Bipartisan bill gains co-authors in House and a Senate companion
SAINT PAUL – A bill by State Representative Regina Barr, R-Inver Grove Heights, will create a new requirement for aiding in the return of abandoned property from Minnesota’s Unclaimed Property account to its proper owner. The bill was heard in the Commerce and Regulatory Reform Committee and the Job Growth and Energy Affordability Policy and Finance Committee and has been held over for possible inclusion in a larger bill.
“After legislation similar to this was introduced in a previous session, Minnesota saw a record amount of claims and dollar amount returned in 2016,” said Rep. Barr. “This shows that people can be reached and, with just a little effort, we can reunite Minnesotans with their property.”
The bill, House File 587, has bipartisan support and will put an onus on the Department of Commerce to contract with a third party vendor for the return of unclaimed property. The vendor can be compensated up to seven percent of the value of the abandoned property, not deducted from the abandoned property but funded by an appropriation to the Department of Commerce.
Starting July 1, 2017, there will be a report to each member of the legislature a list of those people who own abandoned property whose last known address is in the legislator’s district.
“As legislators, we are part of our local communities and have an interest in making sure our friends and neighbors reclaim their property,” said Rep. Barr. "I consider constituent services to be a key part of my job as a State Representative and returning this unclaimed property to them will be another facet of that job. Since introducing this bill and publicizing the existence of this unclaimed property fund, I have had numerous constituents relay stories of reclaiming property."
A companion bill, Senate File 1304, has been introduced in the Senate. It is chief authored by Sen. Warren Limmer, R-Maple Grove, and co-authored by Republican Senators Paul Anderson of Plymouth and Jerry Relph of Saint Cloud as well as Sen. Dan Sparks, DFL-Austin.
Minnesota’s Unclaimed Property fund had a current balance of $695.4 million as of January 2017.
Minnesotans can check the website: MissingMoney.com to see if they are due any unclaimed property.
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