PRINTER'S NO. 467
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No.484
Session of
2025
INTRODUCED BY BIZZARRO, GUENST, PROBST, SANCHEZ, MALAGARI,
KENYATTA, DONAHUE, SCHLOSSBERG, DALEY, GREEN AND CEPEDA-
FREYTIZ, FEBRUARY 4, 2025
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS, FEBRUARY 4, 2025
AN ACT
Amending the act of April 9, 1929 (P.L.343, No.176), entitled
"An act relating to the finances of the State government;
providing for cancer control, prevention and research, for
ambulatory surgical center data collection , for the Joint
Underwriting Association, for entertainment business
financial management firms, for private dam financial
assurance and for reinstatement of item vetoes; providing for
the settlement, assessment, collection, and lien of taxes,
bonus, and all other accounts due the Commonwealth, the
collection and recovery of fees and other money or property
due or belonging to the Commonwealth, or any agency thereof,
including escheated property and the proceeds of its sale,
the custody and disbursement or other disposition of funds
and securities belonging to or in the possession of the
Commonwealth, and the settlement of claims against the
Commonwealth, the resettlement of accounts and appeals to the
courts, refunds of moneys erroneously paid to the
Commonwealth, auditing the accounts of the Commonwealth and
all agencies thereof, of all public officers collecting
moneys payable to the Commonwealth, or any agency thereof,
and all receipts of appropriations from the Commonwealth,
authorizing the Commonwealth to issue tax anticipation notes
to defray current expenses, implementing the provisions of
section 7(a) of Article VIII of the Constitution of
Pennsylvania authorizing and restricting the incurring of
certain debt and imposing penalties; affecting every
department, board, commission, and officer of the State
government, every political subdivision of the State, and
certain officers of such subdivisions, every person,
association, and corporation required to pay, assess, or
collect taxes, or to make returns or reports under the laws
imposing taxes for State purposes, or to pay license fees or
other moneys to the Commonwealth, or any agency thereof,
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33 every State depository and every debtor or creditor of the
Commonwealth," in disposition of abandoned and unclaimed
property, further providing for certificate of finder
registration, for notice and publication of lists of property
subject to custody and control of the Commonwealth under this
article, for income accruing after payment or delivery, for
deposit of funds, for determination of claims, for penalties
and for interdepartmental cooperation and providing for
annual report.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Section 1301.11a(a)1 and (b)3(iii) of the act of
April 9, 1929 (P.L.343, No.176), known as The Fiscal Code, are
amended and subsection (b) is amended by adding a clause to
read:
Section 1301.11a. Certificate of Finder Registration.--(a)
Except for a person who is admitted to practice law before a
court of a Federal or State jurisdiction or subject to section
1301.11(i), a person may not on behalf of another:
1. engage in an activity , including advertising, soliciting
or offering to provide services, for the purpose of locating,
delivering, recovering or assisting in the recovery of abandoned
or unclaimed property; and
* * *
(b) An application for a certificate of registration shall
be in writing and on the form prescribed by the State Treasurer
and accompanied by a recent full face color photograph of the
applicant. In addition to information that may be requested by
the State Treasurer, the application shall provide the
following:
* * *
3. A statement that, to the applicant's knowledge, the
applicant is not the subject of an ongoing investigation or
prosecution involving an alleged violation of a provision of
20250HB0484PN0467 - 2 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34 this article or an offense of:
* * *
(iii) perjury, false swearing, fraud or other offense as
enumerated in 18 Pa.C.S. Ch. 49 Subch. A or its equivalent if
committed in another jurisdiction; [ and]
3.1. A statement that the applicant agrees to limit the
applicant's fee, compensation, commission or other remuneration
for the purpose of locating, delivering, recovering or assisting
in the recovery of abandoned or unclaimed property to no more
than fifteen per centum of the amount recovered; and
* * *
Section 2. Section 1301.12(b)3 of the act is amended,
subsection (b) is amended by adding a clause and the section is
amended by adding a subsection to read:
Section 1301.12. Notice and Publication of Lists of Property
Subject to Custody and Control of the Commonwealth under this
Article.--* * *
(b) The published notice shall be entitled "Notice of Names
of Persons Appearing to be Owners of Abandoned and Unclaimed
Property," and shall contain:
* * *
3. A statement that a proof of claim should be presented by
the owner to the holder within three (3) months from the date of
the published notice, and that thereafter claims should be filed
with the State Treasurer[ .];
4. Information on how to access the Internet website of the
Treasury Department to search for any other unclaimed property
and information on the electronic transfer of money for the
payment of a claim allowed by the State Treasurer.
* * *
20250HB0484PN0467 - 3 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30 (g) The State Treasurer shall maintain on the Internet
website of the Treasury Department the following information on
an ongoing basis:
1. A description of each unclaimed property held by the
Commonwealth.
2. A searchable database, including identifying information
kept by the State Treasurer, to assist an owner in identifying
the owner's unclaimed property.
3. Each report required under section 1301.28c.
4. Allow for electronic submission for documentation deemed
appropriate by the State Treasurer.
5. Authorize direct deposit of money by electronic transfer
for the payment of a claim allowed by the State Treasurer.
6. A list of each person with a certificate of registration
under section 1301.11a, the date that each certificate of
registration expires and notice when each certificate of
registration has been revoked or renewal has been refused by the
State Treasurer under section 1301.11b.
