CSSB 231(STA): "An Act relating to unclaimed property; and providing for an effective date."
00 CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 231(STA) 01 "An Act relating to unclaimed property; and providing for an effective date." 02 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 03 * Section 1. AS 34.45.110(a) is amended to read: 04 (a) Except as otherwise provided in AS 34.45.120 - 34.45.780, all intangible 05 property, including income or increment derived from the property, less lawful 06 charges, that is held, issued, or owing in the ordinary course of a holder's business and 07 has remained unclaimed by the owner for more than three [FIVE] years after 08 becoming payable or distributable is presumed abandoned. 09 * Sec. 2. AS 34.45.150(a) is amended to read: 10 (a) Other than money payable on an instrument that is subject to 11 AS 34.45.140, money payable on a check, draft, or similar instrument on which a 12 banking or financial organization is directly liable, including a cashier's check and a 13 certified check, that has been outstanding for more than five [SEVEN] years after it 14 was payable or after its issuance if payable on demand, is presumed abandoned. This 15 presumption does not apply if the owner, within the preceding five [SEVEN] years,
01 has communicated in writing with the banking or financial organization concerning 02 the instrument or has otherwise indicated an interest as evidenced by a memorandum 03 or other record, on file, prepared by an employee of the organization. 04 * Sec. 3. AS 34.45.160(a) is amended to read: 05 (a) A demand, savings, or matured time deposit with a banking or financial 06 organization, including a deposit that is automatically renewable, and money paid 07 toward the purchase of a share, a mutual investment certificate, or other intangible 08 property interest in a banking or financial organization is presumed abandoned unless 09 the owner, within the preceding five [SEVEN] years, has 10 (1) in the case of a deposit, increased or decreased its amount or 11 presented the passbook or other similar evidence of the deposit for the crediting of 12 interest; 13 (2) communicated in writing with the banking or financial organization 14 concerning the property; or 15 (3) otherwise indicated an interest in the property as evidenced by a 16 memorandum or other record, on file, prepared by an employee of the banking or 17 financial organization [; 18 (4) OWNED OTHER PROPERTY TO WHICH (1), (2), OR (3) OF 19 THIS SUBSECTION APPLIES AND THE BANKING OR FINANCIAL 20 ORGANIZATION HAS COMMUNICATED IN WRITING WITH THE OWNER 21 WITH REGARD TO THE PROPERTY THAT WOULD OTHERWISE BE 22 PRESUMED ABANDONED UNDER THIS SUBSECTION AT THE ADDRESS TO 23 WHICH COMMUNICATIONS REGARDING THE OTHER PROPERTY ARE 24 REGULARLY SENT; OR 25 (5) HAD ANOTHER RELATIONSHIP WITH THE BANKING OR 26 FINANCIAL ORGANIZATION CONCERNING WHICH THE OWNER HAS 27 (A) COMMUNICATED IN WRITING WITH THE 28 BANKING OR FINANCIAL ORGANIZATION OR OTHERWISE 29 INDICATED AN INTEREST AS EVIDENCE BY A MEMORANDUM OR 30 OTHER RECORD, ON FILE, PREPARED BY AN EMPLOYEE OF THE 31 BANKING OR FINANCIAL ORGANIZATION; AND
01 (B) THE BANKING OR FINANCIAL ORGANIZATION 02 COMMUNICATES IN WRITING WITH THE OWNER WITH REGARD TO 03 THE PROPERTY THAT WOULD OTHERWISE BE ABANDONED 04 UNDER THIS SUBSECTION AT THE ADDRESS TO WHICH 05 COMMUNICATIONS REGARDING THE OTHER RELATIONSHIP 06 REGULARLY ARE SENT]. 07 * Sec. 4. AS 34.45.170(a) is amended to read: 08 (a) Money held or owing under a life or endowment insurance policy or 09 annuity contract that has matured or terminated is presumed abandoned if unclaimed 10 for more than three [FIVE] years after the money became due and payable as 11 established from the records of the insurance company holding or owing the money. 12 [HOWEVER, PROPERTY DESCRIBED IN (c)(2) OF THIS SECTION IS 13 PRESUMED ABANDONED IF UNCLAIMED FOR MORE THAN TWO YEARS.] 14 * Sec. 5. AS 34.45 is amended by adding a new section to read: 15 Sec. 34.45.175. Certain property distributed in insurance company 16 reorganizations. (a) Property distributed in the course of a demutualization, 17 rehabilitation, or related reorganization of an insurance company is presumed 18 abandoned two years after the date of the demutualization, rehabilitation, or related 19 reorganization if, at the time of the demutualization, rehabilitation, or related 20 reorganization, the last known address of the owner on the books and records of the 21 holder is known to be incorrect, or a distribution or statement is returned by the post 22 office as undeliverable, and the owner has not 23 (1) communicated in writing with the holder or its agent regarding the 24 property; or 25 (2) otherwise communicated with the holder regarding the property as 26 evidenced by a memorandum on file with the holder or its agent. 27 (b) The conditions raising a presumption of abandonment for property 28 distributable in the course of a demutualization, rehabilitation, or related 29 reorganization of a mutual insurance company that is not subject to (a) of this section 30 are as otherwise provided in AS 34.45.110 - 34.45.780. 31 * Sec. 6. AS 34.45.200 is repealed and reenacted to read:
