South Carolina General Assembly
117th Session, 2007-2008

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S. 988

STATUS INFORMATION

General Bill
Sponsors: Senators McConnell, Rankin, Hutto, Martin, Alexander, Bryant, Anderson, Campbell, Ceips, Drummond, Ford, O'Dell, Pinckney, Ritchie, Sheheen, Thomas, Verdin, Williams, Knotts, Setzler, Massey, Lourie, Leatherman and Cleary
Document Path: l:\s-jud\bills\mcconnell\jud0029.jh.doc
Companion/Similar bill(s): 4474

Introduced in the Senate on January 15, 2008
Currently residing in the Senate Committee on Judiciary

Summary: Uniform Unclaimed Property Act

HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS

     Date      Body   Action Description with journal page number
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   1/15/2008  Senate  Introduced and read first time SJ-14
   1/15/2008  Senate  Referred to Committee on Judiciary SJ-14
   1/29/2008  Senate  Referred to Subcommittee: Martin (ch), Malloy, Campsen, 
                        Williams, Massey

View the latest legislative information at the LPITS web site

VERSIONS OF THIS BILL

1/15/2008

(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

A BILL

TO AMEND SECTION 27-18-20, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO THE UNIFORM UNCLAIMED PROPERTY ACT, AND BY ADDING SECTIONS 27-18-185 AND 27-18-255, SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR AN ALTERNATIVE METHOD OF DISPOSITION OF CERTAIN PATRONAGE ALLOCATIONS.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION    1.    Section 27-18-20 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding appropriately numbered subsections at the end to read:

"( )    'Approved uses' means:

(a)    Donated to an eleemosynary organization serving in the electric or telephone cooperative's service area provided that the eleemosynary organization does not participate in advocating the election or defeat of political candidates;

(b)    used in support of education in the electric or telephone cooperative's service area;

(c)    used for economic development purposes in the electric or telephone cooperative's service area; or

(d)    used for the benefit of the electric or telephone cooperative's members.

( )    'Electric or telephone cooperative's service area' means any county in which the electric or telephone cooperative provides electric or telephone service and any county adjacent thereto."

SECTION    2.    Chapter 18, Title 27 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:

"Section 27-18-185.    (A)    Patronage allocations or capital credits presumed abandoned pursuant to this article in a given calendar year that are held by an electric cooperative organized under the provisions of Chapter 49 of Title 33 must be expended for approved uses if the electric cooperative has:

(1)    maintained for at least six months on its website or on a public posting in its main office, a list, including the name, if known, and last known address, if any, of each person appearing from the cooperative's records to be the owner of patronage allocations or capital credits of the value of fifty dollars or more which are presumed abandoned together with instructions on how to claim such property; and

(2)    published in the legal notice section of a major newspaper in the county in which its main office is located or in its monthly magazine notice of the last date to claim property that has been presumed abandoned. Such notice shall be published within three to six months prior to the last date to claim the property and shall state the names of each person appearing from the cooperative's records to be the owner of patronage allocations or capital credits that are presumed abandoned and which carry a value of fifty dollars or more.

(B)    Patronage allocations or capital credits that are held, issued, or owing by telephone cooperatives organized under the provisions of Chapter 46 of Title 33 that remain unclaimed by the owner for more than seven years after becoming payable or distributable may be expended for approved uses if the telephone cooperative has:

(1)    maintained for at least six months on its website or on a public posting in its main office, a list, including the name, if known, and last known address, if any, of each person appearing from the cooperative's records to be the owner of patronage allocations or capital credits with a value of fifty dollars or more which have been unclaimed by the owner for more than seven years after becoming payable or distributable together with instructions on how to claim such property; and

(2)    published in the legal notice section of a major newspaper in the county in which its main office is located or in its monthly magazine notice of the last date to claim patronage allocations or capital credits which have been unclaimed by the owner for more than seven years after becoming payable or distributable. The notice shall be published within three to six months prior to the last date to claim such property and shall state the names of the owners of such property with a value of fifty dollars or more."

SECTION    3.    Chapter 18, Title 27 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:

"Section 27-18-255.    (A)    A person claiming an interest in patronage allocations or capital credits after such patronage allocations or capital credits have been expended by a telephone or electric cooperative for approved uses in accordance with Section 27-18-185 may file with the cooperative a claim on a form prescribed by the cooperative and verified by the claimant.

(B)    The cooperative shall consider each claim within ninety days after it is filed and give written notice to the claimant if the claim is denied in whole or in part. The notice may be given by mailing it to the last address, if any, stated in the claim as the address to which notices are to be sent. If no address for notices is stated in the claim, the notice may be mailed to the last address, if any, of the claimant as stated in the claim. No notice of denial need be given if the claim fails to state either the last address to which notices are to be sent or the address of the claimant.

(C)    If a claim is allowed, the cooperative shall pay over or deliver to the claimant the patronage allocations or capital credits or amount the cooperative owed to the claimant at the time the patronage allocations or capital credits were expended."

SECTION    4.    All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this act are repealed.

SECTION    5.    This act shall be effective as to patronage allocations that are held, issued, or owing and unclaimed by the owner or that have been or will be presumed abandoned as of the date it is approved by the Governor or the date it becomes law without such approval.

SECTION    6.    This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

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