H. B. 3003
(By Mr. Speaker, Mr. Kiss, and
Delegates Amores and Trump)
[Introduced
March 11, 2005
; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §36-8-2, §36-8-7, §36-8-8, §36-8-12,
§36-8-15, §36-8-17 and §36-8-23 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended; to amend said code by adding thereto four
new sections, designated §36-8-5a, §36-8-5b, §36-8-15a and
§36-8-15b; and to amend and reenact §36-8A-4 of said code, all
relating to unclaimed property; shortening the abandonment
period for stock, for bonds, for mineral proceeds and for
demutualization proceeds; prohibiting expiration dates and
dormancy fees on gift certificates, and stating that a
violation of that provision constitutes an unfair or deceptive
act or practice; limiting heirfinder fees; waiving notary
requirements for unclaimed property reports and requiring
holders to submit electronically; authorizing the
administrator to require that holders liquidate securities and
report proceeds as unclaimed property; authorizing the
administrator to sell safe-deposit box contents through
electronic auction or other methods; waiving notary requirements for claims under five hundred dollars and
limiting the administrator's liability for duplicate claims
payment; authorizing payment of heirs or devisees of deceased
unclaimed property owners; authorizing any state agency, board
or commission owed delinquent funds by any person to claim
that person's property to offset delinquent amounts owed that
agency; applying the provisions of the act to pre-abandoned
property; authorizing the administrator to cooperate with
state agencies or with other states to locate property or pay
claims; and allowing unclaimed stolen property to be auctioned
electronically or through other methods.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §36-8-2, §36-8-7, §36-8-8, §36-8-12, §36-8-15, §36-8-17
and §36-8-23 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be
amended and reenacted; that said code be amended by adding thereto
four new sections, designated §36-8-5a, §36-8-5b, §36-8-15a and
§36-8-15b; and that §36-8A-4 of said code be amended and reenacted,
all to read as follows:
CHAPTER 36. ESTATES AND PROPERTY.
ARTICLE 8. THE UNIFORM UNCLAIMED PROPERTY ACT.
§36-8-2. Presumptions of abandonment.
(a) Property is presumed abandoned if it is unclaimed by the
apparent owner during the time set forth below for the particular
property:
(1) Traveler's check, fifteen years after issuance;
(2) Money order, seven years after issuance;
(3) Stock or other equity interest in a business association
or financial organization, including a security entitlement under
article eight of the uniform commercial code,
five three years
after the
earlier earliest of: (i) The date of the most recent
dividend, stock split or other distribution unclaimed by the
apparent owner;
or (ii) the date of
the second mailing of a
statement of account or other notification or communication that
was returned as undeliverable; or
after (iii) the date the holder
discontinued mailings, notifications or communications to the
apparent owner;
(4) Debt of a business association or financial organization,
other than a bearer bond or an original issue discount bond, five
years after the date of the most recent interest payment unclaimed
by the apparent owner;
(4) Unmatured or unredeemed debt, other than a bearer bond or
an original issue discount bond, three years after the date of the
most recent interest payment unclaimed by the owner;
(5)áUnpaid matured or redeemed debt, three years after the
date of maturity or redemption;
(5) (6) A noninterest bearing demand, savings or time deposit,
including a deposit that is automatically renewable, five years
after the earlier of maturity or the date of the last indication by the owner of interest in the property; an interest bearing demand,
savings or time deposit including a deposit that is automatically
renewable, seven years after the earlier of maturity or the date of
the last indication by the owner of interest in the property. A
deposit that is automatically renewable is deemed matured for
purposes of this section upon its initial date of maturity, unless
the owner has consented to a renewal at or about the time of the
renewal and the consent is in writing or is evidenced by a
memorandum or other record on file with the holder;
(6) (7) Money or credits owed to a customer as a result of a
retail business transaction, three years after the obligation
accrued;
(7) (8) Gift certificate,
three years after the thirty-first
day of December of the year in which the certificate was sold, but
if redeemable in merchandise only, the amount abandoned is deemed
to be sixty percent of the certificate's face value as provided in
section five-a of this article;
(8) (9) Amount owed by an insurer on a life or endowment
insurance policy or an annuity that has matured or terminated,
three years after the obligation to pay arose or, in the case of a
policy or annuity payable upon proof of death, three years after
the insured has attained, or would have attained if living, the
limiting age under the mortality table on which the reserve is
based;
(9) (10) Property distributable by a business association or
financial organization in a course of dissolution, one year after
the property becomes distributable;
(10) (11) Property received by a court as proceeds of a class
action, and not distributed pursuant to the judgment, one year
after the distribution date;
(11) (12) Property held by a court, government, governmental
