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TREATMENT OF UNCLAIMED PROPERTY
SEC. 157. (a) DEFINITIONS OF CERTAIN TERMS.—
Section 102 of the Uniform Disposition of Unclaimed
Property Act of 1980 (D.C. Code, sec. 42–202) is amend-
ed—
(1) by amending paragraph (4) to read as fol-
lows:
‘‘(4) ‘Business association’ means a corpora-
tion, joint stock company, investment company,
partnership, unincorporated association, joint ven-
ture, limited liability, business trust, trust company,
financial organization, insurance company, mutual
fund, utility, or other business entity consisting of
one or more persons, whether or not for profit.’’;
and
(2) by adding at the end the following new
paragraphs:
‘‘(18) ‘Record’ means information that is in-
scribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an
electronic or other medium and is retrievable in per-
ceivable form.
‘‘(19) ‘Property’ means a fixed and certain in-
terest in or right in property that is held, issued, or
owed in the course of a holder’s business, or by a
government or governmental entity, and all income
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or increments therefrom, including an interest re-
ferred to as or evidenced by any of the following:
‘‘(A) Money, check, draft, deposit, interest,
dividend, and income.
‘‘(B) Credit balance, customer overpay-
ment, gift certificate, security deposit, refund,
credit memorandum, unpaid wage, unused air-
line ticket, unused ticket, mineral proceed, and
unidentified remittance and electronic fund
transfer.
‘‘(C) Stock or other evidence of ownership
of an interest in a business association.
‘‘(D) Bond, debenture, note, or other evi-
dence of indebtedness.
‘‘(E) Money deposited to redeem stocks,
bonds, coupons, or other securities or to make
distributions.
‘‘(F) An amount due and payable under
the terms of an insurance policy, including poli-
cies providing life insurance, property and cas-
ualty insurance, workers compensation insur-
ance, or health and disability benefits insur-
ance.
‘‘(G) An amount distributable from a trust
or custodial fund established under a plan to
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provide health, welfare, pension, vacation, sever-
ance, retirement, death, stock purchase, profit
sharing, employee savings, supplemental unem-
ployment insurance, or similar benefits.’’.
(b) SHORTENING PERIOD
FOR PRESUMPTION
OF
ABANDONMENT.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 103(a) of such Act
(D.C. Code, sec. 42–203(a)) is amended by striking
‘‘5 years’’ and inserting ‘‘3 years’’.
(2) BANK DEPOSITS AND FUNDS IN FINANCIAL
ORGANIZATIONS.—Section 106 of such Act (D.C.
Code, sec. 42–206) is amended by striking ‘‘5 years’’
each place it appears in subsections (a) and (d) and
inserting ‘‘3 years’’.
(3) FUNDS HELD BY LIFE INSURANCE COMPA-
NIES.—Section 107 of such Act (D.C. Code, sec. 42–
207) is amended by striking ‘‘5 years’’ each place it
appears in subsections (a) and (c)(2)(C) and insert-
ing ‘‘3 years’’.
(4) DEPOSITS AND REFUNDS HELD BY UTILI-
TIES.—Section 108 of such Act (D.C. Code, sec. 42–
208) is amended by striking ‘‘5 years’’ each place it
appears and inserting ‘‘1 year’’.
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(5) STOCK AND OTHER INTANGIBLE INTERESTS
IN BUSINESS ASSOCIATIONS.—Section 109 of such
Act (D.C. Code, sec. 42–209) is amended—
(A) by striking ‘‘5 years’’ each place it ap-
pears in subsections (a) and (b)(1) and insert-
ing ‘‘3 years’’; and
(B) in subsection (b)(2), by striking ‘‘5-
year’’ and inserting ‘‘3-year’’.
(6) PROPERTY HELD BY FIDUCIARIES.—Section
111(a) of such Act (D.C. Code, sec. 42–211(a)) is
amended by striking ‘‘5 years’’ and inserting ‘‘3
years’’.
(7) PROPERTY HELD BY PUBLIC OFFICERS AND
AGENCIES.—Section 112 of such Act (D.C. Code,
sec. 42–212) is amended by striking ‘‘2 years’’ and
inserting ‘‘1 year’’.
(8) EMPLOYEE
BENEFIT
TRUST
DISTRIBU-
TIONS.—Section 113 of such Act (D.C. Code, sec.
42–213) is amended by striking ‘‘5 years’’ and in-
serting ‘‘3 years’’.
(9) CONTENTS OF SAFE DEPOSIT BOX.—Sec-
tion 115 of such Act (D.C. Code, sec. 42–215) is
amended by striking ‘‘5 years’’ and inserting ‘‘3
years’’.
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(c) CRITERIA
FOR PRESUMPTION
OF ABANDON-
MENT.—
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Section 103 of such Act
(D.C. Code, sec. 42–203) is amended by adding at
the end the following new subsection:
‘‘(d) A record of the issuance of a check, draft, or
similar instrument by a holder is prima facie evidence of
property held or owed to a person other than the holder.
