State Representative Julie Casimiro, along with General Treasurer Seth Magaziner, has introduced a bill to make it easier for the state to notify Rhode Islanders that the state is holding their property.
Every year the state recovers unclaimed cash and assets from businesses, banks, securities, bank accounts, safety deposit boxes, and utility deposits.
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.
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 bill also allows the Treasurer’s Office and the Employees’ Retirement System of Rhode Island to work together with other state departments where data sharing can provide additional or more updated information on people already in the Treasurer’s Office 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.
Source: WPRI
