AN ACT Relating to the administration of the
uniform unclaimed property act; amending RCW 63.29.010, 63.29.130, 63.29.020,
63.29.165, 19.150.060, 19.150.080, 63.29.170, 63.29.190, 63.29.180, 63.29.220,
and 67.70.190; and adding a new section to chapter 63.29 RCW.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1.
RCW 63.29.010 and 1983 c 179 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
As used in this chapter, unless the context
otherwise requires:
(1) "Department" means the department
of revenue established under RCW 82.01.050.
(2) "Apparent owner" means the person
whose name appears on the records of the holder as the person entitled to
property held, issued, or owing by the holder.
(3) "Attorney general" means the
chief legal officer of this state referred to in chapter 43.10 RCW.
(4) "Banking organization" means a
bank, trust company, savings bank, land bank, safe deposit company, private
banker, or any organization defined by other law as a bank or banking
organization.
(5) "Business association" means a
nonpublic corporation, joint stock company, investment company, business trust,
partnership, or association for business purposes of two or more individuals,
whether or not for profit, including a banking organization, financial
organization, insurance company, or utility.
(6) "Domicile" means the state of
incorporation of a corporation and the state of the principal place of business
of an unincorporated person.
(7) "Financial organization" means a
savings and loan association, cooperative bank, building and loan association,
or credit union.
(8) "Holder" means a person, wherever
organized or domiciled, who is:
(a) In possession of property belonging to
another,
(b) A trustee, or
(c) Indebted to another on an obligation.
(9) "Insurance company" means an
association, corporation, fraternal or mutual benefit organization, whether or
not for profit, which is engaged in providing insurance coverage, including
accident, burial, casualty, credit life, contract performance, dental,
fidelity, fire, health, hospitalization, illness, life (including endowments
and annuities), malpractice, marine, mortgage, surety, and wage protection insurance.
(10) "Intangible property" does not
include contract claims which are unliquidated but does include:
(a) Moneys, checks, drafts, deposits, interest,
dividends, and income;
(b) Credit balances, customer overpayments,
gift certificates, security deposits, refunds, credit memos, unpaid wages,
unused airline tickets, unredeemed Washington state lottery tickets, and
unidentified remittances, but does not include discounts which represent credit
balances for which no consideration was given;
(c) Stocks, and other intangible ownership
interests in business associations;
(d) Moneys deposited to redeem stocks, bonds,
coupons, and other securities, or to make distributions;
(e) Liquidated amounts due and payable under
the terms of insurance policies; and
(f) Amounts distributable from a trust or
custodial fund established under a plan to provide health, welfare, pension,
vacation, severance, retirement, death, stock purchase, profit sharing,
employee savings, supplemental unemployment insurance, or similar benefits.
(11) "Last known address" means a
description of the location of the apparent owner sufficient for the purpose of
the delivery of mail.
(12) "Owner" means a depositor in the
case of a deposit, a beneficiary in case of a trust other than a deposit in
trust, a creditor, claimant, or payee in the case of other intangible property,
or a person having a legal or equitable interest in property subject to this
chapter or his legal representative.
(13) "Person" means an individual,
business association, state or other government, governmental subdivision or
agency, public corporation, public authority, estate, trust, two or more
persons having a joint or common interest, ((or)) any other legal or
commercial entity, or the United States or any instrumentality of the United
States.
(14) "State" means any state,
district, commonwealth, territory, insular possession, or any other area
subject to the legislative authority of the United States.
(15) "Third party bank check" means
any instrument drawn against a customer's account with a banking organization
or financial organization on which the banking organization or financial
organization is only secondarily liable.
(16) "Utility" means a person who
owns or operates for public use any plant, equipment, property, franchise, or
license for the transmission of communications or the production, storage,
transmission, sale, delivery, or furnishing of electricity, water, steam, or
gas.
Sec. 2.
RCW 63.29.130 and 1983 c 179 s 13 are each amended to read as follows:
Intangible property held for the owner by a
court, state or other government, governmental subdivision or agency, public
corporation, ((or)) public authority ((which)), or the United
States or any instrumentality of the United States that remains unclaimed
by the owner for more than two years after becoming payable or distributable is
presumed abandoned.
