Unclaimed Savings Bond Act of 2019

Unclaimed Savings Bond Act of 2019

This bill establishes requirements and procedures for the Department of the Treasury to transfer ownership of matured, unredeemed savings bonds and related records to states.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2417 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2417

 To provide for payment of proceeds from savings bonds to a State with 
        title to such bonds pursuant to the judgment of a court.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             August 1, 2019

 Mr. Kennedy (for himself, Mr. Moran, and Mr. Cassidy) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                                Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To provide for payment of proceeds from savings bonds to a State with 
        title to such bonds pursuant to the judgment of a court.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Unclaimed Savings Bond Act of 
2019''.

SEC. 2. PAYMENT TO STATES WITH TITLE TO UNDELIVERED SAVINGS BONDS.

    Section 3105 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by adding 
at the end the following:
    ``(f)(1) The Secretary shall recognize an order of a court of 
competent jurisdiction that vests title to an applicable savings bond 
with a State, regardless of whether the State has possession of such 
bond, if--
            ``(A) such order is entered after December 31, 2012, and 
        before January 1, 2026; and
            ``(B) the State provides the Secretary with a certified 
        copy of such order.
    ``(2)(A) If a State has title or is seeking to obtain title through 
a judicial proceeding to an applicable savings bond, the Secretary 
shall provide to the State, upon request, any reasonably available 
records or information--
            ``(i) relating to the purchase or ownership of such bond, 
        including any transactions involving such bond; or
            ``(ii) which may provide the serial number or other 
        identifying information relating to such bond.
    ``(B) Any records or information provided to a State pursuant to 
subparagraph (A) shall be considered sufficient to enable the State to 
redeem the applicable savings bond for full value, regardless of 
whether the bond is lost, stolen, destroyed, mutilated, defaced, or 
otherwise not in the possession of the State.
    ``(3)(A) Subject to subparagraph (C), a State may redeem and 
receive payment for an applicable savings bond for which the State has 
title pursuant to the same procedures established pursuant to 
regulations which are available for payment or redemption of a savings 
bond by any owner of such bond.
    ``(B) The Secretary may not prescribe any regulation which prevents 
or prohibits a State from obtaining title to an applicable savings bond 
or redeeming such bond pursuant to the procedures described in 
subparagraph (A).
    ``(C) In the case of an applicable savings bond which is lost, 
stolen, destroyed, mutilated, defaced, or otherwise not in the 
possession of the State, if the State has requested records and 
information under paragraph (2)(A), any applicable period of limitation 
for payment or redemption of such bond shall not begin to run against 
the State until the date on which the Secretary has provided the State 
with the records and information described in such paragraph.
    ``(4)(A) If the United States Government makes payment to a State 
for an applicable savings bond pursuant to paragraph (3)(A)--
            ``(i) the United States Government shall not retain any 
        further obligation or liability relating to such bond, 
        including any obligation or liability with respect to the 
        registered owner of such bond (as described in paragraph 
        (5)(B)); and
            ``(ii) such bond shall not be redeemable by the Secretary 
        or any paying agent authorized to make payments to redeem such 
        bonds.
    ``(5) For purposes of this subsection, the term `applicable savings 
bond' means a matured savings bond, and all payment of such bond, 
including interest, for which such bond--
            ``(A) was originally in paper, paperless, or electronic 
        form;
            ``(B) is registered to an owner with a last known address 
        that is within the State described in paragraph (1); and
            ``(C) has not been redeemed by such owner.''.
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