subdivision, agency or instrumentality, one year after the property
becomes distributable;
(12) (13) Wages or other compensation for personal services,
one year after the compensation becomes payable;
(13) (14) Deposit or refund owed to a subscriber by a utility,
two years after the deposit or refund becomes payable;
(14) (15) Property in an individual retirement account,
defined benefit plan or other account or plan that is qualified for
tax deferral under the income tax laws of the United States, three
years after the earliest of the date of the distribution or
attempted distribution of the property, the date of the required
distribution as stated in the plan or trust agreement governing the
plan, or the date, if determinable by the holder, specified in the
income tax laws of the United States by which distribution of the
property must begin in order to avoid a tax penalty;
(15) (16) Warrants for payment issued by the State of West
Virginia which have not been presented for payment, within six months of the date of issuance;
(16) All funds held by a fiduciary, including the state
municipal bond commission, for the payment of a note, bond,
debenture or other evidence or indebtedness, five years after the
principal maturity date, or if such note, bond, debenture or
evidence of indebtedness is called for redemption on an earlier
date, then the redemption date, such premium or redemption date to
also be applicable to all interest and premium, if any,
attributable to such note, bond, debenture or other evidence of
indebtedness; and
(17) Mineral proceeds, three years after the proceeds are
payable or distributable. Any mineral proceeds later accruing as
a result of the same underlying right and not previously presumed
abandoned are presumed abandoned at the time of accrual; and
(18) Property distributable in the course of the
demutualization of an insurance company is presumed abandoned as
follows:
(i) Any funds, two years after the date of the
demutualization, if the funds remain unclaimed and the owner has
not otherwise communicated with the holder or its agent regarding
the property as evidenced by a memorandum or other record on file
with the holder or its agent;
(ii) Any stock, two years after the date of the
demutualization, if instruments or statements reflecting the distribution are either mailed to the owner and returned by the
post office as undeliverable or not mailed to the owner because of
an address on the books and records of the holder that is known to
be incorrect and the owner has not otherwise communicated with the
holder or its agent regarding the property as evidenced by a
memorandum or other record on file with the holder or its agent;
(iii) A holder of unclaimed property described in subdivision
(i) shall file an initial report of unclaimed demutualization
proceeds not later than the first day of November, two thousand
five, for the period ending the thirtieth day of June, two thousand
four;
(iv) As used in this section, "demutualization" means the
process of converting a mutual membership company to a stock-based
company, regardless if undertaken in conjunction with a plan of
demutualization, liquidation, merger, or other form of
reorganization; and
(v) Demutualization property not otherwise subject to this
section is subject to subdivision (19) of subsection (a) of this
section;
(17) (19) All other property, five years after the owner's
right to demand the property or after the obligation to pay or
distribute the property arises, whichever first occurs.
(b) At the time that an interest is presumed abandoned under
subsection (a) of this section, any other property right accrued or accruing to the owner as a result of the interest, and not
previously presumed abandoned, is also presumed abandoned.
(c) Property is unclaimed if, for the applicable period set
forth in subsection (a) of this section, the apparent owner has not
communicated in writing or by other means reflected in a
contemporaneous record prepared by or on behalf of the holder, with
the holder concerning the property or the account in which the
property is held, and has not otherwise indicated an interest in
the property. A communication with an owner by a person other than
the holder or its representative who has not in writing identified
the property to the owner is not an indication of interest in the
property by the owner.
(d) An indication of an owner's interest in property includes:
(1) The presentment of a check or other instrument of payment
of a dividend or other distribution made with respect to an account
or underlying stock or other interest in a business association or
financial organization or, in the case of a distribution made by
electronic or similar means, evidence that the distribution has
been received;
(2) Owner-directed activity in the account in which the
property is held, including a direction by the owner to increase,
decrease or change the amount or type of property held in the
account;
(3) The making of a deposit to or withdrawal from a bank account; and
(4) The payment of a premium with respect to a property
interest in an insurance policy; but the application of an
automatic premium loan provision or other nonforfeiture provision
contained in an insurance policy does not prevent a policy from
maturing or terminating if the insured has died or the insured or
the beneficiary of the policy has otherwise become entitled to the
proceeds before the depletion of the cash surrender value of a
policy by the application of those provisions.
