Topeka ? State Treasurer Lynn Jenkins wants to allow parents to squirrel away more money for college nest eggs and the state to earn more money from unclaimed property under two proposals she is sending to legislators.

Jenkins announced her legislative initiatives Friday, 10 days before the start of the 2004 legislative session. The proposals will be assigned to committees for consideration.

First, Jenkins wants to make the state’s Learning Quest education savings plan more attractive by increasing the tax deduction for contributions to $4,000 for individuals and $8,000 for married couples filing jointly. Currently, deductions are capped at $2,000 for individuals and $4,000 for couples.

Jenkins said the increase would give parents and grandparents greater incentive to contribute to the plan, which has 55,000 accounts and assets of $600 million, managed by American Century.

“We will try to make investing for children’s education more attractive,” Jenkins said.

The second measure would decrease the number of years the state must wait before collecting personal assets when an insurance company changes its corporate structure from mutual company. Currently, policyholders have the option of receiving cash or stock in the restructured company. However, if the policyholder cannot be located in five years, the funds are turned over to the state as unclaimed property.

Jenkins wants to shorten the period to two years from five, giving the state access to an estimated $10 million in revenue in fiscal 2005. The state collects between $10 million and $16 million annually in unclaimed property, said Ryan Wright, a spokesman for Jenkins.

Kansas currently manages about $120 million in unclaimed property, Wright said. About $8 million is returned each year, Wright said.

Money from that fund spent or invested by legislators is guaranteed by the state should the owner ever be found, Wright said.