Unclaimed property.

The Unclaimed Property Law (UPL) specifies the circumstances under which unclaimed personal property held by a banking or financial institution, business association, or other holder of personal property escheats to the state. The UPL requires a banking or financial organization, if it has in its records an address for the apparent owner, which the records do not disclose to be inaccurate, to make reasonable efforts to notify by mail any customer that the customer's deposit, account, shares, or other interest in the banking or financial organization will escheat to the state, as specified. The UPL authorizes a banking or financial organization to impose a service charge for the notice on the deposit, account, shares, or other interest in an amount up to $2 but not exceeding the administrative cost of mailing or electronically sending the notice, but prohibits a banking or financial institution from imposing a service charge for notice on items of less than $50. The UPL requires every person holding funds or other property that escheated to the state to submit a report to the Controller that includes, among other items, the name and last known address of each person appearing to be the owner of any property, except traveler's checks and money orders, worth at least $50 that escheated to the state and, for items worth less than $50, the nature and identifying number, if any, or description of any intangible property reported in aggregate. The UPL requires that the report be filed before November 1 of each year, except with regard to the report of life insurance corporations and of all insurance corporation demutualization proceeds subject to a specified statute, in which case the UPL requires that the report be filed before May 1 of each year. This bill would, beginning July 1, 2014, require a person holding escheated property to include in his or her report to the Controller the name and last known address of the apparent owner of any escheated property, except travelers checks and money orders, worth at least $25. The bill would allow the holder to report information regarding escheated items worth less than $25 in aggregate. The bill would authorize a banking or financial institution to impose a service charge for notice if the deposit, account, shares, or other interest has a value greater than $2.