S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  5059--A
 
                        2017-2018 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               March 6, 2017
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. VALESKY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Finance -- reported favor-
   ably from said committee and committed to the Committee  on  Rules  --
   committee  discharged,  bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and
   recommitted to said committee

 AN ACT to amend the abandoned property law, in  relation  to  the  defi-
   nition of communication for purposes of abandoned property
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Subparagraph (iii) of paragraph (a) and subparagraph  (iii)
 of  paragraph (b) of subdivision 1 of section 300 of the abandoned prop-
 erty law, as amended by section 1 of part A of chapter 61 of the laws of
 2011, are amended and a new subdivision 5 is added to read as follows:
   (iii) any such amount with respect to which the  banking  organization
 has  on  file  [written]  evidence  received within three years that the
 person or persons appearing to be entitled to such amounts had knowledge
 thereof, or
   (iii) any such amount with respect to which the  banking  organization
 has  on  file  [written]  evidence  received within three years that the
 person or persons appearing to be entitled to such amount had  knowledge
 thereof.
   5.  FOR  PURPOSES  OF  THIS SECTION, "COMMUNICATION" SHALL INCLUDE ANY
 WRITTEN, ELECTRONIC, OR PERSONAL CONTACT BETWEEN AN OWNER AND  A  HOLDER
 OF  RECORD THAT CAN BE DOCUMENTED AND THAT REFLECTS AN OWNER'S AWARENESS
 OF THE EXISTENCE OF THE PROPERTY INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO,  WRITTEN
 CORRESPONDENCE,  A  TELEPHONIC  OR  VOICE  OVER INTERNET PROTOCOL (VOIP)
 COMMUNICATION, A TRANSACTION  EFFECTED  THROUGH  AN  AUTOMATED  CLEARING
 HOUSE (ACH) OR SIMILAR ELECTRONIC FUNDS PROCESSING METHOD, SIGNING ON TO
 A  PASSWORD PROTECTED ACCOUNT IN WHICH THE SECURITIES MAY BE ACCESSED BY
 THEIR OWNER, OR EFFECTING A TRANSACTION IN THE OWNER'S ACCOUNT,  INCLUD-
 ING AUTOMATED TRANSACTIONS THAT HAVE BEEN AUTHORIZED BY THE OWNER.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD10433-02-7

 S. 5059--A                          2
 
   §  2.  Subparagraph  (ii) of paragraph (a) of subdivision 2 of section
 501 of the abandoned property law, as amended by section 3 of part T  of
 chapter 62 of the laws of 2006, is amended to read as follows:
   (ii)  no  [written] communication has been received from such resident
 by the holder.
   § 3. Clause 2 of subparagraph (i) of paragraph (b) of subdivision 2 of
 section 501 of the abandoned property law, as amended by  section  4  of
 part T of chapter 62 of the laws of 2006, is amended to read as follows:
   (2) no [written] communication has been received from such resident by
 the holder, and
   §  4.  Subparagraph (iii) of paragraph (b) of subdivision 2 of section
 501 of the abandoned property law, as added by chapter 166 of  the  laws
 of 1991, is amended to read as follows:
   (iii)  Any corporation or fiduciary holding or evidencing on its books
 and records securities enrolled in a reinvestment plan shall notify  the
 apparent  owner by certified mail that such securities will be delivered
 to  the  state  comptroller  as  abandoned  property,  pursuant  to  the
 provisions  of  section  five  hundred  two of this article, unless such
 corporation or  fiduciary  receives  [written]  communication  from  the
 apparent  owner  of such securities indicating knowledge of such securi-
 ties prior to the date that such securities are required to be delivered
 to the state comptroller. Such letter by certified mail  shall  be  sent
 during  the calendar year prior to the year in which such property would
 be required to be delivered to the state comptroller, but no later  than
 the  thirty-first  day  of  December  of such year. For purposes of this
 subdivision, a signed return receipt shall constitute  written  communi-
 cation received by the holder from the apparent owner.
   §  5.  Paragraph  (b) of subdivision 3 of section 501 of the abandoned
 property law, as amended by chapter 61 of the laws of 1989,  is  amended
 and a new subdivision 6 is added to read as follows:
   (b) No [written] communication has been received from such resident by
 the holder, and
   6.  FOR  PURPOSES  OF  THIS SECTION, "COMMUNICATION" SHALL INCLUDE ANY
 WRITTEN, ELECTRONIC, OR PERSONAL CONTACT BETWEEN AN OWNER AND  A  HOLDER
 OF  RECORD THAT CAN BE DOCUMENTED AND THAT REFLECTS AN OWNER'S AWARENESS
 OF THE EXISTENCE OF THE PROPERTY INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO,  WRITTEN
 CORRESPONDENCE,  A  TELEPHONIC  OR  VOICE  OVER INTERNET PROTOCOL (VOIP)
 COMMUNICATION, A TRANSACTION  EFFECTED  THROUGH  AN  AUTOMATED  CLEARING
 HOUSE (ACH) OR SIMILAR ELECTRONIC FUNDS PROCESSING METHOD, SIGNING ON TO
 A  PASSWORD PROTECTED ACCOUNT IN WHICH THE SECURITIES MAY BE ACCESSED BY
 THEIR OWNER, OR EFFECTING A TRANSACTION IN THE OWNER'S ACCOUNT,  INCLUD-
 ING AUTOMATED TRANSACTIONS THAT HAVE BEEN AUTHORIZED BY THE OWNER.
   §  6.  Subdivisions  3  and 4 of section 511 of the abandoned property
 law, as amended by chapter 617 of the laws of 1973, are amended to  read
 as follows:
   3.  Any  security held in this state by a broker or dealer, or nominee
 of such broker or dealer, as the holder of record of a  security  for  a
 customer  or for a person or persons unknown to such broker or dealer or
 nominee where, for three successive years, all amounts paid  thereon  or
 with respect thereto and received after June thirtieth, nineteen hundred
 forty-six  by  such broker or dealer or nominee have remained unclaimed.
 Provided, however, that if any amount  or  security  specified  in  THIS
 subdivision  OR SUBDIVISIONS one[,] OR two [or three] of this section is
 reflected, recorded, or included in an account  with  respect  to  which
 such  broker  or  dealer has on file evidence in writing received within
 the three years immediately preceding the thirty-first day  of  December

