Committee advances two bills to change unclaimed‑property handling and register private locators
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Summary
Two companion bills to shift Arizona’s unclaimed property program to the State Treasurer and to register private property locators passed the Senate Ways and Means Committee 4–3 after debate over workload and consumer protections.
The Arizona Senate Ways and Means Committee on March 7 advanced two companion bills aimed at reuniting Arizonans with unclaimed property and regulating private locators.
House Bill 2516 would transfer administration of the unclaimed property program from the Arizona Department of Revenue (ADOR) to the State Treasurer, establish a treasurer administrative fund for program receipts and direct an annual deposit amount into that fund. Representative Justin Olson, the bill sponsor, said the move would align Arizona with the majority of other states that house unclaimed property with the treasurer and could make it easier for owners to find property.
"When this idea was brought to me, I reached out to our state treasurer ... we were one of just a few states that does not house the unclaimed property with the state treasurer," Olson said, adding the transfer is meant to improve reuniting owners with their property.
House Bill 2517 would regulate property locators: it requires locators to register with ADOR, creates a locator registration fund funded by fees, and makes more nonconfidential unclaimed‑property information available in a public database. The committee adopted a six‑page amendment in Senator Hoffman’s name that retained the existing statutory definition of confidential information, made unlawful disclosure a felony, capped the fee a locator can charge at 20% of the unclaimed property value, required that locators disclose that the fee is negotiable and capped at 20% in initial communications, and capped initial and renewal registration fees at $100.
Molly Murphy of ADOR testified the department was neutral on HB 2517 but warned the locator provisions could nearly double ADOR’s workload and estimated an administrative cost around $500,000 a year if locator‑driven activity increases returns. Michael Zwick, a private locator, said locators perform specialized and often resource‑intensive work — probate research, estate identification and advancing legal fees in some cases — that state offices are not equipped to handle efficiently.
Sponsors said the package is meant to boost the percentage of unclaimed property returned to owners; Olson noted that Arizona’s return rate is low relative to some other states and that the reforms in the companion bill should increase reunifications.
Both bills passed the committee by 4–3 votes and will proceed for further legislative consideration.
