Casimiro-Magaziner bill on unclaimed property signed into
law
Legislation (2017-H
5743) introduced by Rep. Julie A. Casimiro (D-Dist. 31, North Kingstown,
Exeter), in cooperation with General Treasurer Seth Magaziner, which will make
it easier for Treasury to return unclaimed property to Rhode Islanders through
more efficient communication between state agencies has been signed into law by
the governor.
“More than 300,000 Rhode
Islanders have unclaimed property, and most don’t even realize it,” said
Representative Casimiro. “This legislation will make it as easy as possible for
the state to notify Rhode Islanders that the state is holding their property.”
“My office is holding
more than $300 million in cash and unclaimed property that is waiting to be
claimed by its rightful owner,” said Treasurer Magaziner.
“People are often
shocked to learn that we are holding money that is rightfully theirs. This
legislation will help us get money back to Rhode Islanders faster and more
efficiently than ever before.”
The property is kept safe until it
can be returned to its rightful owner.
In 2016, the Unclaimed Property program
returned more than $12.8 million on more than 8,000 claims, yet there are
currently more than 425,000 properties available for claim worth more than $325
million.
In addition to helping to return more Unclaimed Property, the legislation also
allows Treasury, and the Employees’ Retirement System of Rhode Island to
collaborate with other state departments where data sharing can provide
additional or more updated information on individuals already in Treasury’s
databases.
This information can improve the speed and accuracy of identity
verification for payment processing and will also allow the Retirement Board to
more effectively manage post-retirement employment compliance.