01 Sec. 34.45.200. Stock and other intangible interests in business 02 associations or financial organizations. (a) Stock or other equity interest in a 03 business association or financial organization is presumed abandoned five years after 04 the earliest of 05 (1) the date of the most recent dividend, stock split, or other 06 distribution unclaimed by the owner; 07 (2) the date that a statement of account or other notification or 08 communication concerning the stock or other equity interest was returned as 09 undeliverable; or 10 (3) the date that the holder of the stock or other equity interest 11 discontinued mailings, notifications, or communications to the owner. 12 (b) Unmatured or unredeemed debt of a business association or financial 13 organization, other than a bearer bond or an original issue discount bond, is presumed 14 abandoned five years after the date of the most recent interest payment unclaimed by 15 the owner. 16 (c) Matured or redeemed debt, including bearer bonds and original issue 17 discount bonds, is presumed abandoned five years after the date of maturity or 18 redemption. 19 (d) At the time property is presumed abandoned under this section, any other 20 property right accrued or accruing to the owner as a result of the property interest and 21 not previously presumed abandoned is also presumed abandoned. 22 (e) A distribution of net margins by a cooperative incorporated under 23 AS 10.25 is presumed abandoned if the distribution remains unclaimed by the owner 24 for more than one year after the date authorized for the distribution. The distribution 25 presumed abandoned under this subsection reverts to the cooperative if the cooperative 26 has, at least six months before the proposed date that the distribution reverts to the 27 cooperative, both 28 (1) mailed a notice of the proposed reversion to the last known address 29 of the owner as shown on the cooperative records; and 30 (2) published notice of the proposed reversion in the manner provided 31 by law or court rule for service of a summons by publication.
01 * Sec. 7. AS 34.45.220(a) is amended to read: 02 (a) Intangible property and income or increment derived from the intangible 03 property held in a fiduciary capacity for the benefit of another person is presumed 04 abandoned unless the owner, within three [FIVE] years after it has become payable or 05 distributable, has increased or decreased the principal, accepted payment of principal 06 or income, communicated concerning the property, or otherwise indicated an interest 07 as evidenced by a memorandum or other record, on file, prepared by the fiduciary. 08 * Sec. 8. AS 34.45.240(a) is amended to read: 09 (a) A gift certificate or a credit memo, issued in the ordinary course of an 10 issuer's business, that remains unclaimed by the owner for more than three [FIVE] 11 years after becoming payable or distributable is presumed abandoned. 12 * Sec. 9. AS 34.45 is amended by adding a section to article 3 to read: 13 Sec. 34.45.270. Burden of proof as to property evidenced by record of 14 check, draft, or similar instrument. A record of the issuance of a check, draft, or 15 similar instrument is prima facie evidence of an obligation. In claiming property from 16 a holder who is also the issuer, the department's burden of proof as to the existence 17 and amount of the property and its abandonment is satisfied by showing issuance of 18 the instrument and passage of the requisite period of abandonment. Defenses of 19 payment, satisfaction, discharge, and want of consideration are affirmative defenses 20 that must be established by the holder. 21 * Sec. 10. AS 34.45.280(f) is repealed and reenacted to read: 22 (f) The requirements of this section apply to the holder of intangible property 23 with a total aggregate value greater than $750 that is presumed abandoned under 24 AS 34.45.110 - 34.45.780 during the year preceding June 30 of each year. For 25 purposes of determining total aggregate value under this subsection, the holder shall 26 include all intangible property from prior years that was not reported under 27 AS 34.45.110 - 34.45.780. 28 * Sec. 11. AS 34.45.290 is repealed and reenacted to read: 29 Sec. 34.45.290. Requests for reports and examination of records. (a) The 30 department may require a person who has not filed a report under AS 34.45.280 or a 31 person who the department believes has filed an inaccurate, incomplete, or false
