Committee advances bill to streamline return of unclaimed property, add emails and small‑estate claim process
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Summary
SB155, advanced with a favorable recommendation, adds email addresses to Tax Commission data for outreach, clarifies small‑estate claim procedures for heirs, and updates RUPA references to align with IRS required minimum distribution ages.
The House Revenue and Taxation Standing Committee voted to favorably recommend Senate Bill 155, a measure to make it easier for the state to return unclaimed property (mostly money) to rightful owners. Senator Weiler presented the bill as a technical but important update to improve owner outreach and claims processing.
Mister Oakes, speaking for the Treasurer's office, explained three main components: adding email addresses to data received from the Tax Commission to facilitate electronic outreach and payments; allowing the unclaimed-property division to distribute money to one or more heirs under a small-estate affidavit while requiring those claimants to sign an acknowledgement and indemnify the state; and updating references to the Revised Uniform Unclaimed Property Act (RUPA) so state law follows changes to the IRS required minimum distribution age rather than fixing a single age in statute.
Committee members asked procedural questions, including whether required minimum distributions must be taken each year for decedents; the Treasurer's office replied they do not believe so. No public testimony was recorded. Representative Provo moved to pass the second substitute with a favorable recommendation; the committee approved by voice vote and later placed the bill on the consent calendar. Treasurer's staff encouraged members to share mycash.utah.gov as a resource for constituents searching for unclaimed funds.