(e) Property is payable or distributable for purposes of this
article notwithstanding the owner's failure to make demand or
present an instrument or document otherwise required to obtain
payment.
§36-8-5a. Gift certificates - expiration, dormancy fees prohibited
- definitions.
(a) As used in this section, 'gift certificate' or 'gift card'
means a prefunded tangible or electronic record evidencing an
issuer's agreement to provide goods, services, credit, money or
anything of value. A 'gift certificate' or 'gift card' includes,
but is not limited to, a tangible card; electronic card;
stored-value card; or certificate or similar instrument, card, or
tangible record that contains a microprocessor chip, magnetic chip,
or other means for the storage of information and for which the
value is decremented upon each use.
(b) On and after the first day of July, two thousand five, no
person or entity may sell a gift certificate or gift card
containing an expiration date to a purchaser. Any gift certificate
or gift card sold after the first day of July, two thousand five,
is redeemable in cash for its cash value, or subject to replacement
with a new gift certificate or gift card entitling the bearer to
goods or services in an amount equal to or greater than the amount
of the original gift certificate or gift card or the amount
remaining after use, if any, at no cost to the bearer. The issuer
of the gift certificate has the option to redeem the remaining
value of the gift certificate or gift card for cash or offer a
replacement certificate or card:
Provided, That if the amount
remaining is less than one dollar, it is redeemable for cash.
(c) A gift certificate or gift card sold without an expiration
date is valid until redeemed or replaced.
(d) A gift certificate is presumed abandoned three years after
the thirty-first day of December of the year in which the
certificate was sold, but if redeemable in merchandise only, the
amount abandoned is deemed to be sixty percent of the certificate's
face value.
(e) Subsection (b) of this section does not apply to any of
the following gift certificates or gift cards issued on or after
the first day of July, two thousand five, if an expiration date
appears in capital letters in at least ten-point type on the front of the gift certificate or gift card:
(1) Gift certificates or gift cards that are distributed by
the issuer to a consumer pursuant to an awards, loyalty, or
promotional program without any money or other thing of value being
given in exchange for the gift certificate or gift card by the
consumer; or
(2) Gift certificates or gift cards that are sold below face
value at a volume discount to employers or to nonprofit and
charitable organizations for fund-raising purposes and whose
expiration date is not less than thirty days after the date of
sale.
(f) No person may sell a gift certificate or gift card to a
purchaser that contains a service fee, a dormancy fee, an
inactivity fee, a maintenance fee, or any other type of fee.
(g) A person who violates subsection (b) or (f) of this
section engages in an unfair or deceptive act or practice in
violation of article six, chapter forty-six-a of this code.
§36-8-5b. Locator fees.
Any agreement to pay compensation to recover or assist in the
recovery of property reported under this article is unenforceable,
if it is made within eighteen months after the date the report is
filed under section seven of this article or made within twelve
months after the date payment or delivery is made under section
eight of this article. No person may contract for, or receive from the claimant, an amount, including all expenses incurred, in excess
of ten percent of the value of the abandoned property recovered.
§36-8-7. Report of abandoned property.
(a) A holder of property presumed abandoned shall make a
report to the administrator concerning the property.
Holders shall
submit reports in an electronic format as prescribed by the
administrator. The administrator may waive this requirement when
he or she determines, in his or her discretion, that enforcing the
requirement would create an undue hardship.
(b) The report
must be verified and must contain:
(1) A description of the property;
(2) Except with respect to a traveler's check or money order,
the name, if known, and last known address, if any, and the social
security number or taxpayer identification number, if readily
ascertainable, of the apparent owner of property of the value of
fifty dollars or more;
(3) An aggregated amount of items valued under fifty dollars
each;
(4) In the case of an amount of fifty dollars or more held or
owing under an annuity or a life or endowment insurance policy, the
full name and last known address of the annuitant or insured and of
the beneficiary;
(5) In the case of property held in a safe deposit box or
other safekeeping depository, an indication of the place where it is held and where it may be inspected by the administrator, and any
amounts owing to the holder;
(6) The date, if any, on which the property became payable,
demandable or returnable, and the date of the last transaction with
the apparent owner with respect to the property;
(7) A statement that the holder has complied with the
requirements of subsection (e) of this section; and
(7) (8) Other information that the administrator by rule
prescribes as necessary for the administration of this article.