01 report, to file a verified report in a form specified by the department. The report must 02 state whether the person is holding property reportable under AS 34.45.110 - 03 34.45.780, describe property not previously reported or as to which the department has 04 made inquiry, and specifically identify and state the amounts of the property that may 05 be in issue. 06 (b) The department, at reasonable times and upon reasonable notice, may 07 examine the records of any person to determine whether the person has complied with 08 AS 34.45.110 - 34.45.780. The department may conduct the examination even if the 09 person believes it is not in possession of any property that must be reported, paid, or 10 delivered under AS 34.45.110 - 34.45.780. The department may contract with any 11 other person to conduct the examination on behalf of the department. 12 (c) The department at reasonable times may examine the records of an agent, 13 including a dividend disbursing agent or transfer agent, of a business association or 14 financial organization that is the holder of property presumed abandoned if the 15 department has given the notice required by (b) of this section to both the association 16 or organization and the agent at least 90 days before the examination. 17 (d) Documents and working papers obtained or compiled by the department, 18 or the department's agents, employees, contractors, or designated representatives in the 19 course of conducting an examination under AS 34.45.110 - 34.45.780 are confidential 20 and are not public records, but the documents and papers may be 21 (1) used by the department in the course of an action to collect 22 unclaimed property or otherwise enforce AS 34.45.110 - 34.45.780; 23 (2) used in joint examinations conducted with or under an agreement 24 with another state, the federal government, or any other governmental subdivision, 25 agency, or instrumentality; 26 (3) produced under subpoena or court order; or 27 (4) disclosed to the unclaimed property office of another state for that 28 state's use in circumstances equivalent to those described in this subsection, if the 29 other state is bound to keep the documents and papers confidential. 30 (e) If an examination of the records of a person results in the disclosure of 31 property reportable under AS 34.45.110 - 34.45.780, the department may assess the
01 cost of the examination against the holder at the rate of $200 a day for each examiner, 02 or a greater amount that is reasonable and was incurred, but the assessment may not 03 exceed the value of the property found to be reportable under AS 34.45.110 - 04 34.45.780. The cost of an examination made under (c) of this section may be assessed 05 only against the business association or financial organization. 06 (f) If a holder does not maintain the records required by AS 34.45.300 and the 07 records of the holder available for the periods subject to AS 34.45.110 - 34.45.780 are 08 insufficient to permit the preparation of a report, the department may require the 09 holder to report and pay to the department the amount the department reasonably 10 estimates, on the basis of any available records of the holder or by any other 11 reasonable method of estimation, should have been but was not reported. 12 * Sec. 12. AS 34.45.300(a) is repealed and reenacted to read: 13 (a) Except as otherwise provided in (b) of this section, a holder required to file 14 a report under AS 34.45.280 shall maintain the records containing the information 15 required to be included in the report for 10 years after the holder files the report, 16 unless a shorter period is provided by regulations adopted by the department. 17 * Sec. 13. AS 34.45.310 is repealed and reenacted to read: 18 Sec. 34.45.310. Notice and publication of lists of unclaimed property. (a) 19 The department shall notify apparent owners of unclaimed property under 20 AS 34.45.110 - 34.45.780 in the manner and method set out in (b) of this section. In 21 deciding whether to use an additional method specified in (b)(2) of this section, and 22 which of those methods to use, the department shall employ the most cost-effective 23 method available within its appropriations. 24 (b) The department 25 (1) shall notify all apparent owners of the unclaimed property in 26 accordance with this section by means of posting on the department's website on the 27 Internet; 28 (2) may use any of the following to provide additional notice to the 29 apparent owners: 30 (A) publication in a newspaper of general circulation in the 31 area of the state in which the last known address of a person to be named in the
