STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2735

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 2748

       S.D. 1

Honorable Shan S. Tsutsui

President of the Senate

Twenty-Sixth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2012

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 2748 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO UNCLAIMED PROPERTY,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

     (1)  Require holders of unclaimed property to remit all unclaimed property under their control with their November 1 report; and

     (2)  Specify that compensation to professional locators that exceeds ten per cent shall be unenforceable except by the owner of the property.

     Written comments in support of this measure were submitted by the Department of Budget and Finance.

Your Committee finds that this measure streamlines operations and establishes a maximum ten per cent fee structure for professional unclaimed property locators, as opposed to the current prohibition against "unconscionable" fees.

     Your Committee further finds that section 523A-9, Hawaii Revised Statutes, currently requires reporters of unclaimed property to report all property by November 1 of each year and to remit the property by the following May 1.  This measure would conform Hawaii's law to all other states by requiring the reporting and remittance of all unclaimed property by November 1 of each year.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Changing the effective date of the measure to July 1, 2050, to facilitate the further discussion of the measure;

     (2)  Specifying that the compensation to professional locators be limited to no more than ten per cent of the value of the property; and

     (3)  Making a technical nonsubstantive amendment for the purpose of style.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2748, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2748, S.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,

____________________________

DAVID Y. IGE, Chair