(c) If a holder of property presumed abandoned is a successor
to another person who previously held the property for the apparent
owner or the holder has changed its name while holding the
property, the holder shall file with the report its former names,
if any, and the known names and addresses of all previous holders
of the property.
(d) The report must be filed before the first day of November
of each year and cover the twelve months next preceding the first
day of July of that year, but a report with respect to a life
insurance company must be filed before the first day of May of each
year for the calendar year next preceding.
(e) The holder of property presumed abandoned shall send
written notice to the apparent owner, not more than one hundred
twenty days or less than sixty days before filing the report,
stating that the holder is in possession of property subject to this article, if:
(1) The holder has in its records an address for the apparent
owner which the holder's records do not disclose to be inaccurate;
(2) The claim of the apparent owner is not barred by a statute
of limitations; and
(3) The value of the property is fifty dollars or more.
(f) Before the date for filing the report, the holder of
property presumed abandoned may request the administrator to extend
the time for filing the report. The administrator may grant the
extension for good cause. The holder, upon receipt of the
extension, may make an interim payment on the amount the holder
estimates will ultimately be due, which terminates the accrual of
additional interest on the amount paid.
(g) The holder of property presumed abandoned shall file with
the report an affidavit stating that the holder has complied with
subsection (e) of this section.
§36-8-8. Payment or delivery of abandoned property.
(a) Except for property held in a safe deposit box or other
safekeeping depository,
and except as otherwise provided in this
section, upon filing the report required by section seven of this
article, the holder of property presumed abandoned shall pay,
deliver or cause to be paid or delivered to the administrator the
property described in the report as unclaimed, but if the property
is an automatically renewable deposit, and a penalty or forfeiture in the payment of interest would result, the time for compliance is
extended until a penalty or forfeiture would no longer result.
Property held in a safe deposit box or other safekeeping depository
may not be delivered to the administrator until one hundred twenty
days after filing the report required by section seven of this
article.
(b) If the property reported to the administrator is a
security or security entitlement under article eight of the uniform
commercial code, the administrator is an appropriate person to make
an indorsement, instruction or entitlement order on behalf of the
apparent owner to invoke the duty of the issuer or its transfer
agent or the securities intermediary to transfer or dispose of the
security or the security entitlement in accordance with article
eight of the Uniform Commercial Code.
(c) In lieu of requiring the transfer of a security to the
administrator, the administrator may require that the holder
liquidate the security and report the proceeds as unclaimed
property. Securities listed on an established stock exchange must
be sold at prices prevailing on the exchange at the time of sale.
Other securities may be sold over the counter at prices prevailing
at the time of sale or by any reasonable method authorized by the
administrator.
Within sixty calendar days of any sale conducted pursuant to
this subsection, the holder shall deliver to the administrator the monetary proceeds resulting from the sale, after deducting a
proportionate share of the expense attributable from the sale to
the property. The holder shall report the number of shares sold
and the value of each share, as well as the expense attributable to
the sale. The holder shall include in the reported property all
interest, dividends, increments, earnings and accretions due,
payable or distributable at the time of liquidation, and all
earnings on the property between the time of liquidation and the
time of reporting.
(c) (d) If the holder of property reported to the
administrator is the issuer of a certificated security, the
administrator has the right to obtain a replacement certificate
pursuant to article eight, section four hundred eight of the
Uniform Commercial Code, but an indemnity bond is not required.
(d) (e) An issuer, the holder, and any transfer agent or other
person acting pursuant to the instructions of and on behalf of the
issuer or holder in accordance with this section is not liable to
the apparent owner and
must shall be indemnified against claims of
any person in accordance with section ten of this article.
§36-8-12. Sale of abandoned property.
(a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, the
administrator, within three years after the receipt of abandoned
property
other than money with a cash value equal to its face value
shall sell it to the highest bidder at public sale
at a location in the state by the method and at the location which, in the judgment
of the administrator, affords the most favorable market for the
property.
(b) The administrator may decline the highest bid and reoffer
the property for sale if the administrator considers the bid to be
insufficient. The administrator need not offer the property for
sale if the administrator considers that the probable cost of sale
will exceed the proceeds of the sale. A sale held under this
section must be preceded by a single publication of notice, at
least three weeks before sale,
in a newspaper of general
circulation in the county in which the property is to be sold
published as a Class I legal advertisement in compliance with the
provisions of article three, chapter fifty-nine of this code.
