Maryland Uniform Disposition of Abandoned Property Act – Revisions
Summary
SB665 revises Maryland’s Uniform Disposition of Abandoned Property Act, which governs when certain property is presumed abandoned and turned over to the State Comptroller as unclaimed property. The bill expands the law to expressly cover virtual currency, adds definitions and rules for identifying an “apparent owner,” and updates how holders determine whether an owner still has an interest in property. It also modifies abandonment rules for several categories of property, including bank and financial accounts, insurance proceeds, pension and retirement accounts, and money orders.
A major portion of the bill modernizes notice and claim procedures. It allows holders to use email and registered mail in certain circumstances, changes when an address is considered invalid, lowers the threshold for publishing notice of small-value property from $100 to $50, and revises the process for filing, amending, denying, and appealing claims to recover abandoned property. The bill also authorizes the Comptroller to retain up to $5 million annually for information technology and cybersecurity costs related to unclaimed property administration, and it creates a mechanism for applying certain unclaimed property to outstanding state and local debts, including taxes, before payment to the owner.
Impact
The bill amends multiple sections of the Commercial Law Article to update Maryland’s unclaimed property framework. It adds new statutory definitions, creates new sections for virtual currency and retirement-account abandonment, revises insurance-related abandonment rules, and changes the Comptroller’s administrative authority over notice, claims, and fund retention. It also gives the Comptroller authority to offset certain unclaimed property payments against enforceable debts owed to the State or local governments, including tax debts, under specified conditions.
Sentiment
The available voting history shows strong bipartisan support and no recorded opposition: the bill passed third reading in both chambers with unanimous or near-unanimous votes. No committee transcripts were provided, but the final legislative outcome suggests the bill was viewed as a technical and administrative modernization measure rather than a controversial policy change. The broad support is consistent with the bill’s focus on updating procedures, clarifying definitions, and improving administration of unclaimed property.
Contention
No major contention is reflected in the provided materials. The most notable policy choices are the inclusion of virtual currency as abandoned property, the new rules for pension and retirement accounts, and the Comptroller’s ability to apply unclaimed property toward state or local debts before paying owners. Those provisions could affect holders, owners, and debtors differently, but the recorded votes indicate they did not generate visible floor opposition. The procedural changes to claims and notice requirements may also matter to property owners and financial institutions, though no specific objections are documented here.