Finance Committee raises unclaimed-property automatic return threshold to $10,000

The House Finance Committee unanimously reported House Bill 1189 after a short discussion about expanding the Treasury—s automatic-return pilot for unclaimed property.

House Bill 1189 would raise the threshold for the Pennsylvania Treasury to automatically return unclaimed property from $500 to $10,000, Mark Forman, the committee—s senior executive director, told the committee: "House bill 11 89 would raise the threshold for the PA Treasury to automatically return unclaimed property from $500 to 10,000." The committee chair called for a vote after discussion and the bill passed without dissent.

Why it matters: Committee members said the change would let the Treasury handle more small claims directly and return funds to current Pennsylvania residents more quickly. Forman told the committee Treasury has been piloting automatic returns for amounts between about $100 and $500 and expects to work through roughly 68,000 current claims in that band by year end. He said raising the threshold to $10,000 would add roughly 12,000 additional claims that could be eligible for automatic return.

Details from the hearing: Members discussed safeguards the Treasury uses to verify claimants are current Pennsylvania residents and limits on the pilot—s scope: automatic returns do not apply to property held jointly (for married couples), property with multiple owners, or claims requiring additional documentation. Forman said Treasury receives about $500 million in unclaimed property annually and that the pilot initially focuses on 2024 claims but could be expanded to prior years if the higher threshold is adopted.

Outcome and next steps: Committee members voted to advance House Bill 1189; the committee chair reported it out of committee unanimously. The committee did not take further amendments or set additional conditions during the session.