(c) The administrator may dispose of any abandoned property by
any method if, in his or her opinion, the probable cost of public
sale will exceed the value of the property. The provisions of this
subsection shall not apply to securities for which there is an
established market and the administrator shall sell such securities
in the manner customary in that market.
(b) (d) Securities listed on an established stock exchange
must be sold at prices prevailing on the exchange at the time of
sale. Other securities may be sold over the counter at prices
prevailing at the time of sale or by any reasonable method selected
by the administrator. If securities are sold by the administrator before the expiration of three years after their delivery to the
administrator, a person making a claim under this article before
the end of the three-year period is entitled to the proceeds of the
sale of the securities less any deduction for expenses of sale. A
person making a claim under this article after the expiration of
the three-year period is entitled to receive the securities
delivered to the administrator by the holder, if they still remain
in the custody of the administrator, or the net proceeds received
from sale, and is not entitled to receive any appreciation in the
value of the property occurring after delivery to the
administrator, except in a case of intentional misconduct or
malfeasance by the administrator.
(c) (e) A purchaser of property at a sale conducted by the
administrator pursuant to this article takes the property free of
all claims of the owner or previous holder and of all persons
claiming through or under them. The administrator shall execute
all documents necessary to complete the transfer of ownership.
§36-8-15. Filing claim with administrator; handling of claims by
administrator.
(a) A person, excluding another state,
this state, or a
governmental agency of this state, claiming
an interest in any
property paid or delivered to the administrator may file a claim on
a form prescribed by the administrator and verified by the
claimant.
If the value of the property claimed is five hundred dollars or less, the administrator may accept in lieu of the
affidavit verifying the claim, the claimant's unsworn statement,
given under penalty of perjury in substantially the following form:
"I certify under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and
correct."
(b) Within ninety days after a claim is filed, the
administrator shall allow or deny the claim and give written notice
of the decision to the claimant. If the claim is denied, the
administrator shall inform the claimant of the reasons for the
denial and specify what additional evidence is required before the
claim will be allowed. The claimant may then file a new claim with
the administrator or maintain an action under section sixteen of
this article.
(c) Within thirty days after a claim is allowed, the property
or net proceeds of a sale of property must be delivered or paid by
the administrator to the claimant.
(d) A claimant receiving property shall indemnify this state
and its officers and employees against any liability on account of
payment of the property.
(e)When payment or delivery of money or other property has
been made in good faith to any claimant under the provisions of
this chapter, any subsequent claimant who is lawfully entitled to
the property may enforce his or her rights in appropriate
proceedings against the claimant who received the property and may be awarded costs as in civil actions, including attorney's fees.
§36-8-15a. Small estate accounts.
(a) The administrator may approve a claim for unclaimed
property made by an heir or devisee of a deceased owner as provided
in this section:
(1) The claimant shall submit a listing of the heirs of the
deceased owner.
(2) If the claimant is claiming property on behalf of all of
the heirs or devisees of the deceased owner, the claimant shall
submit a power of attorney signed by each of the heirs, authorizing
the claimant to claim property on their behalf.
(3) The claimant shall submit an affidavit stating that he or
she has exercised due diligence to determine whether there are any
outstanding debts of the reported owner's estate, and that to the
best of the claimant's knowledge there are none.
(4) If the owner died testate, the claimant shall provide a
copy of the will.
(b) Each person receiving property under this section shall be
personally liable for all lawful claims against the estate of the
owner, but only to the extent of the value of the property received
by such person under this section, exclusive of the property exempt
from claims of creditors under the Constitution and laws of this
state.
(c) Any heir or devisee of the owner, who was lawfully entitled to share in the property but did not receive his or her
share of the property, may enforce his or her rights in appropriate
proceedings against those who received the property and may be
awarded costs as in civil actions, including attorney's fees.
(d) This section only applies if all of the unclaimed property
held by the administrator on behalf of the owner at the time of the
claim has an aggregate value of five thousand dollars or less and
no person is currently qualified as administrator over the owner's
estate.
§36-8-15b. Unclaimed property offset for delinquent debts owed
state agencies, boards or commissions.
Any state agency, board or commission to which any person owes
a debt that is delinquent, may claim property from the
administrator as provided in this section.
(1) An agency, board or commission may periodically certify to
the administrator information regarding persons who are liable for
the payment of delinquent funds, whether for taxes, penalties,
fees, interest, past-due support or other amounts authorized to be
collected under provisions of the West Virginia Code.
