March 3, 2017

Rep. Mike McKell Rep. V. Lowry Snow Rep. Kim Coleman Rep. Bruce Cutler Rep. Brian Greene Rep. Ken Ivory Rep. Rep. Rep. Dixon Pitcher Rep. Rep. Tim Quinn Rep. cc: Sen. Lyle Hillyard cc: Unclaimed Property Administrator Dennis Johnston

RE: The Unclaimed Property Professionals Organization’s comments regarding S.B. 175

Dear House Judiciary Committee members,

The Unclaimed Property Professionals Organization (UPPO) is the national trade association of unclaimed property holders and service providers. We represent over 400 unclaimed property holders and service providers and 1,300 unclaimed property professionals of diverse industries and employer size. UPPO advocates for fairness in unclaimed property laws and regulations, and respectfully submits our concerns with Utah S.B. 175’s deviation from the Revised Uniform Unclaimed Property Act (RUUPA), in a number of areas, which we have outlined below. We strongly recommend that Utah revert back to the RUUPA language in the below sections, to ensure the protections for all stakeholders instituted in the RUUPA are preserved.

Utah S.B. 175’s deviations from the RUUPA

• Section 67-4a-202(3)(a) (When tax-deferred retirement account presumed abandoned): This section differs from the RUUPA in that it requires holders that do not send communications to the apparent owner of an account on an annual basis via first class mail to send an electronic mail communication no later than two years after the apparent owner’s last indication of interest in the property.

• Section 67-4a-208(e) (Indication of apparent owner interest in property): Subsection (e) deviates from the RUUPA, as it explicitly excludes automatic deposits, withdrawals and reinvestments of dividends and interest as an indication of interest. • Section 67-4a-610 (Periods of limitation and repose): This section differs from the RUUPA by stating that the administrator may not bring an action or proceeding more than 10 years after the filing of a non-fraudulent report rather than the five years stated in the RUUPA. In addition, S.B. 175 allows the state to restrict the application of the limitations period to property specifically identified in a filed report, which the RUUPA consciously does not include (see Drafting Committee’s comment, RUUPA pg. 68). • Section 67-4a-1003 (Rules for conducting examination): S.B. 175 does not track RUUPA’s requirement that the administrator shall adopt rules addressing the use of estimation, extrapolation, and statistical sampling in an examination, and that the adopted examination rules must follow generally accepted examination practices and standards applicable to an unclaimed property examination. • Section 67-4a-1006 (Failure of person examined to retain records): Subsection 2 is unique to S.B. 175 and not included in the RUUPA. It specifies that a payment made based on estimation is considered a penalty which does not relieve a holder from its obligation to report and deliver property to its state of domicile. • Section 67-4a-1008 (Informal conference): Unlike RUUPA, S.B. 175 grants the administrator the authority to deny a holder’s request for an informal conference if the administrator believes the request is being made in bad faith or primarily to delay the examination, without giving the holder an opportunity to be heard. • Section 67-4a-1103 (Administrative review): Section 1101(2)(d) states “the request tolls the 90- day period under Sections 67-4a-1103 and 67-4a-1104,” but in Section 67-4a-1003 it references a 30-day period instead of a 90-day period. Section 67-4a-1003 needs to be corrected to be consistent with the RUUPA and Section 1101(2)(d).

In addition to the issues listed above, UPPO does not agree with the RUUPA’s approach to the escheatment of foreign-owned property, and provisions that would require the escheatment of property that is not actually owed to the supposed “owner” of the property. UPPO strongly recommends Utah consider reverting back to the exact RUUPA language in the provisions listed above.

Thank you for your consideration of our concerns, and we invite dialogue and questions regarding the content of this letter.

Sincerely,

Toni Nuernberg Executive Director, Unclaimed Property Professionals Organization 763-253-4344 I [email protected]