Illinois Unclaimed Property – The Saga Continues

In what seems like the never-ending story concerning Illinois and its unclaimed property statute, the latest twist occurred last week when Governor Bruce Rauner vetoed a bill (Senate Bill 2921) that barely touched on unclaimed property.  In his veto letter, Rauner indicated that he would pass SB 2921 if the legislature would add certain language to it amending 2017’s Senate Bill 9; specifically, Section 15, The Revised Uniform Unclaimed Property Act.

If you have followed Illinois’ unclaimed property legislation over the last year, you will know that the state has made significant changes to its unclaimed property laws by adopting a version of the 2016 Revised Uniform Unclaimed Property Act (‘RUUPA’), see our related blog Illinois’ New Unclaimed Property Act – Impact on Business to Business Transactions.

The two key parties involved in the disagreement, Illinois State Treasurer, Michael Frerichs, and Governor Rauner have been at odds since SB9 was introduced and eventually passed. (Governor Rauner made an attempt to veto SB9 prior to it becoming law, but his veto was ultimately overruled by a three-fifths majority vote in the Illinois Senate). In what appears to be a continued effort to reform the adopted RUUPA, Governor Rauner states in his SB 2921 veto letter, that the RUUPA is ‘deeply flawed’. Rauner goes on to say;

“RUUPA is problematic in a number of ways. It is improperly retroactive, has a statute of limitations that is illusory, includes estimation provisions that will lead to unrealistic and inflated assessments, authorizes the Treasurer to utilize third-party contingent fee auditors to harm the business community, and in combination with the foregoing imposes a stealth tax increase on Illinois businesses by eliminating the longstanding business-to-business exemption.”

The Legislature will reconvene in November and Governor Rauner’s amendments will likely be addressed either through passing an amended bill or overriding the veto with a three-fifths majority vote to pass the original bill.

What does this mean for Holders?

When SB 9 was introduced in January of 2018, holders were subject to several unclaimed property reporting changes, including the retroactive reporting of previously exempted business to business transactions. We recommend holders pay close attention to unclaimed property legislature movement in Illinois, as further amendments may again have an impact on company reporting requirements.   

At MarketSphere, we understand it is difficult to keep up with constantly changing legislation. In 2017 alone, we tracked over 200 significant changes to various unclaimed property statutes. If you have any questions on unclaimed property or how changing legislation may impact your organization, please contact MarketSphere Unclaimed Property Specialists at 844.357.1099 or upcontact@marketsphere.com to further discuss your options.