $24,500 in Unclaimed Property to Houma Residents The Louisiana Department of the Treasury returned $24,500 to Houma residents at an Unclaimed Property Awareness Day held at Southland Mall this past Saturday.
December 2, 2002 - Louisiana Department of the Treasury and Southland Mall to Host Unclaimed Property Awareness Day Do you have hidden treasure in Louisiana? This weekend, Houma area residents will have the chance to find out. On Saturday, December 7, the Louisiana Department of the Treasury will host an Unclaimed Property Awareness Day at Southland Mall from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
November 13, 2002 - Louisiana Newspapers to Publish List of Owners of $11 Million in Unclaimed Property Buying a copy of your local paper this week could be one of the best investments you can make, according to State Treasurer John Kennedy. The State Treasury is publishing a new list of names of people with unclaimed property—that is worth $11 million—in newspapers across the state on November 14 and 21.
November 7, 2002 - 2002 LEQTF Annual Report Available Online The 2002 Louisiana Education Quality Trust Fund (LEQTF) Annual Report highlighting $57.2 million in Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) and Board of Regents projects is now available online.	Click Here to Download the 2002 LEQTF Annual Report
October 16, 2002 - November 1 Marks Deadline for Businesses to Report Unclaimed Property Louisiana businesses have until November 1 to report money to the state that belongs to citizens who have not claimed it, according to State Treasurer John Kennedy.	HOLDERS: Click here to download LADERS software
October 15, 2002 - Treasury Returns $47,600 in Unclaimed Property to Shreveport Residents at Mall St. Vincent The Louisiana Department of the Treasury returned $47,600 to Shreveport residents at an Unclaimed Property Awareness Day held at Mall St. Vincent this past Saturday.
October 8, 2002 - Louisiana’s College Savings Plan Outperforms Other States, Earns Highest Returns Louisiana’s START Program jumped to the head of its class in the latest 529 Plan Report, earning the highest rate of return of states reporting earnings for the first half of 2002.
September 30, 2002 - Treasury Returns $16,231 in Unclaimed Property at “Celebrate St. Bernard” The State Treasury returned $16,231 to St. Bernard Parish residents at “Celebrate St. Bernard” in Chalmette.
September 25, 2002 - Housing Agency Offers Lowest Interest Rate in its History - 4.95 percent- Plus Down Payment Assistance Two first-time homebuyer programs offering $25 million in mortgage loans at a historically low 4.95 percent interest rate and a rate of 6.30 percent begin today. The Louisiana Housing Finance Agency’s HOME Assisted and Mortgage Revenue Bond (MRB) Assisted programs also provide closing cost and down payment assistance to first-time homebuyers who qualify.
September 17, 2002 - Treasury Breaks New Record Returning $11.2 Million in Unclaimed Property - Treasurer Kennedy Says State Has Over $200 Million That Still Needs Claiming The Louisiana Department of the Treasury returned $11.2 million in unclaimed property to Louisiana citizens this past year, breaking its year-end refund record by $2.4 million.
September 16, 2002 - Treasury Returns $40,293 in Unclaimed Property to New Orleans Residents at St. Claude Community Center The Louisiana Department of the Treasury returned $40,293 to New Orleans residents at an Unclaimed Property Awareness Day held at the St. Claude Community Center this Saturday.
September 5, 2002 - College Savings Month Perfect Time to START a 529 Plan September is officially College Savings Month in Louisiana, and it is the perfect time for parents and other individuals to begin saving for a child’s higher education using the START 529 plan, according to State Treasurer John Kennedy.
August 13, 2002 - Treasury Returns $41,300 in Unclaimed Property to Lafayette Residents at Acadiana Mall The Louisiana Department of the Treasury returned $41,300 to Lafayette area residents at an Unclaimed Property Awareness Day held at Acadiana Mall.
July 25, 2002 - Gone in 60 Seconds…Treasury Hosts Most Successful Online CD Auction To Date The State Treasury auctioned off $25 million in certificates of deposit in less than 60 seconds during its latest installment of BidLouisiana.
July 16, 2002 - Consumer Warning: Avoid Paying Money to Locate Unclaimed Property Companies or individuals that contact Louisiana citizens with offers to locate lost money for a fee are not affiliated with the state’s Unclaimed Property Program and should be avoided, according to State Treasurer John Kennedy.
July 11, 2002 - Treasury Returns $34,572 in Unclaimed Property to New Orleans Residents at Lake Forest Plaza The Louisiana Department of the Treasury returned $34,572 to New Orleans area residents at an Unclaimed Property Awareness Day held at Lake Forest Plaza.
July 10, 2002 - Homes for Teachers Program Relaxes First-Time Homebuyer Requirement It has been one month since the Louisiana Housing Finance Agency (LHFA) announced its Homes for Teachers Program, and certified teachers who are not first-time homebuyers can now apply for $3.3 million in market rate mortgage loans.
June 26, 2002 - Online Unclaimed Property Refunds Total $2.1 Million—Citizens Using Web More Than Mail or Newspaper The State Treasury has returned more than $2.1 million as a result of online inquiries and claims since its revamped unclaimed property Web site went online, according to State Treasurer John Kennedy.
