Bill Text: WV HB2777 | 2018 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requiring all unclaimed oil and gas royalties due a leaseholder of the mineral estate shall be transferred and paid to the legal surface owner
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-01-10 - To House Energy [HB2777 Detail]
Download: West_Virginia-2018-HB2777-Introduced.html
WEST virginia Legislature
2017 regular session
By
[
to the Committee on Energy then the Judiciary.
A BILL to amend and
reenact §36-8-13 of the Code of West
Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to requiring all unclaimed oil and gas
royalties due a leaseholder of the mineral estate shall be transferred and paid
to the legal surface owner or owners.
Be it enacted by the
Legislature of West Virginia:
That §36-8-13 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 8. UNIFORM
UNCLAIMED PROPERTY ACT.
§36-8-13. Deposit of
funds.
(a) The administrator shall
record the name and last known address of each person appearing from the
holders reports to be entitled to the property and the name and last known
address of each insured person or annuitant and beneficiary and with respect to
each policy or annuity listed in the report of an insurance company, its
number, the name of the company and the amount due.
(b) The Unclaimed Property
Fund is continued. The administrator shall deposit all funds received pursuant
to this article in the Unclaimed Property Fund, including the proceeds from the
sale of abandoned property under section twelve of this article. In addition to
paying claims of unclaimed property duly allowed, the administrator may deduct
the following expenses from the Unclaimed Property Fund:
(1) Expenses of the sale of
abandoned property;
(2) Expenses incurred in
returning the property to owners, including without limitation the costs of
mailing and publication to locate owners;
(3) Reasonable service
charge; and
(4) Expenses incurred in
examining records of holders of property and in collecting the property from
those holders.
(c) The Unclaimed Property
Trust Fund is continued within the State Treasury. The administrator may invest
the Unclaimed Property Trust Fund with the West Virginia Board of Treasury
Investments and all earnings shall accrue to the fund and are available for
expenditure in accordance with this article. After deducting the expenses
specified in subsection (b) of this section and maintaining a sum of money from
which to pay claims duly allowed, the administrator shall transfer the
remaining moneys in the Unclaimed Property Fund to the Unclaimed Property Trust
Fund.
(d) (1) On July 1, 2009,
the unclaimed property administrator shall transfer the amount of $8 million
from the Unclaimed Property Trust Fund to the Prepaid Tuition Trust Escrow
Fund.
(2) On or before December
15 of each year, notwithstanding any provision of this code to the contrary,
the administrator shall transfer the sum of $1 million from the Unclaimed
Property Trust Fund to the Prepaid Tuition Trust Escrow Fund, until the actuary
certifies there are sufficient funds to pay out all contracts.
(e) On or before June 1,
2007, the unclaimed property administrator shall transfer the amount of $2
million from the Unclaimed Property Trust Fund to the Deferred Compensation
Matching Fund for operation of the deferred compensation matching program for
state employees. On or before June 1, 2008, the unclaimed property
administrator shall transfer the amount of $1 million from the Unclaimed
Property Trust Fund to the Deferred Compensation Matching Fund for operation of
the matching program.
(f) On or before June 1,
2013, the unclaimed property administrator shall transfer the amount of
$3,631,846.55 from the Unclaimed Property Trust Fund to the Municipal Pensions
and Protection Fund for the purpose of satisfying any amounts due as of April
27, 2012 to policemen's and firemen's pension and relief funds in accordance
with section fourteen-d, article three, chapter thirty-three of this Code.
(g) After transferring any
money required by subsections (d) through (f) of this section, the
administrator shall transfer moneys remaining in the Unclaimed Property Trust
Fund to the General Revenue Fund
(h) Notwithstanding any
provision of this code to the contrary, all unclaimed oil and gas royalties due
a leaseholder of the mineral estate shall be transferred and paid to the legal
surface owner or owners.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require all
unclaimed oil and gas royalties due a leaseholder of the mineral estate shall
be transferred and paid to the legal surface owner or owners.
Strike-throughs indicate language
that would be stricken from a heading or the present law, and underscoring
indicates new language that would be added.