SB 1244 Texas Senate · 89th Legislature (2025)

Relating to unclaimed personal property, including virtual currency.

SB 1244 updates Texas unclaimed property laws to explicitly include virtual currency (such as Bitcoin) as a type of property that can be deemed abandoned. The bill revises the timeline for abandonment, starting when a payment is unclaimed or a communication to the owner fails, and ending when the owner reactivates the account or contacts the holder. It requires holders of virtual currency (e.g., financial institutions or exchanges) to report and deliver abandoned virtual currency in its native digital form to the state comptroller. This affects businesses holding unclaimed digital assets, aligning their reporting and delivery procedures with traditional unclaimed property rules.

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2025

Committee Review

May 2025

Senate Passage

Apr 2025

House Passage

Governor

Introduced Feb 12, 2025 Last action May 27, 2025

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What changed between versions

Introduced → Engrossed · 7 edits · Apr 24, 2025

MODERATE

The bill was updated to modernize the handling of unclaimed virtual currency and digital assets. It clarifies definitions to include digital representations of value not used as legal tender, adjusts the timeline for presuming abandonment based on when funds become unclaimed, and establishes specific reporting and delivery procedures for virtual currency held by financial institutions.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded to explicitly include virtual currency and digital assets under unclaimed property laws, with new provisions for how holders must report and deliver these assets to the state comptroller.

DEFINITION

Definition of virtual currency was updated to include digital representations of value used as a medium of exchange or store of value that are not legal tender.

ELIGIBILITY

The three-year abandonment period now begins when ownership interest becomes unclaimed or when communications are returned undelivered, rather than just when a sum is unclaimed.

REQUIREMENT

New requirements mandate that holders of virtual currency with full control of private keys must report and deliver the currency to the comptroller within 30 days of the reporting date.

Holders possessing only partial private keys to virtual currency are exempt from reporting and delivery obligations.

ENFORCEMENT

The comptroller is authorized to contract with qualified custodians for safekeeping virtual currency and may hold these assets outside the state treasury.

FISCAL

Provisions allow the comptroller to pay reasonable expenses for holding and liquidating virtual currency from sale proceeds.

TIMELINE

The Act specifies an effective date of September 1, 2025.

Floor votes

How they voted

This bill passed the Senate by voice vote (no roll call recorded).

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

May 24, 2025

Lower · Passed

Committee report sent to Calendars

lower

May 23, 2025

Lower · Passed

Committee report distributed

lower

May 21, 2025

Lower · Passed

Reported favorably w/o amendment(s)

lower

May 7, 2025

Lower · Passed

Left pending in committee

lower

May 7, 2025

Lower · Passed

Testimony taken/registration(s) recorded in committee

lower

Apr 28, 2025

Committee

Referred to Trade, Workforce & Economic Development

lower

Apr 28, 2025

Introduced

Read first time

lower

Apr 25, 2025

Introduced

Received from the Senate

lower

Apr 24, 2025

Upper · Passed

Passed

upper

Apr 14, 2025

Upper · Passed

Committee report printed and distributed

upper

Apr 14, 2025

Upper · Passed

Reported favorably as substituted

upper

Apr 8, 2025

Upper · Passed

Vote taken in committee

upper

Apr 3, 2025

Upper · Passed

Left pending in committee

upper

Feb 28, 2025

Committee

Referred to Business & Commerce

upper

Feb 28, 2025

Introduced

Read first time

upper

2 primary · 0 co-sponsors