In claiming property from a holder who is also the issuer,
the Mayor’s burden of proof as to the existence and
amount of the property and its abandonment is satisfied
by showing issuance of the instrument and passage of the
requisite period of abandonment. Defenses of payment,
satisfaction, discharge, and want of consideration are af-
firmative defenses that may be established by the holder.’’.
(2) SPECIAL
RULES
REGARDING
STOCK
AND
OTHER INTANGIBLE INTERESTS IN BUSINESS ASSO-
CIATIONS.—Section 109 of such Act (D.C. Code, sec.
42–209) is amended by adding at the end the follow-
ing new subsections:
‘‘(d) For purposes of subsection (b), the return of of-
ficial shareholder notifications or communications by the
postal service as undeliverable shall be evidence that the
association does not know the location of the owner.
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‘‘(e) In the case of property consisting of stock or
other intangible ownership interest enrolled in a plan that
provides for the automatic reinvestment of dividends, dis-
tribution, or other sums payable as a result of the interest,
the property may not be presumed to be abandoned under
this section unless either of the following applies:
‘‘(1) The records available to the administrator
of the plan show, with respect to any intangible own-
ership interest not enrolled in the reinvestment plan,
that the owner has not within 3 years communicated
in any manner described in subsection (a).
‘‘(2) 3 years have elapsed since the location of
the owner became unknown to the association, as
evidenced by the return of official shareholder notifi-
cations or by the postal service as undeliverable, and
the owner has not within those 3 years commu-
nicated in any manner described in subsection (a).
The 3-year period from the return of official share-
holder notifications or communications shall com-
mence from the earlier of the return of the second
such mailing or the time the holder discontinues
mailings to the shareholder.’’.
(3) SPECIAL RULE REGARDING PROPERTY DIS-
TRIBUTED THROUGH LITIGATION OR SETTLEMENT
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‘‘(d)(1) The report as of the prior June 30th must
be filed before November 1st of each year, but a report
with respect to a life insurance company must be filed be-
fore May 1st of each year as of the prior December 31.
The Mayor may postpone the reporting date upon written
request by any person required to file a report.
‘‘(2) In calendar year 1998, a report concerning all
property presumed to be abandoned as of October 31,
1997, must be filed no later than January 2, 1998.’’.
(2) NOTIFICATION OF OWNER.—Section 117(e)
of such Act (D.C. Code, sec. 42–217(e)) is amended
to read as follows:
‘‘(e) Not earlier than 120 days prior to filing the re-
port required under this section (and not later than 60
days prior to filing such report), the holder of property
presumed abandoned shall send written notice to the ap-
parent owner of the property stating that the holder is
in possession of property subject to this Act, but only if—
‘‘(1) the holder has in its records an address for
the apparent owner, unless the holder’s records indi-
cate that such address is not accurate; and
‘‘(2) the value of the property is at least $50.’’.
(3) PAYMENT OR DELIVERY OF PROPERTY TO
MAYOR.—Section 119 of such Act (D.C. Code, sec.
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42–219) is amended by striking subsections (a), (b),
and (c) and inserting the following:
‘‘(a) Upon the filing of the report required under sec-
tion 117 with respect to property presumed abandoned,
the holder of the property shall pay or deliver (or cause
to be paid or delivered) to the Mayor the property de-
scribed in the report as abandoned, except that—
‘‘(1) in the case of property consisting of an
automatically renewable deposit for which a penalty
or forfeiture in the payment of interest would result
if payment were made to the Mayor at such time,
the holder may delay the payment or delivery of the
property to the Mayor until such time as the penalty
or forfeiture will not occur; and
‘‘(2) in the case of tangible property held in a
safe deposit box or other safekeeping depository, the
holder shall pay or deliver (or cause to be paid or
delivered) the property to the Mayor upon the expi-
ration of the 120-day period which begins on the
date the holder files the report required under sec-
tion 117.
‘‘(b) If the Mayor postpones the reporting date with
respect to the property under section 117(d), the holder,
upon receipt of the extension, may make an interim pay-
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ment under this section on the amount the holder esti-
mates will ultimately be due.’’.
(4) CLARIFICATION
OF
USE
OF
ESTIMATED
PAYMENTS AND REPORTS.—Section 130(d) of such
Act (D.C. Code, sec. 42–230(d)) is amended to read
as follows:
‘‘(d) If a holder fails to maintain the records required
by section 132 and the records of the holder available for
the periods for which this Act applies to the property in-
volved are insufficient to permit the preparation of a re-
port and delivery of the property, the holder shall be re-
quired to report and pay such amounts as may reasonably
be estimated from any available records.’’.
