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Committee advances update to Uniform Unclaimed Property Act after treasurer’s office raises concerns (Senate Bill 999)
Summary
Senate Bill 999, intended to modernize Oklahoma’s Unclaimed Property Act and increase return rates, was reported passed by the committee 7‑1 after an Office of State Treasurer advisor raised implementation concerns on the record and the sponsor agreed to continued work with the treasurer’s office.
The Gengov Committee voted 7‑1 to report Senate Bill 999, a measure to update Oklahoma’s Uniform Unclaimed Property Act. The sponsor said the rewrite clarifies definitions, modernizes communications, and aims to increase returns to the public.
Representative Archer, the bill’s presenter, said the statutes have not been updated since 1999 and described provisions that would provide more detailed amounts and descriptions on listings and permit the state treasurer’s office to respond electronically to claimants rather than requiring written communications. He cited another state’s reform that increased returned unclaimed property from roughly 35% to about 60% after similar changes.
Andy Ferguson, chief policy advisor for the Office of State Treasurer, told the committee the treasurer’s office had concerns about the bill "as this bill currently exists" and that there were "a few unworkable scenarios." Ferguson said the office has been in conversations with bill movers but did not yet support the bill as drafted.
The sponsor told the committee he is willing to continue working with the treasurer’s office to address those issues, though at one point he said he found it "extremely frustrating" that the treasurer’s staff had not met with him earlier in the process. Other members urged agencies to meet with bill authors earlier. The committee ultimately moved the bill forward with a 7‑1 vote; the transcript records that members planned to keep working to resolve outstanding technical concerns before later stages.