Sec. 3.
RCW 63.29.020 and 1992 c 122 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) Except as otherwise provided by this
chapter, all intangible property, including any income or increment derived
therefrom, less any lawful charges, that is held, issued, or owing in the
ordinary course of the holder's business and has remained unclaimed by the
owner for more than five years after it became payable or distributable is
presumed abandoned.
(2) Property, with the exception of ((unredeemed
Washington state lottery tickets and)) unpresented winning parimutuel
tickets, is payable and distributable for the purpose of this chapter
notwithstanding the owner's failure to make demand or to present any instrument
or document required to receive payment.
(3) This chapter does not apply to claims
drafts issued by insurance companies representing offers to settle claims
unliquidated in amount or settled by subsequent drafts or other means.
(4) This chapter does not apply to property
covered by chapter 63.26 RCW.
(5) This chapter does not apply to used
clothing, umbrellas, bags, luggage, or other used personal effects if such
property is disposed of by the holder as follows:
(a) In the case of personal effects of
negligible value, the property is destroyed; or
(b) The property is donated to a bona fide
charity.
(6) This chapter does not apply to personal
papers and personal effects retained by the owner of a self-service storage
facility following a sale conducted under RCW 19.150.080.
Sec. 4.
RCW 63.29.165 and 1988 c 240 s 21 are each amended to read as follows:
The ((personal papers and personal effects
held by the owner and the)) excess proceeds of a sale conducted pursuant to
RCW 19.150.080 by an owner of a self-service storage facility to satisfy the
lien and costs of storage which are not claimed by the occupant of the storage
space or any other person which remains unclaimed for more than six months are
presumed abandoned.
Sec. 5.
RCW 19.150.060 and 1988 c 240 s 7 are each amended to read as follows:
If a notice has been sent, as required by RCW
19.150.040, and the total sum due has not been paid as of the date specified in
the preliminary lien notice, the lien proposed by this notice attaches as of
that date and the owner may deny an occupant access to the space, enter the
space, inventory the goods therein, and remove any property found therein to a
place of safe keeping. The owner shall then serve by personal service or send
to the occupant, addressed to the occupant's last known address and to the
alternative address specified in RCW 19.150.120(2) by certified mail, postage
prepaid, a notice of lien sale or notice of disposal which shall state all of
the following:
(1) That the occupant's right to use the
storage space has terminated and that the occupant no longer has access to the
stored property.
(2) That the stored property is subject to a
lien, and the amount of the lien accrued and to accrue prior to the date
required to be specified in subsection (3) of this section.
(3) That the property, other than personal
papers and personal effects, may be sold to satisfy the lien after a specified
date which is not less than fourteen days from the date of mailing the lien
sale notice, or a minimum of forty-two days after the date when any part of the
rent or other charges due from the occupants remain unpaid, whichever is later,
unless the amount of the lien is paid. If the total value of property in the
storage space is less than one hundred dollars, the owner may, instead of sale,
dispose of the property in any reasonable manner, subject to the restrictions
of RCW 19.150.080(((3))) (4).
(4) That any excess proceeds of the sale or
other disposition under RCW 19.150.080(2) over the lien amount and costs of
sale ((and any personal papers and personal effects)) will be retained
by the owner and may be reclaimed by the occupant, or claimed by another
person, at any time for a period of six months from the sale and that
thereafter the proceeds ((and personal papers and effects)) will be
turned over to the state as abandoned property as provided in RCW 63.29.165.
(5) That any personal papers and personal
effects will be retained by the owner and may be reclaimed by the occupant at
any time for a period of six months from the sale or other disposition of
property and that thereafter the owner may dispose of the personal papers and
effects in a reasonable manner, subject to the restrictions of RCW
19.150.080(3).
(6) That if the occupant was served with
notice of the lien sale by mail, the occupant within six months after the date
of the sale may repurchase from any purchaser or subsequent purchaser any of
the occupant's property sold pursuant to RCW 19.150.080 at the price paid by
the original purchaser.
