Treasury seeks new authority for real and digital unclaimed property in SB 146A

Salem — Oregon State Treasury officials told the House Committee on Revenue Wednesday that Senate Bill 146A would modernize the state’s unclaimed property and issued-estates statutes to address real estate and digital assets that come into state custody.

Jessica Howell, director of government affairs for Oregon State Treasury, said the trust property program transferred to Treasury in 2021 and that the agency has seen rapid growth: ‘‘The program has brought in a total of $441,000,000 in unclaimed property since its moved to treasury. Last year alone we received more than $210,000,000.’’ Howell also said Treasury has returned $186,000,000 to owners since taking over the program and doubled annual claims from about $30,000,000 to $60,000,000.

Claudia Chobano, identified as Trust Property Director at Oregon State Treasury, said the bill addresses a statutory gap the agency discovered after receiving noncash assets, including real estate, as part of issued estates. ‘‘The issued statutes do not specifically address the treasurer’s ability to sell tangible or other real property,’’ she said, and SB 146A would clarify notice requirements, methods for delivering escheated real property to the treasurer, and the treasury’s ability to liquidate property that was not previously sold.

On the unclaimed-property side, Chobano said the bill updates definitions to ensure assets due to Oregon are reported and to narrow owner-contact definitions so only truly unclaimed assets are remitted. The bill would also define and create custody rules for digital assets. ‘‘We are gonna treat them the way we treat securities and follow the same process to take them into custody, keep them for a while, look for owners, and only sell them after a certain period of time and when it makes sense to maximize the value, for those owners,’’ Chobano said.

Chobano also explained a reporting change: the bill would remove the reporting aggregation option for items valued under $50, a practice that had helped businesses when recordkeeping was paper-based. Removing aggregation would require underlying data — names, last known addresses, and amounts — that Treasury says is necessary to reunite owners with property.

Committee members and one lawmaker praised the agency’s work. Representative [name not specified in transcript] noted proactive returns and encouraged colleagues to work with Treasury to locate constituents’ unclaimed funds. The committee closed the public hearing on SB 146A after the scheduled witnesses testified; no committee vote or amendment was recorded at that time.

Background: Treasury staff said the trust property program moved from the Department of State Lands in 2021 and that the bill is intended to align statute with current practice, national trends, and digital-asset developments.