(2) The information shall include the name, social security
number or federal employer identification number, whichever is
applicable, and last known address of the person owing the
delinquent funds, the amount owed, and any other identifying
information required by the administrator.
(3) The administrator shall compare the name and social
security number or federal employer identification number,
whichever is applicable, of reported owners with the information
certified. If the name and associated social security number or
federal employer identification number, whichever is applicable, of
a reported owner appears among those certified, the administrator
shall provide notification to the certifying agency, board or
commission. The administrator shall include an updated owner
address, if one is available.
(4) After receipt of the notification from the administrator
that a reported owner name and social security number or federal
identification number appears among those certified, if the
director, commissioner or other individual or entity authorized by
law to collect the debt determines that a claim should be made
against the reported property, he or she shall notify the debtor
that a withholding will be made from any unclaimed property
otherwise payable to such debtor; instruct the debtor of the steps
which may be taken to contest the determination that delinquent
amounts are owed or the amount of the delinquency; and provide
information with respect to the procedures to be followed, in the
case of jointly owned property, to protect the share of the
property which may be payable to another person.
(5) After satisfying the requirements of subdivision (4), the
director, commissioner or other individual or entity authorized by law to collect the debt shall file a claim with the administrator
for the property held in the name of the debtor.
(6) The administrator shall reduce the amount of the unclaimed
property held for the debtor by the amount claimed, and shall
transmit to the agency, board or commission an amount equal to the
amount of the debt. If the amount of the unclaimed property is
less than or equal to the amount of the debt, the administrator
shall withhold the entire amount of the unclaimed property.
(7) The administrator may pay the agency, board or commission
property claimed to satisfy a debt owed by a property owner, where
the name or social security number of the debtor do not match that
of an unclaimed property owner, but where other documentation is
sufficient to establish that the debtor is also the owner of
unclaimed property.
(8) In paying claims pursuant to this section, the
administrator may rely upon the information provided by the state
agency, board or commission, regarding delinquent funds owed, and
is not required to investigate or further determine the accuracy of
the information certified by the agency, board or commission.
(9) The state agency, board or commission receiving the
property shall dispose of the property received as required by
applicable law.
§36-8-17. Election to take payment or delivery.
(a) The administrator may decline to receive property reported under this article which the administrator considers to have a
value less than the expenses of notice and sale.
(b) A holder, with the written consent of the administrator
and upon conditions and terms prescribed by the administrator, may
report and deliver property before the property is presumed
abandoned. Property
so delivered
pursuant to this subsection must
be held by the administrator and is not presumed abandoned until it
otherwise would be presumed abandoned under this article
unless the
holder has provided notice to the apparent owners of the property
as required by section seven of this article: Provided, That if
the holder has provided notice to the apparent owners of the
property as required by section seven of this article, then the
abandonment period is considered met and all of the provisions of
this article apply to the property just as if the property had met
the required period of abandonment, and the administrator is not
required to hold the property under this section.
§36-8-23. Interstate agreements and cooperation; joint and
reciprocal actions with other states
.
(a) The administrator may
enter into an agreement with another
state to exchange information relating to abandoned property or its
possible existence disclose to another state or to an agency, board
or commission of this state any information necessary to facilitate
the payment of claims or the enforcement of the reporting of
property. The
agreement may permit the other administrator may enter into an agreement permitting a state agency, another state,
or another person acting on behalf of a state, to examine records
as authorized in section twenty of this article. The administrator
by rule may require the reporting of information needed to enable
compliance with an agreement made under this section and prescribe
the form.
(b) The administrator may join with another state to seek
enforcement of this article against any person who is or may be
holding property reportable under this article.
(c) At the request of another state, the administrator's
attorney may maintain an action on behalf of the other state to
enforce, in this state, the unclaimed property laws of the other
state against a holder of property subject to escheat or a claim of
abandonment by the other state, if the other state has agreed to
pay expenses incurred by the attorney general in maintaining the
action.
(d) The administrator may request that the attorney general of
another state or another attorney commence an action in the other
state on behalf of the administrator. The administrator may retain
any other attorney to commence an action in this state on behalf of
the administrator. This state shall pay all expenses, including
attorney's fees, in maintaining an action under this subsection.