(((6))) (7) That if notice of the
lien sale was by personal service, the occupant has no right to repurchase any
property sold at the lien sale.
Sec. 6.
RCW 19.150.080 and 1988 c 240 s 9 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) After the expiration of the time given in
the notice of lien sale pursuant to RCW 19.150.060, the property, other than
personal papers and personal effects, may be sold or disposed of in a
reasonable manner.
(2)(a) If the property has a value of one
hundred dollars or more, the sale shall be conducted in a commercially
reasonable manner, and, after deducting the amount of the lien and costs of
sale, the owner shall retain any excess proceeds of the sale on the occupant's
behalf. The occupant, or any other person having a court order or other
judicial process against the property, may claim the excess proceeds, or a
portion thereof sufficient to satisfy the particular claim, at any time within
six months of the date of sale.
(b) If the property has a value of less than
one hundred dollars, the property may be disposed of in a reasonable manner.
(3) Personal papers and personal effects
that are not reclaimed by the occupant within six months of a sale under
subsection (2)(a) of this section or other disposition under subsection (2)(b)
of this section may be disposed of in a reasonable manner.
(4) No employee or owner, or family
member of an employee or owner, may acquire, directly or indirectly, the
property sold pursuant to subsection (2)(a) of this section or disposed of
pursuant to subsection (2)(b) of this section, or personal papers and
personal effects disposed of under subsection (3) of this section.
(((4))) (5) The owner is entitled
to retain any interest earned on the excess proceeds until the excess proceeds
are claimed by another person or are turned over to the state as abandoned
property pursuant to RCW 63.29.165.
(((5))) (6) After the sale or
other disposition pursuant to this section has been completed, the owner shall
provide an accounting of the disposition of the proceeds of the sale or other
disposition to the occupant at the occupant's last known address and at the
alternative address.
Sec. 7.
RCW 63.29.170 and 1983 c 179 s 17 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) A person holding property presumed
abandoned and subject to custody as unclaimed property under this chapter shall
report to the department concerning the property as provided in this section.
(2) The report must be verified and must
include:
(a) Except with respect to travelers checks and
money orders, the name, if known, and last known address, if any, of each
person appearing from the records of the holder to be the owner of property of
the value of twenty-five dollars or more presumed abandoned under this chapter;
(b) In the case of unclaimed funds of
twenty-five dollars or more held or owing under any life or endowment insurance
policy or annuity contract, the full name and last known address of the insured
or annuitant and of the beneficiary according to the records of the insurance
company holding or owing the funds;
(c) In the case of the contents of a safe
deposit box or other safekeeping repository or in the case of other tangible
property, a description of the property and the place where it is held and
where it may be inspected by the department, and any amounts owing to the
holder;
(d) The nature and identifying number, if any,
or description of the property and the amount appearing from the records to be
due, but items of value under twenty-five dollars each may be reported in the
aggregate;
(e) The date the property became payable,
demandable, or returnable, and the date of the last transaction with the
apparent owner with respect to the property; and
(f) Other information the department prescribes
by rule as necessary for the administration of this chapter.
(3) If the person holding property presumed
abandoned and subject to custody as unclaimed property is a successor to other
persons who previously held the property for the apparent owner or the holder
has changed his name while holding the property, he shall file with his report
all known names and addresses of each previous holder of the property.
(4) The report must be filed before November 1
of each year and shall include all property presumed abandoned and subject
to custody as unclaimed property under this chapter that is in the holder's
possession as of the preceding June ((30, next preceding, but the
report of any life insurance company must be filed before May 1 of each year as
of December 31 next preceding)) 30th. On written request by any
person required to file a report, the department may postpone the reporting
date.
(5) Not more than one hundred twenty days
before filing the report required by this section, the holder in possession of
property presumed abandoned and subject to custody as unclaimed property under
this chapter shall send written notice to the apparent owner at his last known
address informing him that the holder is in possession of property subject to
this chapter if:
(i) The holder has in its records an address
for the apparent owner which the holder's records do not disclose to be
inaccurate,
(ii) The claim of the apparent owner is not
barred by the statute of limitations, and
(iii) The property has a value of seventy-five
dollars or more.