June 3, 2002 - Treasury Has More Than $7.6 Million in Unclaimed State Tax Refunds, Some That Could Be Yours The State Treasury wants to return roughly 157,000 unclaimed state income tax refunds worth more than $7.6 million, according to State Treasurer John Kennedy. The refunds cover tax years 1987 to 2000 and range from a penny to more than $558,000.	SEARCH FOR UNCLAIMED PROPERTY
May 22, 2002 - $54,558 in Unclaimed Property Returned To Monroe Area Residents The Louisiana Department of the Treasury returned $54,558 to Monroe area residents at an Unclaimed Property Awareness Day held at Pecanland Mall on Saturday, May 18.
May 7, 2002 - General Fund Investments Earn More Than $95 Million The Louisiana Department of the Treasury’s investments of the state’s General Fund have earned more than $95 million over the past nine months.
May 2, 2002 - State Agencies Discover New Option for Accepting Payments State Treasurer John Kennedy notified state agencies this week that they could now accept the Discover Card for payments of all types of obligations.
April 17, 2002 - Legislature Approves Changes to START College Savings Program The Louisiana Legislature approved Senate Bill 19 that makes several significant changes to Louisiana’s college savings program, the Student Tuition Assistance and Revenue Trust (START) Program.	Click HERE to sign up for START!
April 11, 2002 - Kennedy Calls on Louisiana Congressional Delegation to Support Changes to Social Security Law State Treasurer John Kennedy is calling on Louisiana’s congressional delegation to support federal legislation that will stop the Social Security Administration from reducing the retirement pensions of government employees.
March 28, 2002 - States to See $14 Billion Loss in Tobacco Payments State Treasurer John Kennedy is citing a national study as evidence that the Louisiana Legislature made a wise decision in selling 60 percent of the state’s tobacco settlement.	Download Report
March 22, 2002 - Refinancing Bond Issues Could Save State More Than $5 Million Refinancing bond issues for the Crescent City Connection and the Medical Center of Louisiana at New Orleans could save the state more than $5 million.
March 20, 2002 - State Treasurer Opposes Increasing State Debt Limit State Treasurer John Kennedy announced today that he currently opposes any proposal in the upcoming legislative session that would raise the amount of state tax supported debt Louisiana can issue.
March 11, 2002 - State to Double Interest Earnings with New Deposit Procedure The state will double the interest earned on some tobacco and inheritance taxes when the Baton Rouge Regional Office of the Louisiana Department of Revenue begins depositing them daily instead of twice a month.
Treasury Breaks Unclaimed Property Record—Returns $193,000 to New Orleans Residents The state’s Unclaimed Property Division broke its all-time one-day record of returning money to citizens by giving back $193,000 at Lakeside Mall this past Saturday, according to State Treasurer John Kennedy.
February 21, 2002 - State Goes Online to Sell $252.5 Million in Bonds The Louisiana Department of the Treasury went online today to accept competitive bids on $252.5 million worth of general obligation state bonds at an interest favorable to the state.
February 4, 2002 - Participation in State’s College Savings Program STARTs to Skyrocket More Louisiana citizens are planning ahead for the rising costs of higher education as evidenced by an increase in contributions and participants in the state’s Student Tuition Assistance and Revenue Trust (START) program, according to State Treasurer John Kennedy.
January 29, 2002 - La. Teachers HomeBuyer Program Allocates $10 Million in Just Three Days In just three days, the Louisiana Teacher HomeBuyers Program allocated $10 million in teacher home loans to 84 teachers statewide, according to Gov. M.J. “Mike” Foster, Jr. and State Treasurer John Kennedy.
January 24, 2002 - Trust Fund Gives $66 Million Boost to pre-K, K-12 and Higher Education Louisiana students ranging from preschoolers to collegians benefited this year from more than $66 million in investment earnings from the state’s Louisiana Education Quality Trust Fund (LEQTF).	Download Report (PDF Format)
January 22, 2002 - State Initiative Shows Teachers There’s No Place Like Home State Treasurer John Kennedy and Gov. M.J. “Mike” Foster, Jr. joined private sector partners Fannie Mae and Hibernia National Bank today to unveil a new $10 million program that offers flexible, low-down payment, low-interest rate mortgages to certified public school teachers in Louisiana.
January 15, 2002 - Treasury Uses the Internet to Auction $27 Million in CDs The Louisiana Department of the Treasury went online today to accept competitive bids on $27 million worth of certificates of deposit.
January 10, 2002 - United Methodist Conference Sings Praises of Unclaimed Property Program The United Methodist Conference, an organization of Methodist churches statewide, is singing the praises of the state’s unclaimed property program thanks to a $30,468 refund from the Louisiana Department of the Treasury.
January 7, 2002 - Kennedy Meets with U.S. Treasury Under Secretary to Plan Anti-Terrorism Campaign for Public Investments State Treasurer John Kennedy and fellow members of the NASACT Commission on Economic Terrorism met with Under Secretary for Enforcement Jimmy Gurulé, the third-highest ranking U.S. Treasury official, in Washington, D.C., to begin planning how states can uncover and sever any terrorist ties to state and local government investments.

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