Bill Text: TX SB1535 | 2011-2012 | 82nd Legislature | Comm Sub


Bill Title: Relating to unclaimed property.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2011-04-13 - Not again placed on intent calendar [SB1535 Detail]

Download: Texas-2011-SB1535-Comm_Sub.html
 
 
  By: Watson  S.B. No. 1535
         (In the Senate - Filed March 10, 2011; March 22, 2011, read
  first time and referred to Committee on Finance; April 11, 2011,
  reported favorably by the following vote:  Yeas 11, Nays 2;
  April 11, 2011, sent to printer.)
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
 
  relating to unclaimed property.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Subchapter B, Chapter 72, Property Code, is
  amended by adding Section 72.1025 to read as follows:
         Sec. 72.1025.  CLASS ACTION PROCEEDS. (a)  In this section:
               (1)  "Class action proceeds" means a negotiable
  instrument, including a check, or other intangible property issued
  or made payable to a person who is a member of the class or a
  participant in the class action to satisfy, wholly or partly, a
  judgment in a class action or a class action settlement agreement.
               (2)  "Holder" means a court, a settlement
  administrator, or any other person in possession of class action
  proceeds at the time the proceeds are presumed abandoned.
         (b)  Class action proceeds are presumed abandoned if the
  proceeds are unclaimed on or before the 90th day after the date the
  proceeds were made payable and available to the members of the
  class, unless a different abandonment period is established by the
  court or the settlement agreement.
         (c)  Notwithstanding Sections 74.101(a) and 74.301(a), a
  holder shall deliver class action proceeds, accompanied by a
  property report under Section 74.101, to the comptroller not later
  than the 60th day after the date the proceeds are presumed
  abandoned.
         (d)  Sections 74.1011 and 74.103 do not apply to a holder
  under this section.
         (e)  To the extent this section conflicts with any other law,
  this section controls.
         SECTION 2.  Section 74.501, Property Code, is amended by
  amending Subsections (d) and (e) and adding Subsections (d-1) and
  (e-1) to read as follows:
         (d)  On receipt of a claim form and all necessary
  documentation and as may be appropriate under the circumstances,
  the comptroller may approve the claim of:
               (1)  the reported owner of the property;
               (2)  if the reported owner died testate:
                     (A)  the appropriate legal beneficiaries of the
  owner as provided by the last will and testament of the owner that
  has been accepted into probate or filed as a muniment of title; or
                     (B)  the executor of the owner's last will and
  testament who holds current letters testamentary;
               (3)  if the reported owner died intestate:
                     (A)  the legal heirs of the owner as provided by
  Section 38, Texas Probate Code; or
                     (B)  the court-appointed administrator of the
  owner's estate;
               (4)  the legal heirs of the reported owner as
  established by an affidavit of heirship order signed by a judge of
  the county probate court or by a county judge;
               (5)  if the reported owner is a minor child or an adult
  who has been adjudged incompetent by a court of law, the parent or
  legal guardian of the child or adult;
               (6)  if the reported owner is an active [a]
  corporation:
                     (A)  the president of the corporation or chair or
  officer of the board of directors of the corporation, on behalf of
  the corporation; [or]
                     (B)  any person who is legally authorized by the
  corporation, through the corporation's bylaws or a resolution of
  the corporation's board of directors, [has legal authority] to act
  on behalf of the corporation; or
                     (C)  the corporation's bankruptcy trustee or
  other person under current appointment by the bankruptcy court to
  manage the corporation's bankruptcy estate, if the corporation is
  or has been a debtor in bankruptcy;
               (7)  if the reported owner is a domestic entity, as
  defined by Section 1.002, Business Organizations Code,
  [corporation] that has been dissolved, terminated as provided by
  Section 11.251 of that code, or liquidated or is a foreign entity,
  as defined by Section 1.002 of that code, whose registration to
  transact business in this state has been revoked:
                     (A)  the sole surviving shareholder or owner of
  the entity [corporation], if there is only one surviving
  shareholder or owner;
                     (B)  the surviving shareholders or owners of the
  entity [corporation] in proportion to their ownership of the entity
  [corporation], if there is more than one surviving shareholder or
  owner;
                     (C)  the entity's [corporation's] bankruptcy
  trustee or other person under current appointment by the bankruptcy
  court to manage the entity's bankruptcy estate; [or]
                     (D)  a receiver appointed for a domestic entity by
  a court under Section 11.404 or 11.405, Business Organizations
  Code, or other law, except a receiver described by Subsection (e)
  [the court-ordered receiver for the corporation]; or
                     (E)  a receiver appointed for a foreign entity by
  a court under Section 11.410, Business Organizations Code, or other
  law, except a receiver described by Subsection (e); or
               (8)  any other person authorized [that is entitled] to
  receive the unclaimed property under rules adopted by the
  comptroller [other law or comptroller policy].
         (d-1)  In Subsection (d)(6), "active corporation" means:
               (1)  a domestic corporation that is not a terminated
  entity, as defined by Section 11.001, Business Organizations Code,
  and has not been terminated under the corporation's governing
  documents; or
               (2)  a foreign entity, as defined by Section 1.002,
  Business Organizations Code, that is registered or otherwise
  authorized to transact business in this state under Chapter 9,
  Business Organizations Code.
         (e)  Notwithstanding Subsection (d), except [Except] as
  provided by Subsection (f), the comptroller may not pay to the
  following persons a claim to which this section applies:
               (1)  a creditor, a judgment creditor, a lienholder, or
  an assignee of the reported owner or of the owner's heirs; [or]
               (2)  a person holding a power of attorney from the
  reported owner or the owner's heirs; or
               (3)  a receiver, agent, assignee, representative, or
  other person acting on behalf of a person described by Subdivision
  (1).
         (e-1)  The comptroller may challenge the validity of a
  receivership order in the court that issued the order or in a
  district court in Travis County.
         SECTION 3.  (a)  Section 72.1025, Property Code, as added by
  this Act, applies only to proceeds from a class action commenced on
  or after the effective date of this Act.  Proceeds from a class
  action commenced before the effective date of this Act are governed
  by the law in effect immediately before the effective date of this
  Act, and that law is continued in effect for that purpose.
         (b)  Section 74.501, Property Code, as amended by this Act,
  applies only to a claim for unclaimed property filed on or after the
  effective date of this Act.  A claim filed before the effective date
  of this Act is governed by the law in effect immediately before the
  effective date of this Act, and that law is continued in effect for
  that purpose.
         SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
  a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
  provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this
  Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
  Act takes effect September 1, 2011.
 
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