Ohio AG Yost urges governor to veto plan to use unclaimed funds for Browns stadium

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost is urging Gov. Mike DeWine to veto part of the state’s budget bill that would designate $600 million to a new Cleveland Browns stadium. 

Yost sent a letter to DeWine on Friday, criticizing lawmakers' plan to use $600 million from the state’s unclaimed funds to help the Browns buy a new stadium.

“I don’t have a vote or a veto in the legislative process, but like every citizen, I have a voice,” Yost said in a news release. “I oppose not only this funding mechanism but also its intent: billionaires should finance their own stadiums – full stop. Ohio taxpayers cannot be left on the side lines while the wealthiest score with public money.”

An unclaimed fund is money residents likely do not realize they have, from sources such as inactive bank accounts and uncashed checks, that is held by the state. Right now, the state holds about $4.8 billion in unclaimed funds, according to the Ohio Department of Commerce. 

Under the budget bill, unclaimed money that is not collected within 10 years of entering the fund would revert to the state to use for a proposed “Ohio Cultural and Sports Facility” fund. The budget bill would immediately designate $1.7 billion for the fund, including the first grant of $600 million for the Cleveland Brown stadium.

In the letter, Yost said that while all 50 states have some form of an unclaimed property fund and some use that fund as a source of revenue, Ohio would deviate from the norm if it “[cut] off property rights definitively after 10 years.” 

“...I remain concerned that many Ohioans – some still unaware they are entitled to their monies – will lose out due to this change,” Yost wrote in the letter. “The statutory taking of public funds without clear public benefit is poor policy.”

Yost also raised concerns about the sustainability of the proposed fund, as other professional sports teams would also be allowed to seek their share of the $1.7 billion for stadium projects. 

“What happens when the Guardians and Reds seek similar funding to replace aging stadiums?” he wrote. “And what occurs when the unclaimed funds well inevitably runs dry?”

Yost stated the budget bill risks prioritizing a singular private entity over “more urgent statewide needs,” such as lowering child care costs or easing property tax burdens. Yost ended the letter by urging DeWine to take a “thoughtful pause” and consider the best ways to “support economic development while maintaining public trust.”

The predominantly Republican lawmakers who support the project believe the proposal puts idle money to use. Ohio Senate Finance Chair Jerry Cirino (R-Kirtland) said in a recent interview that he believes the fund will always be solvent since about $100 million is added into the unclaimed funds pot each year. 

DeWine has until Tuesday to sign the budget bill. As with all spending bills, he can veto certain provisions within the legislation.