01 notice is located, or if the address is unknown, in the area in which the holder 02 has its principal place of business in the state; 03 (B) individual contact by regular or electronic mail, or by 04 telephone, if the department has current contact information on file under 05 AS 34.45.110 - 34.45.780; 06 (C) any other manner and method that the department considers 07 effective for providing notice and publication under AS 34.45.110 - 34.45.780. 08 (c) In its notice and publication under (b) of this section, the department shall 09 provide the names of the apparent owners of the property and information regarding 10 recovery of the unclaimed property. 11 (d) The department is not required to publish in the notice an item of less than 12 $100 in value. 13 (e) This section does not apply to money payable on traveler's checks, money 14 orders, and other written instruments presumed abandoned under AS 34.45.140. 15 * Sec. 14. AS 34.45.760(10) is amended to read: 16 (10) "intangible property" 17 (A) includes 18 (i) money, checks, drafts, warrants, deposits, interest, 19 dividends, and income; 20 (ii) credit balances, customer overpayments, gift 21 certificates, security deposits, refunds, credit memos, unpaid wages, 22 and unidentified remittances; 23 (iii) stocks and other intangible ownership interests in 24 business associations; 25 (iv) money deposited to redeem stocks, bonds, coupons, 26 and other securities, or to make distributions; 27 (v) amounts due and payable under the terms of 28 insurance policies; [AND] 29 (vi) amounts distributable from a trust or custodial fund 30 established under a plan to provide health, welfare, pension, vacation, 31 severance, retirement, death, stock purchase, profit-sharing, employee
01 savings, supplemental unemployment insurance, or similar benefits; 02 and 03 (vii) amounts due and payable as mineral proceeds; 04 (B) does not include 05 (i) unused airline tickets; 06 (ii) shares of stock issued by a corporation organized 07 under 43 U.S.C. 1601 - 1629a (Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act) 08 or unclaimed dividends payable on the shares of stock; or 09 (iii) overpaid contributions by employers to the 10 unemployment compensation fund under AS 23.20.130; 11 * Sec. 15. AS 34.45.760(11) is repealed and reenacted to read: 12 (11) "last known address" means 13 (A) if the address is sufficient to direct the delivery of mail or 14 receipt of a communication by the means known to the holder, a description of 15 the location of the apparent owner's residence or business; 16 (B) if the address is not sufficient as described in (A) of this 17 paragraph, a description indicating that the apparent owner was located within 18 this state; 19 * Sec. 16. AS 34.45.760 is amended by adding new paragraphs to read: 20 (18) "gift certificate" means an obligation of a business association 21 arising from a transaction between the business association and a consumer to provide 22 goods or services at a future date; "gift certificate" includes a gift certificate, stored 23 value card, gift card, on-line gift account, or other representation or evidence of the 24 obligation of a business association; 25 (19) "mineral" means gas; oil; other gaseous, liquid, and solid 26 hydrocarbons; oil shale; cement material; sand and gravel; road material; building 27 stone; chemical raw material; gemstone; fissionable and nonfissionable ores; colloidal 28 and other clay; steam and other geothermal resources; or any other substance defined 29 as mineral by other state law; 30 (20) "mineral proceeds" means amounts payable for the extraction, 31 production, or sale of minerals, or, upon the abandonment of those payments, all
01 payments that become payable after the abandonment; "mineral proceeds" includes 02 amounts payable 03 (A) for the acquisition and retention of a mineral lease, 04 including bonuses, royalties, compensatory royalties, shut-in royalties, 05 minimum royalties, and delay rentals; 06 (B) for the extraction, production, or sale of minerals, including 07 net revenue interests, royalties, overriding royalties, extraction payments, and 08 production payments; 09 (C) under an agreement or option, including a joint operating 10 agreement, unit agreement, pooling agreement, and farm-out agreement. 11 * Sec. 17. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 12 read: 13 APPLICABILITY. The changes made by this Act apply to property that meets either 14 of the following: 15 (1) property that, on the effective date of this Act, already was subject to a 16 statutory provision amended by this Act; 17 (2) property that, on or after the effective date of this Act, becomes subject to 18 a statutory provision amended by this Act. 19 * Sec. 18. This Act takes effect immediately under AS 01.10.070(c).