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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