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THE SENATE |
S.C.R. NO. |
115 |
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TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2009 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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SENATE CONCURRENT
RESOLUTION
requesting the department of commerce and consumer affairs to recommend procedures and legislation to require cemetery and pre-need funeral authorities to comply with unclaimed property laws under chapter 523A, Hawaii Revised Statutes.
WHEREAS, as of 2008, there were more than 100,000 people in Hawaii who had purchased a pre-need funeral plan with an aggregate value of more than $150,000,000, which are presently held in trust; and
WHEREAS, previous incidents regarding several cemetery and pre-need funeral businesses, such as Honolulu Memorial Park and RightStar Properties, have raised issues of mismanagement and illegal activity, prompting a need for greater consumer protection; and
WHEREAS, Hawaii laws regulating the pre-paid funeral industry are among the weakest in the country, according to national consumer and industry groups; and
WHEREAS, chapter 523A, Hawaii Revised Statutes, established the Unclaimed Property Program, which is responsible for collecting abandoned property from holders, holding the property in a custodial capacity, and providing a process for returning the held property to the rightful owners; and
WHEREAS, cemetery and pre-need funeral businesses are required to comply with unclaimed property laws under chapter 523A, Hawaii Revised Statutes; however, stricter enforcement of these businesses' compliance with the laws would provide greater protection for consumers of these businesses' services; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-fifth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2009, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs is requested to recommend procedures and proposed amendments to legislation to require cemetery and pre-need funeral authorities to comply with unclaimed property laws under chapter 523A, Hawaii Revised Statutes; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs is requested to submit to the Legislature not later than twenty days prior to the convening of the 2010 Regular Session, recommended procedures and legislation for record maintenance, reporting of abandoned property, and relinquishment of unclaimed property to the State; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Commerce and Consumer Affairs.
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OFFERED BY: |
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Cemetery and Pre-need Funeral Authorities; Unclaimed Property Laws