With the administrator's approval, the expenses and attorney's fees
may be paid from money received under this article. The administrator may agree to pay expenses and attorney's fees based,
in whole or in part, on a percentage of the value of any property
recovered in the action. Any expenses or attorney's fees paid
under this subsection may not be deducted from the amount that is
subject to the claim by the owner under this article.
ARTICLE 8A. THE UNCLAIMED STOLEN PROPERTY ACT.
§36-8A-4. Disposition of unclaimed stolen property other than
firearms and ammunition
.
(a) Within ninety days of receipt of the Treasurer's response
required by section three of this article, the law-enforcement
agency shall dispose of all items identified in the Treasurer's
response in the manner set forth in this section.
(b) If the Treasurer's report requires the law-enforcement
agency to deliver any item to the Treasurer, the chief executive
shall cause the item to be so delivered. Within three years after
receiving the item from the law-enforcement agency, the Treasurer
shall sell it
to the highest bidder at public sale at a location in
the state which in the judgment of the treasurer affords the most
favorable market for the property in the manner provided in section
twelve, article eight of this chapter. The Treasurer may decline
the highest bid and reoffer the property for sale if the Treasurer
considers the bid to be insufficient. The Treasurer need not offer
the property for sale if the Treasurer considers that the probable
cost of sale will exceed the proceeds of the sale.
A sale held under this subsection must be preceded by a single publication of
notice, at least three weeks before sale, in a newspaper of general
circulation in the county in which the property is to be sold.
(c) If the Treasurer's response authorizes the law-enforcement
agency to sell any item at a public sale, the chief executive
shall
retain an auctioneer licensed by the state of West Virginia to
conduct the sale. The costs or fees incurred will be paid from a
fund generated from revenues gained by the sale of such property.
The licensed auctioneer shall sell the item to the highest bidder
at a location which in the judgment of the chief executive affords
the most favorable market for the items may sell the property by
the method and at the location which in the judgment of the chief
executive affords the most favorable market for the property. A
sale under this subsection must be preceded by a single publication
of notice, at least three weeks before the sale,
in a newspaper of
general circulation in the county in which the property is to be
sold published as a Class I legal advertisement in compliance with
the provisions of article three, chapter fifty-nine of this code.
The chief executive shall retain the proceeds of any public sale
under this subsection for the use of the law-enforcement agency.
(d) If the Treasurer's response authorizes the law-enforcement
agency to donate any item to a nonprofit organization, the chief
executive shall cause the item to be so donated.
(e) If the Treasurer's report authorizes the law-enforcement agency to use any item for any legitimate and authorized
law-enforcement or educational purpose, the chief executive shall
cause the item to be used for that purpose. However, if the
law-enforcement agency ever discontinues its use of the item, it
must again report the item to the Treasurer as provided in section
two of this article.
(f) If the Treasurer's response authorizes the law-enforcement
agency either to sell any item at a public sale, to donate it to a
nonprofit organization or to use it for any legitimate and
authorized law-enforcement or educational purpose, the chief
executive may cause the item either to be sold, donated or used as
provided in this section. However, the chief executive shall first
attempt to donate the item as provided in subsection (d) of this
section or to use it as provided in subsection (e) of this section
before selling it at a public sale as provided in subsection (c) of
this section.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to: (1) Shorten the
abandonment period for stock, for mineral proceeds and for
demutualization proceeds; (2) prohibit expiration dates and
dormancy fees on gift certificates and state that a violation of
that provision constitutes an unfair or deceptive act or practice;
(3) limit heirfinder fees; (4) waive notary requirements for
reports and require holders to submit unclaimed property reports
electronically; (5) authorize the administrator to require that
holders liquidate securities and report proceeds as unclaimed
property; (6) authorize the administrator to sell safe-deposit box
contents through electronic auction or other methods; (7) waive
notary requirements for claims under five hundred dollars and limit the administrator's liability for duplicate claims payment; (8)
authorize payment of heirs or devisees of deceased unclaimed
property owners; (9) authorize a state agency, board or commission
to claim property to offset delinquent payments owed to that
agency; (10) apply the provisions of the act to pre-abandoned
property; (11) authorize the administrator to cooperate with state
agencies or with other states to locate property or pay claims; and
(12) allow unclaimed stolen property to be auctioned electronically
or through other methods.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.
§§36-8-5a, 5b, 15a and 15b are new; therefore, underscoring
and strike-throughs have been omitted.
Email
Webmaster | © 2024 West Virginia Legislature **