Section 3. Section 1301.15 of the act is amended to read:
Section 1301.15. Income Accruing After Payment or
Delivery.--[When] Except as provided under section 1301.18(c),
when property is paid or delivered to the State Treasurer under
this article, the owner is entitled to receive income or other
increments actually received by the State Treasurer.
Section 4. Section 1301.18(a) of the act is amended and the
section is amended by adding a subsection to read:
Section 1301.18. Deposit of Funds.--(a) Except as provided
in subsection (a.1), all funds received under this article,
including the proceeds from the sale of property under section
1301.17, shall forthwith be deposited by the State Treasurer in
20250HB0484PN0467 - 4 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30 the General Fund of the Commonwealth except that the State
Treasurer shall retain in a separate trust fund an amount not
exceeding twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) plus [ twenty]
twenty-five per centum of deposits and sums paid to the State
Treasurer under subsection (c) of section 1301.13 during the
preceding twelve (12) months from which the State Treasurer
shall make reimbursements under section 1301.14 and prompt
payment of claims duly allowed under section 1301.19. Before
making the deposit, the State Treasurer shall record the name
and last known address of each person appearing from the
holders' reports to be entitled to the property and of the name
and last known address of each insured person or annuitant, and
with respect to each policy or contract listed in the report of
an insurer, its number, the name of the insurer and the amount
due. The record with respect to any specific claim shall be
available to the claimant at all regular business hours.
* * *
(c) The State Treasurer shall use five per centum of
deposits and sums paid to the State Treasurer under subsection
(c) of section 1301.13 during the preceding twelve (12) months
to implement an education and outreach campaign to inform the
public of the unclaimed property process, including through the
use of direct mailings, advertisements and educational
materials. The State Treasurer shall design educational
materials suitable for the direct mailings, including
information on finding and claiming unclaimed property. In
implementing this subsection, the State Treasurer shall have the
authority to enter a memorandum of understanding with each State
agency that contacts the public for the purpose of including the
educational materials in other types of direct mailings,
20250HB0484PN0467 - 5 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30 including State tax forms and annual professional licensure
renewals, and to prominently display a link to find and claim
unclaimed property on the publicly accessible Internet websites
of each State agency.
Section 5. Section 1301.20 of the act is amended by adding
subsections to read:
Section 1301.20. Determination of Claims.--* * *
(c) The State Treasurer shall waive a requirement of a claim
filed under this article and automatically return unclaimed
property held by the State Treasurer if all of the following
apply:
1. The person receiving the property is the sole owner of
the property.
2. The property is valued at ten thousand dollars ($10,000)
or less.
3. There is evidence sufficient to establish to the
reasonable satisfaction of the State Treasurer that the person
is the owner of the property.
4. Identifying information has been verified during the
preceding year in accordance with section 1301.28a.
(d) If the State Treasurer has identified a person who would
otherwise qualify for automatic reimbursement under subsection
(c), but the claim exceeds ten thousand dollars ($10,000), the
Treasury Department shall notify the person through the use of
the verified identifying information under section 1301.11 and
provide information on how to file a claim under this article.
Section 6. Section 1301.25(d) of the act is amended to read:
Section 1301.25. Penalties.--* * *
(d) A person who is found to have violated section 1301.11
or 1301.11a, in addition to other sanctions under this article,
20250HB0484PN0467 - 6 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30 shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of the third degree and shall,
upon conviction, be sentenced to pay a fine not to exceed [ one
thousand dollars ($1,000) ] ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for
the first offense. A person who is found guilty of a
[subsequent] second offense shall be subject to a fine not to
exceed [five thousand dollars ($5,000). ] fifteen thousand
dollars ($15,000). A person who is found guilty of a third or
subsequent offense shall be guilty of a felony of the third
degree and subject to a fine not to exceed one hundred thousand
dollars ($100,000).
Section 7. Section 1301.28a(c) of the act is amended and the
section is amended by adding a subsection to read:
Section 1301.28a. Interdepartmental Cooperation.--* * *
(b.1) For the purpose of implementing this article, and in
accordance with Federal law, the Treasury Department shall
establish a data sharing program to locate or verify identifying
information of individuals listed in the Treasury Department's
records as owners of unclaimed property at least annually with
the collaboration of the following agencies:
(1) The Department of Revenue.
(2) The Department of State.
(3) The Department of Transportation.
(4) The Department of Labor and Industry.
(5) The Office of Income Maintenance in the Department of
Human Services.
(c) Upon receipt of the information referred to in
subsections (a) [and], (b) and (b.1), the Treasury Department
shall keep the information confidential and shall use it solely
to assist in the process of returning unclaimed property to its
rightful owner.
20250HB0484PN0467 - 7 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30 Section 8. The act is amended by adding a section to read:
Section 1301.28c. Annual Report.--The State Treasurer shall
prepare an annual report on the status of unclaimed property in
this Commonwealth, including the amount of unclaimed property
remitted to the Commonwealth by county, the amount of unclaimed
property returned to the owner by county, the current balance of
unclaimed property held by the Commonwealth by county and the
actions taken by the State Treasurer under section 1301.18(c) to
increase awareness of unclaimed property and the cost incurred
for the actions. The State Treasurer shall submit the report no
later than July 30 of each year to the chair and minority chair
of the Appropriations Committee of the Senate and chair and
minority chair of the Appropriations Committee of the House of
Representatives.
Section 9. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
20250HB0484PN0467 - 8 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15