Committee Bill No. 5709 Summary

• Requires the State Treasurer to notify municipalities by first-class mail when abandoned property belonging to them is turned over to the state, informing them of their ability to claim the funds or property through the Office of the Treasurer, effective October 1, 2019.

• Expands the definition of "municipality" to include towns, cities, boroughs, consolidated municipalities, metropolitan districts, regional school districts, and other municipal corporations authorized to issue bonds or obligations.

• Changes the abandoned property notice publication requirement from 2016 to 2020 and every second year thereafter, and mandates the Treasurer use additional telecommunications methods (radio, television, satellite, newspapers, magazines, billboards, or mail) to make notices accessible to the public.

• Requires that posted notices of unclaimed property be in a form that is easily accessible to and searchable by the public, and must include names in alphabetical order, last-known addresses, and information about obtaining property details.

• Removes the requirement that property holders report items valued under fifty dollars in the aggregate, requiring instead that all property be individually reported with identifying information.