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Committee sends consumer-protection bill on excess proceeds to the Assembly floor after debate over fee cap
Summary
AB 27 05 would require written agreements, prohibit upfront fees, and cap third-party asset-finder fees at 10% when helping claim excess proceeds from tax-defaulted property sales. County treasurers supported the consumer-protection framework; private recovery firms argued a fixed cap would prevent complex claims from being handled. The committee voted to send the bill to the Assembly floor.
AB 27 05, presented as a consumer-protection bill, would create uniform requirements for third parties that locate or assist claimants in recovering excess proceeds from tax-defaulted property sales: a written agreement, a prohibition on collecting fees before claim approval, and a 10% maximum fee.
Sarah Decatur (speaker 16) and Chad Rindy (speaker 38), speaking for county treasurers and tax collectors, said the bill mirrors the state's unclaimed-property framework and protects consumers from aggressive solicitations and excessive contingency fees that can reach 30–50%.
Opponents from recovery firms said many excess-proceeds claims involve complicated title work, probate and skip-tracing and that a blanket 10% cap would make legitimate claims economically infeasible. One opponent argued more than half of successful claimants would not have known about the funds without third‑party assistance.
The committee voted to advance the bill to the Assembly floor (due passed to the floor). The transcript records the motion and the secretary called the roll; the committee announced the motion was due passed to the floor and recorded the result in committee proceedings.