Sec. 8.
RCW 63.29.190 and 1991 c 311 s 7 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) Except as otherwise provided in subsections
(2) and (3) of this section, a person who is required to file a report under
RCW 63.29.170((, within six months after the final date for filing the
report as required by RCW 63.29.170,)) shall pay or deliver to the
department all abandoned property required to be reported at the time of
filing the report.
(2) Counties, cities, towns, and other
municipal and quasi-municipal corporations that hold funds representing
warrants canceled pursuant to RCW 36.22.100 and 39.56.040, uncashed checks,
excess proceeds from property tax and irrigation district foreclosures, and
property tax overpayments or refunds may retain the funds until the owner notifies
them and establishes ownership as provided in RCW 63.29.135. Counties, cities,
towns, or other municipal or quasi-municipal corporations shall provide to the
department a report of property it is holding pursuant to this section. The
report shall identify the property and owner in the manner provided in RCW
63.29.170 and the department shall publish the information as provided in RCW
63.29.180.
(3) The contents of a safe deposit box or
other safekeeping repository presumed abandoned under RCW 63.29.160 and
reported under RCW 63.29.170 shall be paid or delivered to the department
within six months after the final date for filing the report required by RCW
63.29.170.
(((2))) If the owner establishes the
right to receive the abandoned property to the satisfaction of the holder
before the property has been delivered or it appears that for some other reason
the presumption of abandonment is erroneous, the holder need not pay or deliver
the property to the department, and the property will no longer be presumed
abandoned. In that case, the holder shall file with the department a verified
written explanation of the proof of claim or of the error in the presumption of
abandonment.
(((3) Property reported under RCW 63.29.170
for which the holder is not required to report the name of the apparent owner
must be delivered to the department at the time of filing the report.))
(4) The holder of an interest under RCW
63.29.100 shall deliver a duplicate certificate or other evidence of ownership
if the holder does not issue certificates of ownership to the department. Upon
delivery of a duplicate certificate to the department, the holder and any
transfer agent, registrar, or other person acting for or on behalf of a holder
in executing or delivering the duplicate certificate is relieved of all
liability of every kind in accordance with RCW 63.29.200 to every person,
including any person acquiring the original certificate or the duplicate of the
certificate issued to the department, for any losses or damages resulting to
any person by the issuance and delivery to the department of the duplicate
certificate.
Sec. 9.
RCW 63.29.180 and 1986 c 84 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) The department shall cause a notice to be
published not later than ((March 1, or in the case of property reported by
life insurance companies,)) September 1, immediately following the report
required by RCW 63.29.170 at least once a week for two consecutive weeks in a
newspaper of general circulation in the county of this state in which is
located the last known address of any person to be named in the notice. If no
address is listed or the address is outside this state, the notice must be
published in the county in which the holder of the property has its principal
place of business within this state.
(2) The published notice must be entitled
"Notice of Names of Persons Appearing to be Owners of Abandoned
Property" and contain:
(a) The names in alphabetical order and last
known address, if any, of persons listed in the report and entitled to notice
within the county as specified in subsection (1) of this section; and
(b) A statement that information concerning the
property and the name and last known address of the holder may be obtained by
any person possessing an interest in the property by addressing an inquiry to
the department((; and
(c) A statement that if proof of claim is not
presented by the owner to the holder and the owner's right to receive the
property is not established to the holder's satisfaction before April 20, or,
in the case of property reported by life insurance companies, before October
20, the property will be placed not later than May 1, or in the case of
property reported by life insurance companies, not later than November 1, in
the custody of the department and all further claims must thereafter be
directed to the department)).
(3) The department is not required to publish
in the notice any items of less than seventy-five dollars unless the department
considers their publication to be in the public interest.
(4) Not later than ((March 1, or in the case
of property reported by life insurance companies, not later than))
September 1, immediately following the report required by RCW 63.29.170, the
department shall mail a notice to each person whose last known address is
listed in the report and who appears to be entitled to property of the value of
seventy-five dollars or more presumed abandoned under this chapter and any
beneficiary of a life or endowment insurance policy or annuity contract for
whom the department has a last known address.
