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H. B. No. 161 As IntroducedAs Introduced
130th General Assembly | Regular Session | 2013-2014 |
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A BILL
To amend sections 169.13 and 169.14 of the Revised
Code regarding payment to a registered finder of
unclaimed funds.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That sections 169.13 and 169.14 of the Revised
Code be amended to read as follows:
Sec. 169.13. (A)(1) All agreements to pay a fee,
compensation, commission, or other remuneration to locate,
deliver, recover, or assist in the recovery of unclaimed funds
reported under section 169.03 of the Revised Code, entered into
within two years immediately after the date a report is filed
under division (C) of section 169.03 of the Revised Code, are
invalid.
(2) A person interested in entering into an agreement to
locate, deliver, recover, or assist in the recovery of unclaimed
funds for remuneration shall not initiate any contact with an
owner during the two-year period immediately after the date a
report is filed under division (C) of section 169.03 of the
Revised Code. Failure to comply with this requirement is grounds
for the invalidation of any such agreement between the person and
the owner.
(B) An agreement entered into any time after such two-year
period is valid only if all of the following conditions are met:
(1) The aggregate fee, compensation, commission, or other
remuneration agreed upon is not in excess of ten per cent of the
amount recovered and paid to the owner by the director of budget
and management;
(2) The agreement is in writing, signed by the owner, and
notarized and discloses all of the following items:
(a) The name, address, and telephone number of the owner, as
shown by the records of the person or entity in possession of the
unclaimed funds or contents of a safe deposit box;
(b) The name, address, and telephone number of the owner if
the owner's name, address, or telephone number are different from
the name, address, or telephone number of the owner as shown by
the records of the person or entity in possession of the unclaimed
funds or contents of a safe deposit box;
(c) The nature and value of the unclaimed funds or contents
of a safe deposit box;
(d) The amount the owner will receive after the fee or
compensation has been subtracted;
(e) The name and address of the person or entity in
possession of the unclaimed funds or contents of a safe deposit
box;
(f) That the auditor of state director of commerce will pay
the direct the director of budget and management to pay from the
unclaimed funds any legal amount specified in the agreement to
compensate a person registered under section 169.16 of the Revised
Code for services performed pursuant to the agreement, will pay
the amount directly to the registrant, less any fee established
pursuant to division (D) of section 169.14 of the Revised Code,
and will pay any remaining unclaimed funds directly to the owner,
or the director
of commerce shall deliver the contents of a safe
deposit box directly to the owner;
(g) That the person agreeing to locate, deliver, recover, or
assist in the recovery of the unclaimed funds or contents of a
safe deposit box is not an employee or agent of the director of
commerce;
(h) That the director of commerce is not a party to the
agreement;
(i) That the person agreeing to locate, deliver, recover, or
assist in the recovery of the unclaimed funds or contents of a
safe deposit box holds a valid certificate of registration issued
by the director under section 169.16 of the Revised Code;
(j) The number designated on that certificate of registration
and the date the certificate of registration expires.
(3) No agreement described in division (B)(2) of this section
shall include a power of attorney for the payment of the unclaimed
funds or delivery of the contents of a safe deposit box to any
person other than the owner of the unclaimed funds or contents of
a safe deposit box.
(4) If the agreement involves recovery of the contents of a
safe deposit box, the agreement stipulates that the person
receiving any fee, compensation, commission, or other remuneration
for engaging in any activity for the purpose of locating,
delivering, recovering, or assisting in the recovery of unclaimed
funds or other items stored in a safe deposit box on behalf of any
other person shall do all of the following:
(a) Make arrangements to have an appraiser and the director
of commerce view the contents of the safe deposit box together, at
a time mutually agreeable to the appraiser and director;
(b) State that the value of the property in the safe deposit
box is the amount established by the appraiser who viewed the safe
deposit box contents;
(c) Base the fee, compensation, commission, or other
remuneration for locating, delivering, recovering, or assisting in
the recovery of unclaimed funds or other items stored in a safe
deposit box on the appraised value established by the appraiser
who viewed the safe deposit box contents.
(C) No person shall receive a fee, compensation, commission,
or other remuneration, or engage in any activity for the purpose
of locating, delivering, recovering, or assisting in the recovery
of unclaimed funds or contents of a safe deposit box, under an
agreement that is invalid under this section.
(D) A person who receives any fee, compensation, commission,
or other remuneration for engaging in any activity for the purpose
of locating, delivering, recovering, or assisting in the recovery
of unclaimed funds or other items stored in a safe deposit box on
behalf of any other person cannot function as an appraiser of the
contents of the safe deposit box for purposes of division (B)(4)
of this section.
(E) The director of commerce shall not recognize or make any
delivery and the auditor of state director of budget and
management shall not make any payment pursuant to any power of
attorney between an owner of the unclaimed funds or contents of a
safe deposit box and the person with whom the owner entered into
an agreement pursuant to division (B)(2) of this section to
locate, deliver, recover, or assist in the recovery of the
unclaimed funds or contents of a safe deposit box if that power of
attorney is entered into on or after the effective date of this
amendment March 23, 2007, and that power of attorney specifically
provides for the payment of unclaimed funds or delivery of the
contents of a safe deposit box to any person other than the owner
of the unclaimed funds or contents of a safe deposit box. Nothing
in this section shall be construed as prohibiting the payment of
unclaimed funds or delivery of the contents of a safe deposit box
to the legal representative of the owner of the unclaimed funds or
contents of the safe deposit box. Notwithstanding the definition
of "owner" specified in division (C) of section 169.01 of the
Revised Code, for purposes of the payment of unclaimed funds or
delivery of the contents of the safe deposit box, a person with
whom an owner entered into an agreement under division (B)(2) of
this section is not a legal representative.
Sec. 169.14. (A) Each person that files a claim with the
director of commerce, pursuant to an agreement entered into under
division (B) of section 169.13 of the Revised Code, shall include
with that claim a copy of the agreement and the number designated
on the certificate of registration that is issued to the person
under section 169.16 of the Revised Code.
(B) The division of unclaimed funds shall not process any
claim described in division (A) of this section that does not
include the required certificate of registration number.
(C) The director of budget and management shall pay from the
unclaimed funds any legal amount specified in an agreement entered
into under division (B) of section 169.13 of the Revised Code to
compensate a person registered under section 169.16 of the Revised
Code for services performed pursuant to the agreement, shall pay
the amount directly to the registrant, less any fee established
pursuant to division (D) of this section, and shall pay any
remaining unclaimed funds directly to the owner.
(D) The director of commerce may establish a reasonable fee
for the processing and delivery of any payment made to a
registrant pursuant to an agreement under division (B) of section
169.13 of the Revised Code.
Section 2. That existing sections 169.13 and 169.14 of the
Revised Code are hereby repealed.
Section 3. Section 169.13 of the Revised Code is presented
in this act as a composite of the section as amended by both Am.
Sub. H.B. 699 and Am. Sub. S.B. 223 of the 126th General Assembly.
The General Assembly, applying the principle stated in division
(B) of section 1.52 of the Revised Code that amendments are to be
harmonized if reasonably capable of simultaneous operation, finds
that the composite is the resulting version of the section in
effect prior to the effective date of the section as presented in
this act.
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