(5) RETENTION OF RECORDS.—Section 132(a)
of such Act (D.C. Code, sec. 42–232(a)) is amended
to read as follows:
‘‘(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) and unless
the Mayor provides otherwise by rule, every holder re-
quired to file a report under section 117 shall retain all
books, records, and documents necessary to establish the
accuracy of such report and the compliance of the report
with the requirements of this Act for 10 years after the
property becomes reportable, together with a record of the
name and address of the owner of the property in the case
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of any property for which the holder has obtained the last
known address of the owner.’’.
(e) DUTIES AND POWERS OF MAYOR.—
(1) INFORMATION
INCLUDED
IN
PUBLISHED
NOTICE
OF
ABANDONED
PROPERTY.—Section
118(b)(3) of such Act (D.C. Code, sec. 42–
218(b)(3)) is amended to read as follows:
‘‘(3) A statement that property of the owner is
presumed to be abandoned and has been taken into
the protective custody of the Mayor, except in the
case of property described in section 119(a)(1)
which is not paid or delivered to the Mayor pursuant
to such section.’’.
(2) INFORMATION
INCLUDED
IN
MAILED
NO-
TICE.—Section 118(e)(3) of such Act (D.C. Code,
sec. 42–218(e)(3)) is amended to read as follows:
‘‘(3) A statement explaining that property of
the owner is presumed to be abandoned, the prop-
erty has been taken into the protective custody of
the Mayor (other than property described in section
119(a)(1) which is not paid or delivered to the
Mayor pursuant to such section), and information
about the property and its return to the owner is
available to a person having a legal or beneficial in-
terest in the property, upon request to the Mayor.’’.
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(3) TRANSITION
RULE
FOR
1997.—Section
118(g) of such Act (D.C. Code, sec. 42–218(g)) is
amended to read as follows:
‘‘(g) With respect to property reported and delivered
on or before January 2, 1998, pursuant to section
117(d)(2), the Mayor shall cause the newspaper notice re-
quired by subsection (a) and the notice mailed under sub-
section (d) to be completed no later than May 1, 1998.’’.
(4) IMPOSITION OF ONE-YEAR WAITING PERIOD
FOR SALE OF PROPERTY.—The first sentence of sec-
tion 122(a) of such Act (D.C. Code, sec. 42–222(a))
is amended by striking ‘‘may be sold’’ and inserting
the following: ‘‘which remains unclaimed one year
after the delivery to the Mayor may be sold’’.
(5) SPECIAL
RULE
FOR
SALE
OF
PROPERTY
CONSISTING OF SECURITIES.—Section 122 of such
Act (D.C. Code, sec. 42–222) is amended by adding
at the end the following new subsection:
‘‘(d)(1) Notwithstanding subsection (a), abandoned
property consisting of securities delivered to the Mayor
under this Act may not be sold under this section until
the expiration of the 3-year period which begins on the
date the property is delivered to the Mayor, except that
the Mayor may sell the property prior to the expiration
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of such period if the Mayor finds that sale at such time
is in the best interests of the District of Columbia.
‘‘(2) If the Mayor sells any property described in
paragraph (1) prior to the expiration of the 3-year period
described in such paragraph, any person making a claim
with respect to the property pursuant to this Act prior
to the expiration of such 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
is greater, less any deduction for fees pursuant section
123(c). If the Mayor does not sell any such property prior
to the expiration of such 3-year period, a person may make
a claim with respect to the property in accordance with
section 124 and other applicable provisions of this Act.’’.
(6) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.—Section 129(b)
of such Act (D.C. Code, sec. 42–229(b)) is amended
to read as follows:
‘‘(b) No action or proceeding may be commenced by
the Mayor to enforce any provision of this Act with respect
to the reporting, delivery, or payment of property more
than 10 years after the holder specifically identified the
property in a report filed with the Mayor or gave express
notice to the Mayor of a dispute regarding the property.
The period of limitation shall be tolled in the absence of
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such a report or other express notice, or by the filing of
a report that is fraudulent.’’.
(f) INTEREST AND PENALTIES.—
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Section 135 of such Act
(D.C. Code, sec. 42–235) is amended by striking
subsections (b), (c), and (d) and inserting the follow-
ing:
‘‘(b) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (c),
a person who fails to report, pay, or deliver property with-
in the time prescribed under this Act, or fails to perform
other duties imposed by this Act, shall pay (in addition
to the interest required under subsection (a)) a civil pen-
alty of $200 for each day the report, payment, or delivery
is withheld or the duty is not performed, up to a maximum
of $10,000.
‘‘(c) A person who willfully fails to report, pay, or
deliver property within the time prescribed under this Act,
or fails to perform other duties imposed by this Act, shall
pay (in addition to the interest required under subsection
(a)) a civil penalty of $1,000 for each day the report, pay-
ment, or delivery is withheld or the duty is not performed,
up to a maximum of $25,000, plus 25 percent of the value
of any property that should have been paid or delivered.
‘‘(d) The Mayor may waive the imposition of any in-
terest or penalty (or any part thereof) against any person