 S. 5059--A                          3
 
 preceding the date such amount or security would otherwise be payable or
 deliverable pursuant to section five hundred twelve OF THIS ARTICLE that
 the  person  entitled  thereto  had knowledge of such account, then such
 amount or security shall not be deemed abandoned property.
   4.  Any  security held by a broker or dealer or nominee of such broker
 or dealer reflected, recorded, or included in an account with respect to
 which, for three successive years, all statements of  account  or  other
 communications  which  have  been  sent,  via  first  class mail, to the
 customer at his last known address have been returned  to  such  broker,
 dealer  or nominee by the postal authorities for inability to locate the
 customer, and no [written] communication  has  been  received  from  the
 customer  by  such broker, dealer or nominee, provided such security was
 received or is held in this state by such broker, dealer or  nominee  or
 the last known address of the customer is located in this state.
   §  7.  Paragraph  (b) of subdivision 5 of section 511 of the abandoned
 property law, as amended by chapter 767 of the laws of 1983, is  amended
 and a new subdivision 7 is added to read as follows:
   (b)  No  [written] communication has been received from such person by
 the holder, and
   7. FOR PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION,  "COMMUNICATION"  SHALL  INCLUDE  ANY
 WRITTEN,  ELECTRONIC,  OR PERSONAL CONTACT BETWEEN AN OWNER AND A HOLDER
 OF RECORD THAT CAN BE DOCUMENTED AND THAT REFLECTS AN OWNER'S  AWARENESS
 OF  THE EXISTENCE OF THE PROPERTY INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, WRITTEN
 CORRESPONDENCE, A TELEPHONIC OR  VOICE  OVER  INTERNET  PROTOCOL  (VOIP)
 COMMUNICATION,  A  TRANSACTION  EFFECTED  THROUGH  AN AUTOMATED CLEARING
 HOUSE (ACH) OR SIMILAR ELECTRONIC FUNDS PROCESSING METHOD, SIGNING ON TO
 A PASSWORD PROTECTED ACCOUNT IN WHICH THE SECURITIES MAY BE ACCESSED  BY
 THEIR  OWNER, OR EFFECTING A TRANSACTION IN THE OWNER'S ACCOUNT, INCLUD-
 ING AUTOMATED TRANSACTIONS THAT HAVE BEEN AUTHORIZED BY THE OWNER.
   § 8. Subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (b) of subdivision  1  of  section
 700 of the abandoned property law, as amended by section 13 of part A of
 chapter 61 of the laws of 2011, is amended to read as follows:
   (ii)  any  policy  with  respect to which such corporation has on file
 written OR ELECTRONIC evidence received  within  three  years  that  the
 person or persons apparently entitled to claim thereunder have knowledge
 thereof.
   §  9.  Paragraph  (f) of subdivision 1 of section 700 of the abandoned
 property law, as amended by chapter 61 of the laws of 1989,  is  amended
 to read as follows:
   (f) If no address of the person or persons appearing to be entitled to
 the  unclaimed funds pursuant to PARAGRAPHS (a), (b), (c), (d) or (e) of
 this subdivision is known to such corporation, or if it is not  definite
 and certain from the records of such corporation what person is entitled
 to  such  funds, it shall be presumed that the last-known address of the
 person entitled to such funds is the same as the last-known  address  of
 the  insured  or annuitant according to the records of such corporation.
 Where no address can be ascertained, pursuant to this paragraph, for the
 insured, annuitant or person or persons entitled to the unclaimed funds,
 such person's last-known address shall be presumed  to  be  within  this
 state  if the unclaimed funds are held or owing by life insurance corpo-
 ration organized under the laws of this state.
   § 10. This act shall take effect immediately.