March 2024 │ Legislation & Regulation Update
The Unclaimed Property Legislative Alert
Summary of Legislation — Week Ending March 29, 2024
RHODE ISLAND: Senate Bill 2896. Introduced legislation caps locator fees at ten percent of the value of the property. Locator agreements must: (1) disclose the nature and value of the property; (2) disclose the value of the apparent owner’s share after deduction of the locator’s fee; and (3) advise the apparent owner that the property may be claimed from the Treasurer free of charge.
WEST VIRGINIA: House Bill 4837 (effective June 6, 2024). Enacted legislation amends the banking law to bar any action to enforce a demand, savings, or time deposit, including an automatically renewable time deposit, when the property is presumed abandoned. The Uniform Commercial Code is amended to reduce statutes of limitation for various demand, savings, and time deposits, including automatically renewable time deposits, from six to five years (to coincide with dormancy periods under the Act).
Summary of Legislation — Week Ending March 22, 2024
IOWA: House File 2667 (successor to House File 2537). Introduced legislation allows the Treasurer to opt out of publishing owner information in the newspaper and instead publish information designed to increase public awareness of the unclaimed property program. The Treasurer may waive the claim requirement and pay a person directly in certain circumstances.
SOUTH DAKOTA: House Bill 1118 (effective July 1, 2024). Enacted legislation increases the amount continuously appropriated to the Unclaimed Property Trust Fund but limits the use of the Fund to the payment of claims, costs incurred in examining holder records, and collecting property from those holders. All other costs and expenses, which are currently paid from the Fund, must be paid from general appropriations.
WISCONSIN: Assembly Bill 742 (voluntary disclosure program applies to applications received beginning June 1, 2024, regardless of the year the property became reportable or abandoned; other provisions first apply to property reportable on November 7, 2021). Enacted legislation defines a financial organization loyalty card and exempts any associated funds from reporting under the Revised Uniform Unclaimed Property Act. The expired voluntary disclosure program is reinstated and made permanent.
Summary of Legislation — Week Ending March 15, 2024
PENNSYLVANIA: House Bill 2092. Introduced legislation imposes a 15 percent fee cap on finders. The Treasurer shall allow electronic submission of documentation on the Treasurer’s website and electronic transfer of monies for payment of allowed claims. The Treasurer shall conduct an education and outreach campaign to promote unclaimed property and shall enlist the assistance of other state agencies in these efforts. The Departments of Revenue and State shall provide the Treasurer electronic access to records of identifying information for unclaimed property owners, including taxpayer data and corporate registration information. Penalty provisions for failure to report as required and for various finder violations are increased, and a third or subsequent violation is a felony subject to a fine of up to $100,000.
MARYLAND: Senate Bill 800. Amended legislation establishes that the Uniform Disposition of Abandoned Property Act does not apply to Maryland 529 and ABLE program accounts but does apply to an amount payable on a check drawn against such an account.
IDAHO: House Bill 471 (effective July 1, 2024). Enacted legislation replaces the current unclaimed property law with a modified version of the Revised Uniform Unclaimed Property Act. The existing exemption for property with a value of $50 or less is removed. Specific dormancy periods are established for funds in preneed funeral trusts and for certain missing participant funds in terminated defined contribution or other retirement plans. For any property where ownership vests in a beneficiary upon the owner’s death, if the beneficiary’s address is unknown, it is presumed to be the same as the address of the deceased owner. Virtual currency shall be liquidated before filing the unclaimed property report. The Administrator may waive the filing of a claim in certain circumstances.
Summary of Legislation — Week Ending March 8, 2024
CONNECTICUT: Raised Bill 393. Introduced legislation requires that, in addition to first-class mail, due diligence shall be sent by email and by communication to the owner’s last-known telephone number, including a mobile number. Unclaimed virtual currency shall be sold, and the proceeds shall be remitted to the Treasurer not later than 30 days after the report is filed. The holder shall not thereafter be responsible for any claims related to the sale or transmission of the proceeds to the Treasurer. After January 1, 2025, a locator agreement shall, among other things, conspicuously disclose that any person may file a claim directly with the Treasurer at no cost and the method for filing such a claim. The Treasurer and the Commissioner of Revenue shall enter into an agreement for the disclosure of return or other relevant information in the Commissioner’s possession to facilitate the identification of rightful owners and the payment of claims.
RHODE ISLAND: House Bill 7976. Introduced legislation establishes an alternative procedure whereby unclaimed funds held by the courts may be escheated to the Treasurer. Alternatively, such funds may continue to be paid to the general fund to be used as approved by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
Summary of Regulations — Week Ending March 1, 2024
WISCONSIN: Wis. Admin. Code Tax § 10.01 (effective March 1, 2024). Final regulations require that a holder liquidate virtual currency within 30 days of filing its unclaimed property report and remit the proceeds to the Administrator.
With The Unclaimed Property Legislative Alert Summary of Legislation and Regulation, you receive an overview of the latest information on unclaimed property legislative updates, regulatory changes, and statutory amendments across the United States and Canada. The publicly available information contained herein has been compiled by Kelmar Associates, LLC and does not constitute legal advice or analysis of any kind. The summary information is generally compiled on a weekly basis, as applicable, and is shared on Kelmar's website each month. For more information, please refer to each state unclaimed property bill.