(5) The mailed notice must contain:
(a) A statement that, according to a report
filed with the department, property is being held to which the addressee
appears entitled; and
(b) The name and last known address of the
person holding the property and any necessary information regarding the changes
of name and last known address of the holder((; and
(c) A statement that, if satisfactory proof of
claim is not presented by the owner to the holder by the date specified in the
published notice, the property will be placed in the custody of the department
and all further claims must be directed to the department)).
(6) This section is not applicable to sums
payable on travelers checks, money orders, and other written instruments
presumed abandoned under RCW 63.29.040.
Sec. 10.
RCW 63.29.220 and 1983 c 179 s 22 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) Except as provided in subsections (2) and
(3) of this section the department, within ((three)) five years
after the receipt of abandoned property, shall sell it to the highest bidder at
public sale in whatever city in the state affords in the judgment of the
department the most favorable market for the property involved. The department
may decline the highest bid and reoffer the property for sale if in the
judgment of the department the bid is insufficient. If in the judgment of the
department the probable cost of sale exceeds the value of the property, it need
not be offered for sale. Any sale held under this section must be preceded by
a single publication of notice, at least three weeks in advance of sale, in a
newspaper of general circulation in the county in which the property is to be
sold.
(2) Securities listed on an established stock
exchange must be sold at prices prevailing at the time of sale on the
exchange. Other securities may be sold over the counter at prices prevailing
at the time of sale or by any other method the department considers advisable.
All securities may be sold over the counter at prices prevailing at the time of
the sale, or by any other method the department deems advisable.
(3) Unless the department considers it to be in
the best interest of the state to do otherwise, all securities, other than
those presumed abandoned under RCW 63.29.100, delivered to the department must
be held for at least one year before being sold.
(4) Unless the department considers it to be in
the best interest of the state to do otherwise, all securities presumed
abandoned under RCW 63.29.100 and delivered to the department must be held for
at least three years before being sold. If the department sells any securities
delivered pursuant to RCW 63.29.100 before the expiration of the three-year
period, any person making a claim pursuant to this chapter before the end of
the three-year period is entitled to either the proceeds of the sale of the
securities or the market value of the securities at the time the claim is made,
whichever amount is greater, less any deduction for fees pursuant to RCW
63.29.230(2). A person making a claim under this chapter after the expiration
of this period is entitled to receive either the securities delivered to the
department by the holder, if they still remain in the hands of the department,
or the proceeds received from sale, less any amounts deducted pursuant to RCW
63.29.230(2), but no person has any claim under this chapter against the state,
the holder, any transfer agent, registrar, or other person acting for or on
behalf of a holder for any appreciation in the value of the property occurring
after delivery by the holder to the department.
(5) The purchaser of property at any sale
conducted by the department pursuant to this chapter takes the property free of
all claims of the owner or previous holder thereof and of all persons claiming
through or under them. The department shall execute all documents necessary to
complete the transfer of ownership.
Sec. 11.
RCW 67.70.190 and 1988 c 289 s 802 are each amended to read as follows:
(((1))) Unclaimed prizes shall be
retained in the state lottery account for the person entitled thereto for one
hundred eighty days after the drawing in which the prize is won, or after the
official end of the game for instant prizes. If no claim is made for the prize
within this time, ((the prize shall be retained in the state lottery fund
for further use as prizes, except as provided in subsection (2) of this
section, and all rights to the prize shall be extinguished.
(2) During the fiscal year ending June 30,
1989, moneys from unclaimed prizes shall be used as follows:
(a) Fifty percent of the moneys, not exceeding
one million dollars, shall be deposited quarterly in the general fund.
(b) The remainder of the moneys shall be
retained in the state lottery account for further use as prizes)) the prize shall be presumed abandoned and reported
and remitted to the department of revenue under chapter 63.29 RCW.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 12.
Unredeemed Washington state lottery tickets shall be presumed abandoned if the
prizes or tickets remain unclaimed one hundred eighty days after the prize or
ticket became payable or distributable.
