Nixon inks unclaimed property bill

Missouri's unclaimed property laws are a bit more strict due to new legislation signed by Gov. Jay Nixon on July 8.

House Bill 1075 amends Missouri’s unclaimed property laws to stop the state from assuming property in business-to-business transactions, establishing reasonable time limits on state audits of unclaimed property and creating a new unclaimed property appeal process.

The Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry lobbied for the legislation, calling the Show-Me State's previous law "the worst in the nation."

“Restoring property to its rightful owner should be the goal of unclaimed property policy and that is what we are ensuring through this legislation,” chamber President and CEO Dan Mehan said in a news release.

According to a study by the national Council on State Taxation, Missouri received a “D” grade, behind only Delaware, Mississippi and New York, for its unclaimed property laws. The study claims many poor performing states use outdated laws to turn unclaimed property into a revenue source. COST estimates states nationwide have taken in more than $40 billion in unclaimed property.

State Treasurer Clint Zweifel said July 2 his office returned more than $40 million in unclaimed property to more than 170,000 accounts during fiscal 2014, a 25 percent increase compared to the last fiscal year.

“In a little over 5 years, I have returned nearly half of all unclaimed property ever returned in state history – $200 million,” Zweifel said in a separate news release.

Zweifel's office still holds more than $822 million in unclaimed property for more than 4.8 million accounts. The average return is about $300, according to the release.

Unclaimed property can be searched for through ShowMeMoney.com.