STAND. COM. REP. NO.1375

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2003

RE: H.B. No. 1154

H.D. 1

S.D. 2

 

 

Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2003

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred H.B. No. 1154, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, entitled:

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

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to allow funds from the unclaimed property trust fund to be expended to cover its administrative costs.

The bill also appropriates unspecified amounts to administer the unclaimed property program.

At present, the only statutorily authorized uses of the fund are to pay claims for return of abandoned property to its rightful owner and to other states' unclaimed property program for certain owners. There is a $1,000,000 ceiling in the fund, which is amended to $1,500,000 in the bill: all funds in excess of that amount on June 30 of each year lapse to the general fund. All costs must be absorbed by the Department of Budget and Finance.

Your Committee finds that it is a legitimate expense for a trust fund to pay for its administrative and operating expenses and that the provisions of this bill are appropriate.

Your Committee has amended this bill by substituting the contents of S.B. No. 1307, S.D. 1, which was previously reported out of this Committee. Specific changes resulting from this substitution are:

(1) Deleting section 1 of the bill, which changes the reference to a deduction of fees in section 523A-22, Hawaii Revised Statutes, from section 523A-23(b) to a nonexistent section;

(2) Changing the threshold for transfers of excess funds to $1,300,000; and

(3) Changing the blank appropriations from the unclaimed property trust fund to $313,888 for each fiscal year.

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 H.B. No. 1154, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1154, H.D. 1, S.D. 2.

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

____________________________

BRIAN T. TANIGUCHI, Chair