An Act Concerning The Presumption Of Abandonment Of Certain Property Held Or Owing By A Banking Organization.
Summary
SB 215 revises Connecticut’s abandoned property rules for certain assets held by banks and other financial organizations. The bill updates the circumstances under which deposits, matured time deposits, investment funds, certified checks, money orders, traveler’s checks, and safe deposit box contents are presumed abandoned, generally keeping the three-year dormancy period for most financial property and the five-year period for safe deposit box property. It also clarifies what counts as owner activity showing continued interest in the property, including account changes, written correspondence, memoranda on file, non-return of IRS Form 1099 mailings, and, for loans, making a payment to the institution.
Impact
The bill amends CGS § 3-57a(a), the state’s unclaimed property statute for banking and financial organizations, and takes effect October 1, 2026. Its practical effect is to refine when property is transferred to the state as abandoned and to broaden the evidentiary ways an owner can avoid abandonment treatment. Banks and financial institutions will need to apply the updated abandonment triggers and recordkeeping standards, while owners of dormant accounts and other financial property may have additional ways to demonstrate ongoing interest and prevent escheatment.
Sentiment
The available voting history suggests strong support for the bill: the Joint Favorable Substitute received a unanimous 12-0 vote in committee. No committee transcript is available, but the absence of recorded opposition and the unanimous vote indicate the measure was generally viewed favorably as a technical update to existing unclaimed property law.
Contention
No specific points of contention are documented in the provided materials. Based on the text, any debate would likely center on the balance between protecting owners’ property rights and allowing banks to identify truly abandoned accounts, as well as whether the bill’s expanded indicators of owner interest—such as IRS Form 1099 non-return and loan payments—are sufficiently clear and administrable for financial institutions.
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